Etta James
Source: Web (foxnews.com)
Arts & Music • Historical Archive • 🇺🇸 United States • 8 views

Etta James 🇺🇸

Jamesetta Hawkins
Singer, R&B Pioneer, At Last Diva, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer
Born Jan 25, 1938 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, United States
Passed Away Jan 20, 2012 Riverside, United States
Lifespan 73 years old
8 views
Notice / Correction
"You can't fake this music. You have to have lived it, suffered it, and let it bleed through your throat."

Archival Overview

Powerhouse American blues, R&B, rock and soul vocalist whose magnificent, emotionally raw delivery on At Last, Tell Mama, and I'd Rather Go Blind cemented her as one of America's greatest singers.

Biographical Record

Jamesetta Hawkins was a gospel child prodigy in Los Angeles, discovered at age fourteen by Johnny Otis. Signing with Chicago's legendary Chess Records in 1960, she effortlessly bridged the worlds of rhythm and blues, jazz, rock, and soul.

In 1961, James released her signature orchestral ballad 'At Last', which became an enduring American romantic standard. Her gritty, passionate voice and resilience across decades of personal struggle inspired generations of vocalists from Janis Joplin to Beyoncé. A six-time Grammy Award winner, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Key Life Milestones

1961

At Last

Recorded the immortal orchestral soul ballad that entered the Grammy Hall of Fame as an American classic.

1993

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee

Enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, celebrating four decades of boundary-breaking blues and soul music.

Memorial Guestbook & Tributes

0 messages recorded

Leave a Respectful Tribute

No tributes recorded yet. Be the first to leave a message in honor of Etta James.

Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Inglewood Park Cemetery
Inglewood, United States
GPS: 33.9686, -118.3444
View on Memory Atlas
Archival Standards PastLegacies adheres to strict neutral biographical guidelines and legal standards of remembrance. Next-of-kin may request modifications or removal at any time via our expedited process.