Jamesetta Hawkins was born in Los Angeles on January 25, 1938. Her mother was unmarried and 14 years old when Etta was born. Although the name of Etta’s father has never been confirmed, rumor has it that her father was Minnesota Fats, the legendary pool player. Due to her mother’s lifestyle Etta was put in the care of Lulu Rogers until Etta was about 12.
Etta started singing at a young age; at five she was singing solos in her church choir. Upon the death of her caregiver, Etta moved back to living with her mother which caused Etta great unhappiness and she sought solace in her music. The singing group she formed, the Creolettes, was discovered by music promoter Johnny Otis when Etta was 14. He was the one who changed her name reversing it from Jamesetta to Etta James. He also changed the name of the Creolettes to the Peaches.
In 1955, Etta made her first recording; it ended up in the top ten on the R&B charts. She spent the next several years traveling the country with the current music stars of the day: Little Richard, Bo Diddley, and Clifton Chenier. She started recording for Chess Records during the early 1960s and quickly made a name for herself. Unfortunately, her touring days left her addicted to heroin and drawn toward abusive men. After her drug habit caused her to turn to forging prescriptions, writing bad checks, and theft, she finally entered a drug rehabilitation program rather than go to jail. She continued to record albums during her rehabilitation. Unfortunately, she resumed her drug use shortly after leaving rehabilitation. She spent the 1970s and the early 1980s performing at blues and jazz festivals and small clubs. At age 50 she re-entered rehab; this time it worked.
Her career suddenly skyrocketed in the mid-1980s as the white audience began to listen to her music. In 1993, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and she won her first Grammy in 1995. In 2001 she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Fighting a weight problem that threatened her health, she got gastric bypass surgery in 2002 and lost about 200 pounds. Somehow the surgery not only resolved her weight problem it also affected her voice. In an interview with Ebony she claimed she could sing “lower, higher, and louder.” She resumed touring and recording albums. During 2003 she received a lifetime achievement Grammy and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
Web Sites
Catalog
Search the library's catalog for Etta James.
Databases
Enter Etta James in these databases:
**Survey: Provide Feedback About the Web Site, Including This Page**