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Friday, January 20, 2012

Death Etta James, Dead at 73

Posted by Cienna Madrid on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 10:10 AM

Celebrated singer Etta James died this morning at Riverside Community Hospital from complications of leukemia. Here's how the NYTimes remembers her:

Ms. James was not easy to pigeonhole. She is most often referred to as a rhythm and blues singer, and that is how she made her name in the 1950s with records like “Good Rockin’ Daddy.” She is in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame.

She was also comfortable, and convincing, singing pop standards, as she did in 1961 with “At Last,” which was written in 1941 and originally recorded by Glenn Miller’s orchestra. And among her four Grammy Awards (including a lifetime-achievement honor in 2003) was one for best jazz vocal performance, which she won in 1995 for the album “Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday.”

Regardless of how she was categorized, she was admired. Expressing a common sentiment, Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote in 1990 that she had “one of the great voices in American popular music, with a huge range, a multiplicity of tones and vast reserves of volume.”

I loved her voice but what I'll really miss is her eyebrows.

Comments (4) RSS

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I'll really miss her voice. Loved Etta James.

Posted by biffp on January 20, 2012 at 10:31 AM

It is a National Day of Mourning for all of America.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on January 20, 2012 at 11:02 AM

She really was amazing, even on her most recent CDs that voice just gives you chills.

Posted by very bad homo on January 20, 2012 at 11:03 AM

I remember the first time I heard Etta James. It was on a cassette tape driving over the pass on Hwy. 2 from Wenatchee to Seattle in the 1990s. It was (of course) "At Last." When she sang the words "you smile" over and over, I just about lost it. (I was also in love at the time.) Must say, that's how one should hear Etta James for the first time. Gonna miss that voice.

Posted by ron_in_PDX on January 20, 2012 at 12:30 PM