{"id":2178,"date":"2012-01-22T12:58:36","date_gmt":"2012-01-22T17:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funky16corners.lunarpages.net\/?p=2178"},"modified":"2012-02-21T14:29:24","modified_gmt":"2012-02-21T19:29:24","slug":"etta-james-1938-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/?p=2178","title":{"rendered":"Etta James 1938 – 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Miss Etta James
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James – Something’s Got a Hold On Me <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In the Basement Pt1 <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James – I’m So Glad <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James – Tell Mama <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James – I Got You Babe <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James – I’d Rather Go Blind <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James – I Worship the Ground You Walk On <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James – Out On the Street Again <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Listen\/Download -Etta James – Groove Me <\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/del><\/p>\n

Greetings all.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that it would not be overstating things to say that for fans of the music we call soul, this has been an absolute motherfucker<\/em> of a week.<\/p>\n

First Jimmy Castor<\/strong>, then Johnny Otis<\/strong>, and then on Friday we got the news that the mighty Etta James<\/strong> had gone to her great reward.<\/p>\n

Goddamn\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

I mean, as we have discussed previously, we are in the midst of an era when these sad events will be coming with increasing frequency, but the inevitability of age doesn\u2019t make these losses any easier to take.<\/p>\n

Etta James was as bad-ass as they came.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you talk about serious, heavy, real<\/em> performers, they seldom got any realer than Etta James.<\/p>\n

She came out of R&B, walked straight on into soul and funk, all the while packing one of the most powerful, emotional voices ever heard.<\/p>\n

And that voice carried with it the seasoning of a hard life.<\/p>\n

Born Jamesetta Hawkins<\/strong>\u00a0 in Los Angeles in 1938, she first recorded (discovered by none other than Johnny Otis<\/strong>) in 1954 and hit the top of the charts in 1955 with \u2018The Wallflower\u2019 (aka Dance With Me Henry) in 1955.<\/p>\n

She remained on the charts, both R&B and Pop, through the 50s, 60s and 70s, wrestling on and off with heroin addiction, yet still making some remarkably powerful records.<\/p>\n

James recorded for Modern through the 50s, moving to the Chess organization (recording for Chess, Argo and Cadet) where she remained from 1960 to 1976.<\/p>\n

The records she made during this period were some of the best soul of the era.<\/p>\n

The songs I\u2019m posting today while not by any means comprehensive, represent what I would consider to be her finest work*.<\/p>\n

Starting with the epic \u2018Something\u2019s Got a Hold On Me\u2019 from 1962 (I love pulling out a record that\u2019s as old as I am\u2026<\/em>), you get Etta reaching back to her teenage, gospel roots, gathering some R&B on the way and whipping it all up into a solid blast of soul. The record is a great sampler of her vocal range, from her rich contralto right on through to her piercing growl.<\/p>\n

Her epic duet with Sugar Pie DeSanto,<\/strong> \u2018In the Basement\u2019 has appeared in this space before, but to attempt to pay appropriate tribute to Etta without including it would be the work of a fool. Not only is one of the truly great soul sides of the 60s \u2013 by anyone<\/em> \u2013 but you get to hear two monumental divas trading lines.<\/p>\n

Another cut from 1966 (coming from the period right before she headed down to Muscle Shoals) \u2018I\u2019m So Glad\u2019 sees James working a slightly different groove. While the vocal is classic, mid-period Etta, the instrumental backing – arranged by Monk Higgins<\/strong> \u2013 is pure Chitown soul.<\/p>\n

Leonard Chess\u2019<\/strong> decision to send James down to Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama was without a doubt one of the smartest things he ever did.<\/p>\n

If ever a voice existed that sounded purpose-made for the backing of the legendary Fame<\/strong> house band, it belonged to Etta James.<\/p>\n

James recorded just under two dozen sides (almost all released) at Muscle Shoals, and they represent not only a high point in her discography, but also in the long stream of genius that emitted from those hallowed halls during the 60s and 70s.<\/p>\n

