James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, California, on 25th January 1938, to an unmarried fourteen-year-old mother, Dorothy Hawkins. According to Etta, her mother claimed that her father was the white Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, and that they received financial support from him on the condition that they keep his paternity a secret. This seems unlikely, though it has not been definitively disproved. Etta was born in Los Angeles in 1938. At the time, Wanderone was known to be managing a pool hall in Washington, D.C. and had not yet become known to be the cross-country traveller he later became.
She received her first professional vocal training at five years old from James Earle Hines, musical director of the Echoes of Eden choir at St Paul Baptist Church in Los Angeles. Her family moved to San Francisco in 1950, and she teamed up with two other girls to form a doo-wop singing group. When the girls were fourteen, band leader Johnny Otis had them audition. They sang an answer to Hank Ballard's "Work with Me, Annie" called "Roll Wwth Me Henry". Otis particularly liked the song, and against her mother's wishes, James and the trio went to Los Angeles to record the song in 1954. The song was recorded on the label Modern Records. By this time, the trio renamed the song "The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)" and released it in 1955. James named her vocal group The Peaches. Richard Berry, a Los Angeles doo-wop luminary, is featured on some of their records.
"The Wallflower" reached number two 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; in fact, the very first time Gibbs was recorded in studio, they used the first take recorded and it became number one on the top 100 songs nationally. The song's royalties were divided between Hank Ballard, Etta James, and Johnny Otis, and its huge success attracted the attention of the R&B world, resulting in James going on tour with Little Richard. On the tour, though, according to James, she witnessed and experienced situations to which minors are not usually privy, and she allegedly acquired a drug habit.
Soon after the success of "Wallflower", The Peaches and James parted company, but this did not halt her career. Shecontinued to record and release albums throughout much of the decade, and enjoyed more success. Her follow-up, "Good Rockin' Daddy", became another fifties hit. Other songs however, such as "Tough Lover" and "W-O-M-A-N" failed to gain any significant success. James toured with Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Otis Redding in the fifties, and has cited Watson as the most significant influence on her style..
In 1960, James signed a recording contract with Chess Records. She went on to have the biggest success of her career from this label, recording her biggest and most memorable hits. Chess went into high gear with James, releasing many duets with her then boyfriend, the married Harvey Fuqua, who was the lead singer of the Moonglows. One of her duets with Fuqua, "If I Can't Have You", became a hit on the R&B charts in 1960. As a solo artist however, she had more enduring success. One of her first singles released by Chess in 1960 was called "All I Could Do Was Cry"; this blues number became a big hit on the R&B charts in 1960. Leonard Chess, one of the founders of Chess Records, helped James along the way. He saw the potential for her to go in a more pop-oriented direction, and she started recording more pop tunes for the label.
The year 1961 became a year of great change for James. In 1961 came the release of one of her first pop-oriented tunes called "At Last". The song became a big hit in 1961, reaching number two on the R&B charts. The song even went as far as twenty-two on the pop charts that year. It became her signature song. Other songs, such as "Trust in Me", also became hits, and the 1962 tune "Something's Got a Hold On Me" showed more of James' gospel side, a genre she had sung since childhood.
She had other big hits in the 1960s, but mainly on the R&B charts: the song "Pushover" in 1963 and "Stop the Wedding", "Fool That I Am", and "Don't Cry Baby", were hits for her between 1961 and 1963. Her 1963 album Etta James Rocks the House, recorded at Nashville's "New Era" club, also gave her career a boost. James then became one of the most successful R&B artists of the 1960s, having many more top ten and top twenty hit singles. Performing in Memphis, Tennessee helped make her into a blues icon.
In 1967, James released her next hit single, "Tell Mama", and it became a top ten hit on the R&B charts. After a dry period of no hits for almost four years, the song once more made James a household name. The follow-up, "Security", was also a success, and proved that James had staying power on the charts again. Whilst less success came for James after this hit, she was still on the charts regularly and, despite the death of Leonard Chess, stayed with the Chess label into 1975. Towards the end of the Chess years though, she went into more rock-based songs. She recorded for many other labels, and continued to release albums, such as 1978's Deep In the Night on Atlantic Records.
