Etta James died on Friday, January 20, from various health complications, five days shy of her 74th birthday. James’ full-bodied R&B sound was one of Chess Records’ enduring legacies.
You couldn’t have written a book as leather-tough as Etta James’ life. Born Jamesetta Hawkins to an unwed teen mother in Los Angeles in 1938, Etta James always lived her life on her own terms with career ups and downs that included drug addiction, jail time, rotten relationships, and the kind of vocal delivery on songs that today’s singers can’t touch: “At Last,” “Tell Mama,” and “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Etta James played Austin numerous times over the years, most often at Antone’s.
This article appears in January 20 • 2012.