Her first hit singles with Fuqua were "If I Can't Have You" and "Spoonful". Our Mission But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. These sessions yielded her comeback hit "Tell Mama", co-written by Clarence Carter, which reached number ten on the R&B chart and number twenty-three for pop. The story of the early days of Chess Records was brought to the big screen as Cadillac Records in 2008, with singer Beyonc Knowles playing James in the film. [22] The album included the future classics "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "A Sunday Kind of Love". Her records continued to chart in the R&B Top 40 in the early 1970s, with singles such as "Losers Weepers" (1970) and "I Found a Love" (1972). Glad you enjoyed it! The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". When Leonard Chessthe founder of James's label, Chess Recordsfirst heard the song, James says, "he got up and left the room 'cause he started crying When he came back in the room, he. Violence andsubstance abuse were now constants in James's life and she would maintain a difficult, combative relationship with her mother across many decades. The alterations are distracting and head-scratching and ultimately dismissive, to the point where Wright's Muddy Waters is reduced to a mere spectator in his own story, just some guy who hangs around the Chess studios to glower at Howlin' Wolf and panhandle Chess for money. Record Producer, Music Executive. The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. After leaving jail in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1969, she met and married Artis Mills. In 1952, she met musician Johnny Otis who helped the band sign to Modern Records and changing their name to the Peaches and gave the singer her stage name reversing Jamesetta into Etta James. As the 1960s progressed, Chess's recording enterprise branched out into other genres including gospel, traditional jazz, spoken word, comedy, and more. On October 16, 1969, a few months after selling his namesake label to General Recorded Tape, Leonard Chess died of a heart attack. So it is. 2023 Madavor Media, LLC. He said Id gotten all my moral values from Mama Lu, but I never knew a normal life.And then when Mama Lu died and Dorothy snatched me away, everything went haywire., While there was a number of other omissions such as the exclusion of Leonard Chesss brother, co-founder and partner Phil Chess, the question still stands, why were these truths never told? While James was on tour with Richard, pop singer Georgia Gibbs recorded a version of her song and released it under the again-altered title "Dance With Me, Henry." In 1989, she signed with Island Records and with them released the albums Seven Year Itch and Stickin' to My Guns, both of which were produced by Barry Beckett and recorded at FAME Studios. [42] The following year, 1990, she received an NAACP Image Award, which is given for "outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts;"[66] it was an award she cherished as it "was coming from my own people". and help keep the future of the Observer, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, Dallas Observer's The Morning After Brunch. After a period of isolation, she returned to recording in 1967 and reemerged with more gutsy R&B numbers thanks to her recording at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They quickly went to Chicago to join their father, Joseph, who was already engaged in the liquor business, which was illegal at the height of Prohibition and controlled in Chicago by Al Capone. After an excerpt of that song was featured in a Diet Coke advertising campaign in the UK, the song again charted, reaching the top ten on the UK charts in 1996.[16]. Fortunately, the best of those early recordings, all for Modern Records, have now been assembled in a single-disc collection. Etta James, who has died at the age of of 73, had a rich, contralto voice that breathed life into a host of musical genres, from blues to jazz, R&B to soul. Though this song has made a musical impact with its torturous cry of love lost, the first tears that fell for this song privately were truly that of Leonard Chess, head of her recording label, Chess Records in his intial hearing of the song. Her husband Artis Mills accepted responsibility when they were both arrested for heroin possession, and served a 10-year prison sentence. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. In April 2009, at the age of 71, James made her final television appearance, performing "At Last" on the program Dancing with the Stars. In 1941, he married Revetta Sloan, who was also Jewish; they had three children: son Marshall and two daughters, Elaine and Susie[9]. He was so impressed with James's voice and her songwriting skills that he offered to take her to Los Angeles the following day to record Roll With Me Henry. Jamessang with unmatched emotional hunger and a pain that can chill the listener. I will make certain to bookmark your blog and will often come back [5] The family name was changed to Chess, with Lejzor becoming Leonard and Fiszel becoming Philip. Just clear tips and lifehacks for every day, For instance, while the film plays heavily on a romantic relationship with Chess Records head, Leonard Chess, this information was never once mentioned in Ettas autobiography. If youd like to share your comments about Etta James, or have suggestions for future