In 1978, Etta James was an opening act for the Rolling Stones.
Matriarch of the Blues was a December 2000 recording. Although she is well past her prime, it's still there.
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At Last. Her signature hit.
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Note: See the OS Cover Story for more. By Chicago Guy, no less!
And an excellent Obit in the New Yorker.
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For a Chicago perspective, see Dave Hoekstra in the Sun Times.
Interesting nugget:
"Marshall Chess, son of Chess co-founder Leonard Chess was fascinated with Mrs. James cigarette burn tattoos. “Etta was the queen at Chess,” Marshall Chess said Friday from New York. “It was apparent from day one in 1959 when she walked in as a young woman with a whole entourage following behind her, like a scene in a Fellini film. "
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asia rein
Chicago Guy
CatholicGirl
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Comments
I'm just posting a couple of songs.
I'd Rather Go Blind!
I picked "I'd Rather Go Blind" for my spare blog page travelight to use here on OS and was really surprised and happy they featured it.
Great call on "Miss You" She was so good that being past your prime didn't even matter! No small trick.
i feel like a damn fool for admitting this,
after listening to that version of miss u.
so: a whole new world of music is opened unto me,
cuz she died and now i know who she was/is
Yea.
I don't have any original thoughts on this. But, the music speaks for itself.
And I'd rather go blind is a classic.
Didn't know you had an alter ego.
If I had known, I woulda read the cover story. For once they got it right.
Indeed. She was one of a kind.
This selection made more sense to me after I learned that she was on opening act for the Rolling Stones.
Miss you was a US #1 billboard hit in 1978 - the year Etta was an opening act.
Confession:
She had disappeared from my consciousness by 2000.
However, the cover of Miss You showed up in a Hear You mix CD from 2001.
At the time, I was doing a decent amount of commuting. And it was before the IPod was ubiquitous.
So.
I used to just buy these mix CD for my car.
But. The point of this is that the popularity of the 2000 CD - Matriarch - served to introduce her to a new generation of listeners. And remind some old ones.
Johnny Otis died the same night.. too
(see alsoknownas)
R♥
She will be greatly missed.
HUGGGGGGGGGGG
♥║╔═╗║║║║║║╔══╣╔══╣╔╗╔╗║♥
♥║╚══╣║║║║║╚══╣╚══╬╝║║╚╝♥
♥╚══╗║╚╝╚╝║╔══╣╔══╝─║║
♥║╚═╝╠╗╔╗╔╣╚══╣╚══╗─║║
♥╚═══╝╚╝╚╝╚═══╩═══╝─╚for having your heart in the right place..