Despite a dry period during the early to mid 1980s, James got back on track and began to record music again. She received accolades for her 1981 rendition of Randy Newman's "God's Song". Her 1988 album Seven Year Itch proved this comeback capability; the album showed more of her soul side. In 1989, she recorded the song "Avenue D" with David A. Stewart of Eurythmics. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the Robert Wise film Rooftops. She also performed with the Grateful Dead for two shows in 1982. In the 1990s she continued to record and perform. Her albums widely varied in styles and genres. Her 1992 album, The Right Time, was another soul album that was released by Elektra Records. She also began to record more jazz, which became the style for many of her 1990s albums.
Drug-related and romantic problems interfered with her career, but James managed to maintain a career throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. Later in life, she struggled with obesity, experiencing mobility and knee problems. In 2003, she underwent gastric bypass surgery.
In 2011, a vocal sample from Etta's "Something's Got a Hold on Me" was used in "Levels" by Avicii. "Levels" became a monster EDM hit, making Etta's "sometimes I get a good feeling" one of the most recognizable samples in 21st century music.
She died on 20th January 2012.
At Last
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh yeah, yeah
At last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you
I found a dream
That I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill
To press my cheek to
A thrill that I've never known
Oh yeah, yeah
You smiled, you smiled
Oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven
For you are mine
At last
The song "At Last" by Etta James is a classic love song that exudes joy and contentment. The lyrics begin by announcing that the singer's love has finally arrived after a long wait, and that her lonely days are now over, as if she has finally found the missing piece to complete her. The metaphor she uses - "And life is like a song" - suggests that her newfound relationship has brought harmony and rhythm to her life, just as a song does. The repetition of "Oh yeah, yeah" emphasizes the feeling of release and liberation the singer is experiencing, like she has finally found her place in the world.
The second verse continues the idea of an idyllic life with the arrival of the singer's love, describing the new view from "the skies above" as blue and her heart as "wrapped up in clover". The language used here is symbolic, as blue skies and clover both represent happiness and good fortune, heightening the idea of the ideal life that has begun for the singer. She then refers to finding a dream that she can call her own and a thrill that she has never known before, which could be interpreted as the dreams and excitement that have been brought into her life through the arrival of her beloved. The final verse describes how the spell was cast when her partner smiled, leading them both to heavenly bliss where she proclaims, "For you are mine at last". The song concludes with a triumphant declaration of the joy that the singer has found in her relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
At last
Finally, after a long wait
My love has come along
The person I am in love with has arrived in my life
My lonely days are over
I am no longer feeling lonely now that my love is with me
And life is like a song
My life is now full and happy, like a beautiful melody
At last
Once again expresses the joy of waiting for something and finally getting it
The skies above are blue
The world seems happier and more beautiful now that love is in my life
My heart was wrapped up in clover
My heart was full of joy and happiness
The night I looked at you
The moment I saw you, my heart was filled with love
I found a dream
I discovered a special dream, something to cherish and hold on to
That I could speak to
A dream that I could share with someone who understands and cares about me
A dream that I can call my own
A dream that is uniquely mine and deeply personal
I found a thrill
I experienced an exhilarating and exciting feeling
To press my cheek to
To be close to you, to feel your warmth and intimacy
A thrill that I've never known
The feeling I have with you is unparalleled and completely new to me
You smiled, you smiled
Your smile was a defining moment of our relationship
Oh and then the spell was cast
From that moment on, I was under your magical spell and completely in love with you
And here we are in Heaven
Being together with you feels like we are in a beautiful and perfect place
For you are mine
I feel a deep sense of possessiveness and love for you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harry Warren, Mack Gordon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Erik brodland
on I Just Want to Make Love to You
Love this song so much, it makes me think of my son's Beautiful mommy jasmin and her amazing.voice.