Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), better known as Etta James, was an American singer who sang gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul.

Beginning her career in 1954, she rose to fame with hits such as “The Wallflower”, “At Last”, “Tell Mama”, “Something’s Got a Hold on Me”, and “I’d Rather Go Blind”. She struggled with a variety of personal issues, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse, and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch.

James recorded with Harvey Fuqua for Argo Records (later renamed Cadet Records), a label founded by Chess. “If I Can’t Have You” and “Spoonful” were her first hit singles with Fuqua. Her first solo hit was the number two R&B hit “All I Could Do Was Cry,” a doo-wop-styled rhythm-and-blues song. [19] Leonard Chess, co-founder of Chess Records, saw James as a classic ballad stylist with crossover potential, and soon surrounded the singer with violins and other string instruments.  “My Dearest Darling,” James’ first string-laden ballad, peaked in the top five of the R&B chart in May 1960. James provided background vocals on Chuck Berry’s “Back in the U.S.A.”

Etta James’s husband and children

James and Artis Mills were married from 1969 until her death in 2012.

Donto James and Sametto James, born to different fathers, were James’ two sons. Donto played drums in Montreux in 1993, and Sametto played bass guitar around 2003, among other performances and tours.

Etta James’s siblings and parent

Dorothy Hawkins, who was 14 at the time, gave birth to James in Los Angeles, California. Despite the fact that her father has never been identified, James speculated that she was the daughter of pool player Rudolf “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone, whom she briefly met in 1987. Her mother was frequently absent from their Watts apartment, having affairs with various men, and James was raised by a series of foster parents, most notably “Sarge” and “Mama” Lu. Her mother was dubbed “the Mystery Lady” by James.

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