another musical great is gone

[helliott]

Singer Etta James dies

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Etta James’ manager says the singer has died in California.

Lupe De Leon tells The Associated Press the blues singer died early Friday at a hospital.

De Leon says the cause of death is complications of leukemia.

James enduring hits include “At Last” and “Tell Mama.”

The Canadian Press

[Tig]

Wow, what a loss. An incredible woman and singer. I can't even come up with words worthy to describe of her talent.

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[R_of_G]

Quite simply, the greatest soul singer that ever lived. Her passing wasn't unexpected given her recent health issues, but it's nonetheless saddening.

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[Katastrophe]

RIP, Etta. Thank you for your contributions to music!

[Tig]

Behind The Lyrics, "I'd Rather Go Blind"

After a number of albums produced by one or both of the Chess brothers, in the late summer of 1967, James went to Muscle Shoals, Alabama’s FAME Studios for an album produced by the studio’s owner Rick Hall. The album, Tell Mama, produced one of her best songs, “I’d Rather Go Blind.”

James told the story behind the song in her autobiography, Rage To Survive (http://www.amazon.com/Rage-Survive-Etta-James-Story/dp/0306812622), a candid drug chronicle populated by junkies, dealers, and tales of trying to score (reminiscent of Keith Richard’s Life).

The song was actually a co-write between James and a Detroit-based singer and songwriter named Ellington Jordan, who usually went by the nickname Fugi (sometimes alternately spelled Fuji), who was in prison. According to the book, James gave her co-writing portion to her partner at the time, Billy Foster, a member of the ‘50s Los Angeles doo-wop group The Medallions, for tax purposes. (“It bugs me to this day that he still receives royalties,” James wrote.)

While Fugi poured his grief from being incarcerated into the song—he told an interviewer (http://allhiphop.com/2006/02/06/ellington-jordan-true-meaning/) in 2006, “I got tired of losing and being down. I was in prison and didn’t know when I was going to get out. I sat in a piano room and began to write”—for James, the song was about being blind in her “love life” and her “personal ways,” she wrote.

For many listeners, the two and half minutes of “I’d Rather Go Blind”–James’ heartfelt performance, the subtle tremolo-picked electric guitar, hovering organ, and swaying horn lines—conveyed so much of the emotion the singer must have been feeling. When Leonard Chess heard the song for the first time, he had to leave the room, crying.

The complete article: http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/01/etta-james-id-rather-go-blind/

[R_of_G]

Great article. Thanks Tig!

The tremolo guitar in that song was a huge early influence on my tone addiction. I had the tone perfect the other night when I played it. The playing was less than perfect, but pretty good in some places. It's definitely a good one to work on to get that slow burning soul feel you can only get from a good FAME or Stax record.