Why is etta james famous

Etta James, a class act, was often invited to several famous music festivals. But James was not easy to please. We believe that Africa is poorly represented, and badly under-estimated. Beyond the vast opportunity manifest in African markets, we highlight people who make a difference; leaders turning the tide, youth driving change, and an indefatigable business community.

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From the age of five, she sang gospel in the local church and later acknowledged the influence of the choirmaster, Professor James Earl Hines. When Jamesetta's adoptive mother died, Dorothy reappeared and took her year-old daughter to San Francisco.

Dorothy was a hustler and showed no inclination to change her lifestyle. James formed a vocal trio, the Creolettes, with two teenage friends. He was so impressed with James's voice and her songwriting skills that he offered to take her to Los Angeles the following day to record Roll With Me Henry. She agreed, lied to him that she was 18 and, when he demanded her mother's signed consent, went home and forged it — Dorothy was then in prison.

Although there were no more 50s hits, she was a popular attraction in black America's working-class "chitlin' circuit" clubs. In James signed with the Chicago blues label Chess, which began marketing her as the "Queen of Soul". Here her powerhouse contralto voice was matched with the sumptuous, bluesy string arrangements of Riley Hampton, and James truly came into her own as a singer.

Tell Mama's B-side was I'd Rather Go Blind, a brooding, agonised ballad of loss and jealousy which now stands as James's most celebrated recording and one of the classic sides of soul music. In this inaugural Vault of Soul post, we're covering the diverse and revolutionary career of legend Etta James :.

Hawkins had a rough upbringing due to her father's absence and her mother's inattentiveness, but her talent allowed her to escape the limits of her hardships. In addition, she produced around 30 studio albums in five decades. Later in her career, James performed with her sons, Donto and Sametto James.

In , James was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and her health worsened. Before her 75th birthday, she died in Riverside, California, on January 20th, due to leukemia. Since her childhood, Etta James found inspiration from Billie Holiday. James had been taking hard drugs since and was becoming increasingly unreliable. In , she tried methadone but was soon back with heroin. Her one and only husband,Artis Mills, attempted to get her off drugs but he took the rap for her when drugs were found and was given a year sentence.

While Mills was inside, James took up with a ex-junkie turned therapist, Sam Dennis, and their son, Sametto, was born in In , James was arrested for passing bad cheques and entered hospital for rehabilitation.

She kicked the habit at the Tarzana Clinic, Los Angeles. Although cured of her addiction, she put on weight, reaching as much as 24 stone. James thought that Janis Joplin had risen to fame by copying her performance. He encouraged her to sing Randy Newman's songs including the savagely satirical, "God's Song", a highly unusual choice for someone raised on gospel music.

She made a highly successful appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In , she recorded Deep In The Night for the producer, Jerry Wexler, but by her standards it was strangely muted. To promote the album, she opened for the Rolling Stones on a US tour.