installments of Hearing Voices, please email [emailprotected]. Indeed, hurt, anger and self-destructive behaviour boiled beneath the surface of her vocals. [9], 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. Paul Baptist Church in South-Central Los Angeles. Dueting with Harvey Fuqua, James recorded for Argo Records (later renamed Cadet Records), a label established by Chess. While Hollywood may try their best, her story is more brilliant and compelling than any writer could create. He took her to Sheffield, Alabama, to record at FAME Studios. Early life [18] In early 1955, she and an aspiring singer, the 19-year-old Elvis Presley, then recording for Sun Studios and an avid fan of King's, shared a bill in a large club just outside Memphis. First, a key spoiler: Cadillac Records is not the story of Chess Records, the blues label started in Chicago in 1950 by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess that featured among its stable of artists Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Etta James, plus many others who birthed rock 'n' roll. In early 1961, James released what was to become her signature song, "At Last", a Glenn Miller tune, which reached number two on the R&B chart and number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. down the road. It never happened. He even asked James, a longtime friend, and she told him, He kissed me on the cheek once.. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Although her father has never been identified,[9] James speculated that she was the daughter of pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, whom she met briefly in 1987. Poetic license accounts . Since 1989 (notably rather late in her career, after nearly thirty years of prior recording), James has received over 30 awards and recognitions from eight different organizations, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum[64] and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences which organizes the Grammys.[65]. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Thank you for saying what I have been thinking for years. [10] 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. Hail! Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Leonard Chess (March 12, 1917 - October 16, 1969) was an American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. It was not until the early 1990s, when she began receiving major industry awards from the Grammys and the Blues Foundation, that she received wide recognition. Fabrications in the name of movie myth-making are, of course, to be expected from a genre that demands condensing lives into a handful of Defining Episodes; all biopics reduce and trivialize. Having finally conquered her drug addiction in 1988, she began to struggle with her weight in 2002, weighing more than 400lb, she had gastric bypass surgery and lost 200lb, which allowed her to return to active singing and performing. Hines abused James while she was under his tutelage; he often punched her in the chest while she sang to force her voice to come from her gut. Adrien Brody portrays Leonard Chess, left, and Jeffrey Wright portrays Muddy Waters in a scene from "Cadillac Records." (Courtesy of Sony TriStar) "Cadillac Records" is a story . Leonard Chess set new standards for the industry in artist development, deal making, networking, and marketing and promotion"[12] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, posthumously, in the non-performer category.[13]. Submit Music [19] After signing with Chess Records in 1960, James broke through as a traditional pop-styled singer, covering jazz and pop music standards on her debut album, At Last! In 1941, he married Revetta Sloan who was also Jewish; they had three children: son Marshall, daughter Pam, and another son Kevin. In 2010, James received treatment for a dependency on painkillers. In February 1955, the song reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart. What characteristics allow plants to survive in the desert? [19] After a couple of years of minor hits, James's career started to suffer after 1965. All rights reserved, Cadillac Records: The "UNTRUE" Story of Etta James, Kashif Presents: The History of R&B music, Morris Day and Sheila E. Bring the Funk to Kiss 104.1 Flashback Festival, Jazz 91.9 WCLK Presents Patti LaBelle with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for 45th Anniversary Benefit Concert, #SoulfulSaturday : How Deep Is Your Love PJ Morton Feat. Her funeral was presided over by the Reverend Al Sharpton and took place in Gardena, California eight days after her death. But as early as 1954, James was, under the guidance of Johnny Otis, pivotal among the artists erecting musical signposts for Elvis, Jerry Lee and others who would follow. The label's many talents included Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, Gene Ammons, Jimmy Rogers,. Etta James (Jamesetta Mills), singer, born 25 January 1938; died 20 January 2012, Blues and soul singer with a raw, emotional vocal style, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Chess was the focus of 2008 movies Cadillac Records (portrayed by Adrien Brody) and Who Do You Love? As Etta so candidly stated to the New York Posts Page Six in 2007, she is going to have a hill to climb, because Etta James aint been no angel!. James believed that King's hit single "Sweet Sixteen" was about her. On his release in 1981, the couple reunited.