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Etta James, RIP

ETTA JAMES, the great R&B and jazz singer, died today in Riverside, CA after a long struggle with leukemia, hepatitis C and dementia. She was 73. James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938 in Los Angeles. After moving to San Francisco in 1950, she formed a doo-wop trio and shortly thereafter was discovered by bandleader/producer Johnny Otis, who, ironically, died just this Tuesday. In 1955, as a member of the Peaches, she had a top R&B hit with “Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry),” Otis’s answer song to Hank Ballard’s “Work with Me, Annie.” A year later, she toured with Little Richard and after that with Johnny “Guitar” Watson. James recorded her landmark ’61 album At Last! for Chess Records, where she spent the greater part of her career. In addition to the classic title ballad, the LP also included jazz ballads (“Stormy Weather,” “Sunday Kind of Love”) and blues (Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want to Make Love to You”). In ’68, she had scored again with “I’d Rather Go Blind,” subsequently covered by Rod Stewart. Though she reportedly kicked heroin in the mid ’70s, James continued to battle with her demons for much of the remainder of her life. Her autobiography Rage to Survive was published in 2003, and Beyoncé played her in the 2008 film Cadillac Records. James is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with the Blues and Grammy halls of fame. (1/20a)

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