Etta James 1938-2012

"At Last" from Etta James' album At Last! recorded at Chess Recording Studio in 1960

At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song.
Oh, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you.
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known.
Oh, yeah when you smiled, you smiled
Oh, and then the spell was cast.
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine, at last.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1uunRdQ61M

 

Etta James discography (courtesy of discogs.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Maureen Lang

Comments

[Maureen Lang]

I'm hoping TA/SST reader & commenter Bobby Murray (aka taters) may choose to post a comment in this thread about Etta James & her music, since he toured with her for many years.

[Mark Logan]

Steal Away..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUkI0wMieLk&feature=related

[Craig V.]

RIP Etta, Queen of Soul.

Sunday Kind of Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAoCWpCJsuc

[Robert Bolton]

Etta James was one of a kind. What a voice.

Something's Got a Hold on Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmexOmLyuVU

[Meredith Axelrod]

RIP Etta and Johnny Otis.

Roll with Me, Henry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsgBUtW_O4E&feature=g-vrec&context=G2d22d6dRVAAAAAAAADQ

Harlem Nocturne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bYPnfXXUp4

[Bobby Murray]

Thanks Pat & Maureen, I just put a comment up at Athenaeum.

[Bobby Murray]

Hi Maureen,

Some of you here know that I played guitar with Etta James for 22 years. I, like so many others, was saddened by her passing. I found out the news when I received a call from a reporter on Friday who asked for a few comments to add to a story. I had also spoken with Donto James, Etta's son, who had gently told me it was just a matter of time before she passed and to prepare myself for the inevitable. That's so like him, consoling others while doing his best to keep it all together. Donto played drums in the band and also co produced her recordings. Her youngest son, Sametto plays bass and also co-produced her recordings. We are close, Donto was my best man at our wedding and both of them also played in my band and often we would open for Etta. However, despite any mental preparation, I wasn't ready for that call. I was crushed. And numb. I will always love her and I cherish my time with my longtime boss, friend and mentor. She was a very special lady and family to me.

From the Detroit News

[..] In May 2009, James performed her last show in Detroit, at the Motor City Casino's Sound Board. The opening act was her longtime sideman, Metro Detroit guitarist Bobby Murray.

James dubbed Murray, her guitarist for several decades, "Mr. Excitement" for his tendency to burn the candles at both ends (indeed, he says she helped steer him into rehab).

Murray said he last spoke to his old boss in December, when Donto held the phone up to his mother's ear in her hospital bed, so she could hear Murray's voice.

"Donto said, 'She really hears you, man,' she was squeezing his hand while I was talking," Murray said. "I feel numb, but I also feel that she's not far away." [..]

"So sorry to hear about Etta," Aretha Franklin said. "Etta James was one of the great soul singers of our generation. An American original! I loved 'Pushover,' 'At Last' and almost any and everything she recorded!!! When Etta sung, you heard it!"
Etta loved Aretha, too.

And from Bonnie Raitt, also a good friend of hers and someone Etta admired.

"To me, Etta James stands as one of the greatest singers of all time… any genre, any era. The sheer power and depth of emotion, phrasing and nuance in her voice set her so far above the rest, and have since she first started out. Her perseverance, ferocity and vulnerability have been as inspirational to me as her monumental talent. I bow to you, my dear friend and soul Sister…now and for always."
Love,
Bonnie

Etta could effortlessly go from a rockin' tune to a jazzy ballad, straight up soul, a gut bucket blues or country. In that regard she was much like one of her musical heroes, Ray Charles. Which to me, (although I am primarily a blues guitarist and that's what she hired me for) was a treat and kept the band on it's toes. She handpicked us personally and looked for different attributes from us to contribute to her sound. Despite some personnel changes through the years, her Roots Band a wonderful ensemble to be a part of.

I'll never forget the phone call I got from her.

“I picked up the phone and it’s, ‘Hey man, this is Etta James. Are you available for some gigs?’ ” recalls the Japenese-born Murray, 55, who’s been a Ferndale resident since 1996, after meeting his wife at a Fox Theatre show. “I still haven’t gotten over that first phone call. It’s still as much of a kick today as it was the day I got it.”

From the Oakland Press

I will always be grateful for my tenure with Etta and all the pearls that she shared with us. It wasn't unusual to see someone like Mick Jagger or Keith Richards in the audience, groovin' to the show. BB King, Albert King and John Lee Hooker had crushes on her and it was truly entertaining too see them act like schoolboys around her. I'm being flooded by so many memories of her right now. I cherish them all. Like the wonderful fragrance of flowers whenever she was around. Whether it was onstage or in a room it was undeniable and it wasn't from her perfume, it was from her.

From Montreux, 1993
http://youtu.be/JrMHT7rD7xA

Etta's soul drenched version of The Association's 'Never My Love' (Before my tenure)
http://youtu.be/Fvu4ghg3Lt4

http://youtu.be/_j2NFs5NKbA
We did this a few years ago.

[Bobby Murray]

Hi Maureen,
Here's a link to something I wrote yesterday.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/21/1056986/-Some-thoughts-on-Etta-James

[Bobby Murray]

Hi Maureen,
Sorry about the problems, I'm not a Luddite - but not a techno either. :) Thank you again for honoring someone very dear to me.
I'm awaiting funeral details.

Kind Regards,
Bobby

[Maureen Lang]

And thank you for your comments, Bobby, also the wonderful links you posted.

Etta James' passing really hit me as a long-time fan. She was truly one of a kind, an amazingly talented woman whose voice will continue to live on & on.

[Bobby Murray]

And one more

Etta had the greatest stories - they reminded me of the hipster version of Forrest Gump - she was there for a lot of cool stuff and it's real. Like when she recalled Malcolm X and then Cassius Clay meeting up right before he became Muhammad Ali. Or talking to Miles Davis about Albert Collins. She said BB King's classic "Sweet Sixteen" was written about her, as they certainly were an item many years ago. BB always loved her and when I told him the story, he simply smiled, neither confirming or denying but definitely proud of what I told her. And he seemed a little choked up. I also loved her story about a young, not yet famous Janis Joplin nervously approaching her and telling her she was a singer and Etta was a hero of hers. And how Etta told Janis that she was going to be successful.

She also helped get me into treatment when my life was spiraling out of control. Some of her people recommended that she fire me because well, I was the band's Keith Richards. But she believed in me and kept me on. I also recall how kind she was to my mother when she came to a show. There's many more stories but I'll part with saying I'll always be grateful that she was looking for a blues guitarist back in the eighties and that person was me. I love you Etta and I always will.

Best,
Bobby

[Shirley Bolton]

Thank you, Bobby Murray, for sharing your memories of Etta James with all of us. I had the privilege of hearing Etta sing live just once in the 70s and I have never forgotten her wonderful voice. RIP Queen Etta.