Etta James was born on this day.
She grew up rough. Real rough. It’s a terrible story of near-constant abuse and neglect. She was in the foster care system, she never knew her dad. She had an early gift for singing, which she trained and cultivated. She was a very small woman with a GIGANTIC voice. One of the great voices of rock ‘n roll. You get glimpses of her in other people’s biographies and memoirs and you always want to know more. You can feel the roughness of her upbringing in her singing: every single note is filled with ALL of her. It’s why she blows the roof off.
She was discovered by Johnny Otis – who discovered so many people he’s one of the BTS people who really should be credited with “creating” rock ‘n roll. She was still a teenager but she had a world of experience and he searched around for the right material for her. The solution was a song called “Wallflower” – at least, that’s the official title but the TRUE title is “Roll With Me Henry.”
It was a hit and went to #1 on the R&B charts, and then was covered – and cleaned up – by Georgia Gibbs, whose version – called “Dance With Me Henry” – because “roll” was FAR too sexually suggestive – was an exact copy of James’ version, except whitened beyond recognition. This was a “thing” at the time, of course (Pat Boone’s “Tutti Frutti” is probably the most egregious example) but Georgia Gibbs was a repeat offender. LaVern Baker was the one who called out Gibbs, to such a degree the practice was, if not stopped, then definitely discouraged. Humorously, Etta James then covered Gibbs’ “Dance With Me Henry”. She had a “fuck it and fuck you” attitude about it. Fine, you copy my shit and have a hit? Well I’ll copy your copy, and I’ll make it BETTER and make some money, which she did.
Etta James was a “player” in late 1950s r&b, but not a central figure. Her songs hit the charts from time to time, but it was an era of such great change and flux it was difficult for anyone to remain on the top, since the top kept shifting around. But she kept doing her thing. Then she signed with Chess. In 1960, she recorded my favorite (or maybe my second favorite, if I had to choose) track of hers, a sexy-as-fuck duet with Harvey Fuqua, called “Spoonful”.
Her voice is all growl and rasp, and there’s an ache behind it, she’s filled with yearning and feeling, and yet the sound – when it came out – was raspy. Rasp is often sexual, and it was with her as well – it clearly is in “Spoonful” – but I think it’s the sense of the ACHE which puts her over the edge into one of the great vocalists of the 20th century. The “rasp” can be a choice. Singers can use it as part of their toolbox. For James, it was how she made sound. It was how she poured feeling into her sound. Some singers use it sparingly, a smart choice. James didn’t. Also a smart choice. She found unbelievable variety, and could twist and manipulate the rasp, up and down the scale. I am not a musician so I don’t even know if I’m using the right terms. Her voice was made for rock ‘n roll.
Like “Something’s Got a Hold Of Me:
She’s one of the greatest blues singers of all time.
As I said earlier, I don’t really like choosing a favorite this or that, especially not with an artist I love like Etta James. But I will just call out her extraordinary vocal performance on “All I Could Do Was Cry”, sung from the perspective of a woman watching the man she loves marry someone else.
It’s a sad story, but sad like a country song is sad. The song is great, but it’s almost irrelevant in the face of what Etta James DOES with it. The variety she finds in sound, the way she keeps coming back to the same phrases, while deepening them … and also, just the overall operatic EMOTION she pours into it. The sounds she makes are amazing but why you FEEL it is how she expresses what she’s feeling. It’s so authentic. Authenticity like that is unmistakable and you must stop and listen.
Beyond all that, though: listen to the song. Forget the lyrics. Forget even the song. Just listen to what she is DOING. It’s unbeLIEVable.
Thank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a link to my Venmo account. And I’ve launched a Substack, Sheila Variations 2.0, if you’d like to subscribe.
