Remembering the talented and influential Etta James born on this day in 1938
The singer came to prominence during the 1960’s with songs such as “I Just Want to Make Love to You”
Remembering the talented and influential Etta James born on this day in 1938
A Brief Overlook on Etta Jame’s life and career
Etta James, who came to prominence during the early 1960’s, was born in Los Angeles, California on January 25, 1938. She started her career in 1954 and in 1960, with her debut album “At Last!” she scored her first big hit, the now classic (and her signature song) “I Just Want to Make Love to You”. Despite having been covered several times throughout the decades, it is still the Etta James version that remains the most popular and famous one. During her career, James had a string of hits from jazz standards to blues to doo-wop and rhythm and blues with songs such as “A Sunday Kind of Love”, “The Wallflower”, “At Last”, “Tell Mama”, “Something’s Got a Hold on Me”, and “I’d Rather Go Blind”, but substance abuse, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse, and incarceration, almost put an end to it. She got over all those personal problems and did a successful comeback in the late 1980’s with the album “Seven Year Itch”. Etta James passed away in 2012 at age 73 from leukemia, curiously, three days after Johnny Otis, the man who had discovered her in the 1950’s. Among her accomplishments are inductions to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Etta James was also number 22 on its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by the Rolling Stone magazine.
Watch Etta James performing live I Just Want To Make Love To You at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1993
Listen to the original Etta James recording of I Just Want To Make Love To You, as released in 1960
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