Beyonce Sings Etta James? Maybe. Etta James Singing Etta James? Now We're Talking Immortal.
It is an unequivocal Good Thing that someone has made a movie -- Cadillac Records -- about the down-and-dirty Chicago music that began as blues and morphed into rock. Not enough of us know about Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Otis Spann and Little Walter. The early days of Chuck Berry are far too obscure.
Beyonce singing "At Last" and "I'd Rather Go Blind"?
Whatever your opinion of that star turn, I'm still beating a drum for the idea of the film -- Etta James should be at least as well known as Aretha Franklin.
As a singer, Etta James has more range than Montana. She began her career with heartbreaking ballads. She moved on to nasty and guttural. But in every period, her songs address the only topic worth caring about: love and loneliness. And on those topics, she had all the necessaries -- she was "born to sing the blues."
She was christened Jamesetta Hawkins by a mother who was 14 and completely uninterested in the parenting grind. She never knew who her father was (although, decades later, she was semi-reliably informed he was Minnesota Fats, the legendary pool hustler).
Her childhood, she said, was like a series of one-night stands; she was passed from relative to relative. At five, she joined a gospel choir in Los Angeles -- and was soon proclaimed a prodigy. At 15, she and two friends formed a vocal trio. They got noticed -- their recording of "Roll With Me, Henry" (a title so sexy it had to be renamed: "The Wallflower") went to #2 on the R&B charts. Etta was, at 16, touring with Little Richard.
It took her only a few more years to get to Chess Records, the Chicago-based label that knew how to get hits for blues musicians. At 22, Etta had a big voice -- and a big, brassy personality. And she had History; she'd been a professional musician for six years, she'd been around.
Leonard Chess liked "triangle" songs, and he found a great one for Etta's Chess debut: "All I Could Do Was Cry." The set-up: Etta watching her lover marry another woman. The refrain: "I was losing the man that I loved, and all I could do was cry." Etta needed only one take. When she was finished, she was crying -- and so were some of the engineers.
Success can be harder than failure, especially for musicians on endless tours. Etta used her money and her down time to take drugs. "Some people can't work high, but I can," she boasted. "I may be one of those singers who has enough power to overcome the fog and filters of drugs." She couldn't overcome the cost of drugs, however; she was arrested for writing bad checks. But she kept pumping out the hits: "I'd Rather Go Blind" and "Tell Mama." After a few lost years, Etta re-connected with Chess Records. By 1978, she was the opening act for the Rolling Stones.
I own most of the Etta James catalogue. I return to it often, for a woman who has lived this hard -- who loved and lost and paid the price for everything she got and a lot she didn't -- oozes the kind of wisdom you don't find in books. One title says it all: "If I Had Any Pride Left At All." Been there, felt that? Then she's inside your head, your heart -- hell, your arteries.
That's the thing about Etta: She has total credibility. She's lived the blues, and you'd best believe she's going to tell you about them, and in the bluntest (and thus, most poetic) way possible. (If you have ever seen Etta live, you know that she is, even in her dotage, a great deal raunchier than the new kids).
"The blues is my business, and business is good," she sings, and that's true of most the CDs she has released since 1989. I prefer these to the early, Chess hits; the production is cleaner, the songs are less pop. If you're making the complete tour, start with Tell Mama or The Definitive Collection, then skip ahead to Love's Been Rough on Me, Life, Love and the Blues or Seven Year Itch.
These later CDs are marinated in jealousy, anger, revenge ("feel like breakin' up somebody's home"), lust -- this is Shakespearean stuff. The band rocks. Etta kills.
So lower the lights. Stop all conversation. This is an Immortal.
Cross-posted from HeadButler.com
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You can find lots of quibbles with Cadillac Records-What happened to Phil Chess?, Little Walter didn't die at Muddy's house, "I'd rather Go Blind" was cut at Muscle Shoals, etc.-but it's enjoyable and they made the effort to get the music right. Beyonce is a bit sweet to play Etta but without her the movie doesn't get made so there it is. The picture of Muddy is great right down to his performing mannerisms and they nail Howling Wolf's character. And the paternalism at the heart of all the record company dealings is openly described.
I liked it and I 've been a recording engineer for 40 years after a career as a blues and R&B road manager in the 60s.
