Within a couple of years, she began listening to doo-wop and was inspired to form a girl group, the Creolettes (because of the members' light-skinned complexions).Īt the age of 14, she met the musician Johnny Otis. In 1950, Mama Lu died, and James's biological mother took her to the Fillmore district of San Francisco. The trauma of her foster father forcing her to sing under these humiliating circumstances caused her to have difficulties with singing on demand throughout her career. She was a bed-wetter and often soaked with urine on these occasions. During drunken poker games at home, he would awaken Jamesetta in the early morning hours and force her with beatings to sing for his friends. Sarge, like the musical director for the choir, was also abusive. She became a popular singing attraction, and Sarge tried unsuccessfully to pressure the church into compensating their family for her singing. As a consequence, she developed an unusually strong voice for a child her age. Under his tutelage, she suffered physical abuse during her formative years, with her instructor often punching her in the chest while she sang to force her voice to come from her gut. Paul Baptist Church, in south-central Los Angeles. James received her first professional vocal training at the age of five from James Earle Hines, musical director of the Echoes of Eden choir at the St. James referred to her mother as "the Mystery Lady". Her mother was frequently absent from their apartment in Watts, conducting relationships with various men, and James lived with a series of foster parents, most notably "Sarge" and "Mama" Lu. James speculated that she was the daughter of pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, whom she met briefly in 1987. Hawkins was born on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, to Dorothy Hawkins, who was 14 at the time. Life and career 1938–1959: Childhood and career beginnings Rolling Stone magazine ranked James number 22 on its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time she was also ranked number 62 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, but was removed from that list in the 2011 "Special Collector's Edition" update. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. She won six Grammy Awards and 17 Blues Music Awards. James's powerful, deep, earthy voice bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll. She faced a number of personal problems, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse, and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind". Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins Janu– January 20, 2012) was an American singer who performed in various genres, including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel.
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