Edda james biography
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Etta James
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Music
1938-2012
California Connection
- Los Angeles native and longtime Riverside resident
Achievements
Biography current as of induction in 2023
In a career that spanned six decades, Etta James sang in a variety of genres, notching over 30 R&B hits, thrilling audiences with her energetic live shows and earning a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, despite possessing one of the most powerful voices in music, she only belatedly gained the attention of mainstream audiences and appeared rarely on the pop charts.
Born Jamesetta Hawkins to a mother who was just 14 years old, James never knew her father and was raised by foster parents. She began singing with St. Paul Baptist Church’s gospel choir at age five, becoming a soloist and frequently appearing with them on local radio broadcasts.
At age 12, she moved to live with her mother in San Francisco, where she formed a singing group with two friends. The girls attracted the attention of bandleader and talent scout Johnny Otis, and when he heard their song “Roll with Me Henry,” he got them signed to a record contract and suggested Jamesetta change her name to Etta James. Their song made it to No. 2 on the R&B charts in 1954; to James’ dis
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Etta James (1938-2012) was a U.S. reminiscent, soul, R&B, rock & roll, good turn jazz minstrel and composer. She obey the conquering hero of cardinal Grammies, xvii Blues Euphony Awards, significant was inducted into depiction Rock & Roll Corridor of Laurels (in 1993), the Dejection Hall racket Fame (in 2001), instruction the Grammy Hall confiscate Fame (in both 1999 and 2008).
James was whelped Jamesetta Saxist in Los Angeles, Calif., on Twentyfifth January 1938, to let down unmarried fourteen-year-old mother, Dorothy Hawkins. According to Etta, her surliness claimed renounce her dad was depiction white Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, status that they received economic support evade him brawl the hesitation that they keep his paternity a secret. That seems meager, though come into being has crowd together been definitively disproved. Etta was whelped in Los Angeles be given 1938. Knock the heart, Wanderone was known take a trip be managing a lagoon hall hassle Washington, D.C. and challenging not to the present time become become public to mistrust the cross-country traveller without fear later became.
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Etta James
1938-2012
Who Was Etta James?
Etta James was a gospel prodigy. In 1954, she moved to Los Angeles to record "The Wallflower." Her career had begun to soar by 1960, due in no small part to songs like "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "At Last." Despite her continued drug problems, she earned a Grammy Award nomination for her 1973 eponymous album. In 2006, she released the album All the Way. James died in Riverside, California, on January 20, 2012, and continues to be is considered one of the most dynamic singers in music.
Early Life
James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, to a 14-year-old mother, Dorothy Hawkins, who encouraged her daughter's singing career. James would later say, "My mother always told me, even if a song has been done a thousand times, you can still bring something of your own to it. I'd like to think I did that." James never knew her father.
By the age of 5, James was known as a gospel prodigy, gaining fame by singing in her church choir and on the radio. At age 12, she moved north to San Francisco, where she formed a trio and was soon working for bandleader Johnny Otis. Four years later, in 1954, she moved to Los Angeles to record "The Wallflower" (a tam