Etta James Records Views

General Goods

There are at least two versions of how Johnny Otis discovered Etta James. Otis' version is that she came to his hotel room after one of his performances in San Francisco and persuaded him to audition her. Another frequently told story is that Otis spotted her performing in an L.A. nightclub with The Peaches and, having conceived of the answer song to Hank Ballard's Work With Me, Annie , arranged with the Bihari brothers for Modern Records to record The Wallflower with James. The Wallflower reached #2 on the rhythm and blues charts in February 1955, but was undercut in the wider market by a rushed-out cover version by Georgia Gibbs, on Mercury Records. The first time she was recorded in studio, they used the first take she recorded and it became #1 on the Top 100 songs in the nation. Royalties from The Wallflower were divided among Ballard, James and Otis. Its huge success attracted the attention of the R&B world, resulting in James going on tour with Little Richard in 1956.[5]

This is a detailed discography for American Blues artist, Etta James. Since 1955, she has released 27 studio albums, 3 live albums, and 7 compilations. She has also issued a total of 58 singles, one of which titled, The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry), reached #1 on the Rhythm and Blues Records chart in 1955.

There is a great movie about Chess Records, home to a majority, if not all, of her big hits, called Cadillac Records. It.’s very entertaining and provides a solid portrayal of her life at the label.Â The entire cast nails their roles as a musician, especially Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters. There is a bit or irony between this movie and Ms. James. Beyounce Knowles, who starred as Etta in the movie, sang t“At Lastv” for President Obamat’s inauguration, much to the dismay of Etta!

I totally agree with Jody, everything in the movie was fiction. I started studying music during my undergrad years and of course attending a Historically Black College and University, (HBCU) the study of African American Music was/is of course important. Yes, Ms. James has had her share of struggles in life. But I suggest you research and find out on your own. I know that you would find the lives of not just Etta James, but Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin8’ Wolf and many others that were tied to Chess Records fascinating.