Born Jamesetta Hawkins in January of 1938, Etta James started her career in 1954. She could sing in a variety of genres, and by the early 1960s when she launched her first albums her repertoire was built of blues, jazz, R&B, doo-wop, soul and rock’n’roll tunes, with her powerful,deep voice feeling at home in either of these styles. Etta James’ career expanded over six decades, and she kept active until her death in January of 2012.
This double LP compilation selects tracks from her early albums and 45s, and offers a glimpse to the immense talent of this legendary artist. From fabulous vocal jazz tunes like Stormy Weather or Palm Nuts to classics of the blues like Howlin’ Wolf’s Spoonful or Muddy Waters’ I Just Want To Make Love To You (James’ version became very popular when used in a very famous Coca-Cola TV commercial); from delightful ballads like At Last to dance-floor fillers like Seven Day Fool (an extremely popular tune in the Northern Soul scene), here is an excellent selection of songs that set Etta James as a very big name in Afro-American music already at this early stage of her career.
(Shellac Disc ‎– SHELL019)