Etta James wybitna wokalista amerykańska nie żyje

Etta James urodziła się w 1938 roku w Los Angeles, kiedy jej matka miała lat 14. W 1998 r. ukazała sie jej książka ”Rage to Survive”. W obrazowy sposób opisuje w niej środowisko artystyczne, ich problemy. Kawał znakomitego dokumentu tamtych czasów.

From Publishers Weekly:

Born to a 14-year-old mother and raised by surrogate parents, blues and R&B star James started singing gospel in church at five, was discovered at 14 and had a rapid rise to fame. Nevertheless, her story is a disturbing saga of drug addiction, jail sentences for writing bad checks and stealing prescription drugs, involvements with the wrong men and anger at a disruptive and unstable mother who has refused to reveal who her daughter's father is. It's easy to see why James says she has been "raging through life." She claims it's the rage that keeps her going. Now, at the age of 56, she reports she has kicked the drug habit, reached an understanding with her mother and settled down with her husband and children, letting off steam by dirt biking. Ritz, who has written biographies of Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson, spent two years traveling with James and listening to her talk about her life. Here he captures the craziness and the pain.

Śpiewała bardzo szeroki zakres gatunków muzyki, jak:blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul,gospel and jazz. Zdobyła aż six Grammys i 17 Blues Music Awards.

She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone ranked James number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists.