Very sad news to pass along today. Legendary singer Etta James has passed away due to complications from her ailing health. We’ve been hearing for a couple of months now that Etta was not doing well. The singer, who was diagnosed with leukemia back in 2010 and also suffered from dementia, was in and out of the hospital over the past year. I understand that Etta was allowed to be home for the New Year at the start of this month but, unfortunately, she did succumb to her failing health. Some of you young’ns may not be too familiar with Etta James but you might recall that Beyoncé played Etta in the 2008 film Cadillac Records and many of you are definitely familiar with her biggest hit song At Last (which Beyoncé performed at the inauguration of President Obama back in 2009.

Etta James, whose assertive, earthy voice lit up such hits as “The Wallflower” “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” and the wedding favorite “At Last,” has died, according to her longtime friend and manager, Lupe De Leon. She was 73 and had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2010. James, who also suffered from dementia and hepatitis C, died at a hopsital in Riverside, California. The powerhouse singer, known as “Miss Peaches,” lived an eventful life. She first hit the charts as a teenager, taking “The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry)” — an “answer record” to Hank Ballard’s “Work With Me, Annie” — to No. 1 on the R&B charts in 1955. She joined Chess Records in 1960 and had a string of R&B and pop hits, many with lush string arrangements. After a mid-decade fade, she re-emerged in 1967 with a more hard-edged, soulful sound. Throughout her career, James overcame a heroin addiction, opened for the Rolling Stones, won six Grammys and was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite her ups and downs — including a number of health problems — she maintained an optimistic attitude. “Most of the songs I sing, they have that blue feeling to it. They have that sorry feeling. And I don’t know what I’m sorry about,” she told CNN’s Denise Quan in 2002. “I don’t!” Through it all, she was a spitfire beloved by contemporaries and young up-and-comers. “Etta James is unmanageable, and I’m the closest thing she’s ever had to a manager,” Lupe DeLeon, her manager of 30-plus years, told CNN in admiration. British songstress Adele named James as one of her favorite singers, along with Aretha Franklin. “If you were to look up the word singer in the dictionary, you’d see their names,” Adele said in an interview. Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles to a teen mother and unknown father. (She suspected her father was the pool player Minnesota Fats.) Her birth mother initially took little responsibility and James was raised by a series of people, notably a pair of boardinghouse owners. But she was recognized from a young age for her booming voice, showcased in a South Central Los Angeles church. In 1950, her mother took her to San Francisco, where James formed a group called the Peaches. Singer Johnny Otis, best known for “Willie and the Hand Jive,” discovered her and had her sing a song he wrote using Ballard’s tune as a model. “The Wallflower,” with responses from “Louie Louie” songwriter Richard Berry, made James an R&B star. Her signing to Chess introduced her to a broader audience, as the record label’s co-owner, Leonard Chess, believed she should do pop hits. Among her recordings were “Stormy Weather,” the Lena Horne classic originally from 1933; “A Sunday Kind of Love,” which dates from 1946; and most notably, “At Last,” a 1941 number that was originally a hit for Glenn Miller. James’ version of “At Last” starts out with swooning strings and the singer enters with confident gusto, dazzlingly maintaining a mood of joy and romance. Though the song failed to make the Top 40 upon its 1961 release — though it did hit the R&B Top 10 — its emotional punch has long made it a favorite at weddings.

Over the years, James had her share of health problems. In the late 1990s she reportedly weighed more than 400 pounds and required a scooter to get around. In 2003 she had gastric bypass surgery and dropped more than half the weight, according to People magazine. However, until her latest issues, James maintained a steady touring schedule and appeared full of energy even when sitting down — as she sometimes did on stage, due to bad knees and her weight battles. Even while sitting down, James gave it her all on stage, singing as though possessed, caressing every note like a long-lost love. If that seemed a little much to critics, well, the legendary singer had a show to put on, she told Quan. “They said that Etta James is still vulgar,” she said in the 2002 interview. “I said, ‘Oh, how dare ‘em say I’m still real vulgar! I’m vulgar because I dance in the chair?’ What would they want me to do? Want me to just be still or something like that?
“I gotta do something.”

Etta James was as real as they come … there will never be another to replace her. It’s hard to think of the right things to say about the passing of a legend … because words just don’t seem to do the loss justice. Etta James lived a difficult life but she managed to persevere and use her talent to find success. You can hear the pain that she has known in her voice … and as sad as it sounds, it is her use of that pain that made her a star. It is also sad to think of Etta suffering at the end of her life … but I hope that she was able to find peace in her home in the days leading up to her death. Etta James is a true icon and she will never be forgotten. Rest well, Etta … we can never truly thank you for all you have given us.

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