The best known of her Fame-era tracks is undoubtedly 1967\u2019s\u2018Tell Mama\u2019, which hit the R&B Top 10 and grazed the Pop Top 20. The tune is hard-charging Southern soul with a supremely confident vocal by James and a horn chart that is in itself a soulful bit of genius. It puts the well-known cover by Janis Joplin<\/strong> to shame.<\/p>\n

It was only last year, courtesy of my man Vincent the Soul Chef<\/strong> that I was exposed to James\u2019 insanely good cover of Sonny and Cher\u2019s<\/strong> \u2018I Got You Babe\u2019. Never in a million years would I have imagined anyone, even a master like Etta James, taking a hippy-dippy pop confection and turning it into hard hitting proto-funk, but that\u2019s exactly what she did.<\/p>\n

Interestingly enough, both of the previously mentioned 45s had powerful ballads on the flip side.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019d Rather Go Blind\u2019 (the flip of \u2018Tell Mama\u2019) is widely regarded as one of James\u2019 finest recordings, and for good reason. It\u2019s one of those deep, bluesy soul ballads that sounds less like a performance than a late-night confession.<\/p>\n

\u2018I Worship the Ground You Walk On\u2019 (the flip of \u2018I Got You Babe\u2019) is cut from the same cloth, if a little less raw. It features a great change-up in the chorus as well.<\/p>\n

By the 1970s, James was still with Chess\/Cadet, but her sound was evolving. Her 1974 album \u2018Come a Little Closer\u2019 was reportedly recorded concurrent with a stint in rehab, and while her voice seems a touch deeper, dare I say smoother (though not to a fault), the power is still there. The track \u2018Out On the Street Again\u2019 is particularly interesting, with a a dark, smoky early-70s Motown feel (a la Norman Whitfield<\/strong>) feel to it.<\/p>\n

The latest track I bring you today comes from her 1976 LP \u201cEtta and Betta than Evah\u2019. Produced by none other than the great Mike Terry,<\/strong> the album definitely has a 70s feel to it (some era-appropriate synth\/clavinet action), but her cover of King Floyd\u2019s<\/strong> \u2018Groove Me\u2019 is classic, funky Etta.<\/p>\n

The album was her last for Chess, after which she moved to Warner Brothers.<\/p>\n

What she left behind after a decade and a half is a veritable mountain of high quality soul music.<\/p>\n

Despite her personal struggles, first with drugs and later with failing health Etta James remained an icon continuing to record and perform almost to the end, releasing her final album last year.<\/p>\n

What you need to do next \u2013 assuming you already haven\u2019t<\/em> \u2013 is get out there and start digging for some Etta James records. There are plenty of them, and aside from a couple of heavily sweated 45s, they shouldn\u2019t cost you all that much, and no matter what they cost, it\u2019s worth it to add so much musical gravitas to your crates.<\/p>\n

I hope you dig the sounds.<\/p>\n

See you later in the week.<\/p>\n

Peace<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>*Though I\u2019m not posting her 1961 hit \u2018At Last\u2019 it holds a very special place in my heart. It was the first song my wife and I danced to at our wedding.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, make sure that you check out the POAC link below (click on the logo). It’s a fantastic organization that provides services to our local autism community, with education and recreational events, and any contribution you could make would be greatly appreciated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"Example\"<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you want one of the new Funky16Corners stickers (free, of course) click here for info.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Check out the Funky16Corners Store at Cafe Press<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

PS Head over to Iron Leg too.<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miss Etta James Listen\/Download -Etta James – Something’s Got a Hold On Me Listen\/Download -Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto – In the Basement Pt1 Listen\/Download -Etta James – I’m So Glad Listen\/Download -Etta James – Tell Mama Listen\/Download -Etta James – I Got You Babe Listen\/Download -Etta James – I’d Rather Go Blind Listen\/Download […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[43,58,11,17,14,64,12,18],"tags":[171,163,166,164],"class_list":["post-2178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chicago-soul","category-cover-songs","category-funk","category-funk-45","category-funky16corners","category-rb","category-soul","category-soul-45","tag-chicago-soul","tag-funk","tag-funky16corners","tag-soul"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMKgo-z8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2178"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2357,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178\/revisions\/2357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/funky16corners.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}