January 25th, 2010

Etta James: Special Day

Unlike
What do you think of this post?
Awesome (0) Interesting (0) Useful (0) Boring (0) Sucks (0)

Etta James1

Etta James possesses one of the greatest voices of her generation, and today she’s given us reason to celebrate her life’s work.

On “This Day In Soul” we recognize the birthday of blues/soul/R&B singer Etta James. Born in Los Angeles on January 25th 1938, Jamesetta Hawkins got her start in music honing her vocals under James Earle Hines, musical director of the Echoes of Eden choir, at the St. Paul Baptist Church in Los Angeles.

James released her first single, “The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry),” in 1955 as a member of the dop-wop trio The Peaches. As a solo artist James hit her mark with the 1960 single “All I Could Do Is Cry.” The song peaked at #2 on Billboard R&B Chart.

A year later James released her most notable hit, “At Last.” The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 1999. James was also awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

. . . This Day in Soul