On Etta James
The world truly lost something special with Etta James. We should all feel blessed to even have existed in the same universe as her. To me, this is more painful and heartbreaking than the death of Michael Jackson.
Certainly James’ life wasn’t taken from her as ungracefully as Jackson’s. She lived her life (almost) fully, and even up until her last show some 3+ months ago there she was, talking shit on Beyonce for singing her songs:
“You guys know your president, right? You know the one with the big ears?…Wait a minute, he ain’t my president. He might be yours; he ain’t my president. But I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song — she’s going to get her ass whipped.”
And is she incorrect? Beyonce might’ve been able to sing the Blues, but when I hear a recording of her singing James’ music, she definitely didn’t live it. The woman had every right to say that, particularly in this age when honesty seems unrealistic.
But that quote doesn’t make me love her, it’s this one from 1995:
“The bad girls had the look that I liked. I wanted to be rare, I wanted to be noticed … I wanted to be obvious as the most flamboyant hooker on the street. I just wanted to be.”
We all just want “to be,” and with the passing of Etta James we’re all reminded of who we really are. We may never have as much talent in our whole being as James did in her pinky finger, but we can always stay true to ourselves.
There simply aren’t enough superlatives for Etta James, her voice or the influence she had on Soul/Blues, and Pop music even right now in 2012 (I’m looking at you, Flo Rida). If the world happens to blow up this year according to Mayan prediction, no doubt at the very least will “At Last” survive and have some future, crazy monkey/fish/homosapien combination be blasting it at whatever a marriage’s first dance ceremony looks like in 2712.
But to me, she’s more than a wedding song like “At Last.” She had white-hot ferver on cuts like “Tough Lover.” She had the ability to take an Otis Redding song and own it like she wrote the goddamned thing and recorded it first. And it wasn’t just the voice, it was everything that came along with it. You didn’t accept Etta James at face value, you accepted the entire package wrapped in ribbon, lace and razor blades.
The world will simply never be able to replace Etta James. She wasn’t just a voice and a personality, she was everything all of us ever wanted and never realized.
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chrissiegee said:
While Beyonce has a gorgeous voice, she’s no Etta. You’re so right. Talent like hers just doesn’t happen every day.
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