Phil Brown
i am a huge fan of Etta James, i went to a concert this past year at BBKing in NYC and when she was asked about how she felt about Beyonce playing her - she replied that she would prefer Christina Aguilar -
Well i went to see the movie and while Beyonce can sing - she does not have the range that Etta has, enjoyed the movie - but disappointed in Beyone as Etta......
I'll withhold judgment on Beyonce playing Etta James, but let's face it, she's almost bound to disappoint. But thanks for the great tribute to Etta. Her inimitable rendition of "At Last" is my favorite love song.
No one sings of love lost like Etta James. She paints the picture of loss and loneliness as well as hope. I love her songs. They are simply deep.
During my "discover the Blues" period I wanted her CD set and was very happy to receive one. Aretha Franklin can sing, but Etta James is on another level entirely. She owns it period!
The author was kind of smart enough to avoid making a direct comparison--for so many reasons.
Yes, Aretha Franklin can sing, and she is her own level, alone. Aretha follows Etta into the pantheon and has been respectful enough not to cover Etta James. They have more in common than they do not.
It is not for fan's of music or Etta efforts that she is not more widely known, it could be a mystery, but
the author's pointing out that a bunch of other artist's not being known is no mystery. Were they known, some who claim to have invented rock and roll would have to finally admit otherwise.
If you want to know the real and raw story of Etta James i suggest you run and get her autobiography "Rage to Survive". As musical autobiographies go, it is one of if not the best out there--Etta is a str8 shooter and a no-BS'er. SHe names names & and tells it like it is. You will laugh & cry reading this book. I am a Beyounce fan but I, like Etta James herself said, am not impressed with their choice. If we're gonna go young & hot--someone like Keyshia Cole wouldve been a more realistic choice. I'm a little tired of casting choices being all about simply getting the picture made and not about putting together a good movie.
I have to agree totally with your call. Keyshia Cole would have just been genuine there.
What a great read. I too am a Etta James fan. I discovered her thru a friend thereafter I ask my parents if they ever heard of her and they told me Etta was well known and like as a singer back in the 50's and 60's. Her music was always on the jukebox and 'At Last' was a signature hit song but it wasn't her only song to her claim to fame.
BB King & Friends is a very good dvd of blues musicians. But particularly Etta James is front and center. Along with BB his all star guest includes Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Gladys Knight ,Chaka Khan and many more.
I'm looking forward in seeing Cadillac Records. Etta James is definetely the most grittiest raw inducing singer ever to live and her stage persona is a hoot!
Wow, Wanjiru, all that venom is truly unnecessary. How do you know those things about Beyonce Knowles? I just saw Cadillac Records and I must say this was a stellar cast of actors. I was very impressed with Ms. Knowles performance, her portrayal of Etta James was quite an eye-opener to Etta's career and life. Much as I love At Last, Tell Mama and Love's been rough, I had no idea her life had been so tumultuous. Ms. Knowles portrayal was moving, I found myself tearing at the pain she expressed both verbally and in each rendition of the songs performed during the movie. Ms. Knowles stepped out of her comfort zone of "sweet and shy" to play a emotionally scared, gritty, vulgar, hard, drug-addict yet fragile woman.
I truly respect Beyonce Knowles as a singer and actress; I also love the music and power that is Jamesetta Hawkins.
...the choice of Beyonce Knowles for Etta James' roles is a real slap in the faces of true Etta James' fans...
...in my opinion, Beyonce Knowles took on this role for pretty much the same reasons that she did Dreamgirls, and for the same reasons that she's now practically begging to sing at President O.bam.a's upcoming inaugurati
...namely, for Beyonce Knowles...
...it is no secret that Beyonce Knowles still feels cheated out of Jennifer Hudson's Oscar for Dreamgirls, and I am sure that she will take ANY role...wha
...the Etta James roles has the potential trappings of an Oscar and guess who smelled that from miles away?...Be
...and for this, ultimately, the choice of Beyonce Knowles for Etta James' roles is a real slap in the faces of true Etta James' fans...
.
Which (true) Etta James Fans.....y
I totally agree. In fact she wanted to play the role Jennifer Hudson played but the producers said she did not have the vocal range to pull off the song " And I am telling you". She tried to outshine Jennifer when she sang "Listen" but you could hear her voice straining. Beyonce should be comfortable singing within her own range and stop trying to sound better than artist that have the years and experience to never hit flat notes or if they do you could never tell:-)
Great review of Etta; nobody weaves a tale like the Butler...
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