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.
05 Two Sides To Every Story
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah, he told me
I treated him good
Now you tell me
He was playing me for a fool
But I think you're both
Playing a silly game
I did the same
But there are always two sides
To every story, yeah
But two wrongs can't make it right
Oh, and two mistakes will only bring you heartache
And you will end up losing the fight
Oh, saw my lover with another gal
So I jumped and got myself another guy
And when I found out she meant nothing to him
All I could do was cry
(Too late, too late)
(Too late, too late)
Oh, there are always two sides
Don't you know there are always two sides
There's always two sides
Don't you know there are always two sides
Two sides to every story
Ah, you better, you better beware
And you better have faith if you care
Things aren't always like they seem to be
So take this tip from experienced me
There are always two sides
To every story, yeah
But two wrongs, two wrongs can't make a right
Oh, and two mistakes will only bring you heartache
And you both will end up losing the fight
Oh, there are always two sides
Don't you know there are always two sides
Oh, there are always two sides
Don't you know there are always two sides
There's always my side
There's always your side
There's always his side
And always my side
In Etta James's "Two Sides," the singer discusses the complexity of relationships and the many different perspectives that come with them. The first verse begins with the idea that there are always two sides to every story. The singer explains that her lover had told her that she treated him well, but she later found out that he had been playing her for a fool. She suggests that both parties are playing "a silly game" and that she understands this because she has done the same. She highlights that two wrongs cannot make a right and that two mistakes will only bring heartache.
The chorus repeats the idea that there are always two sides to every story, but that it is important to avoid making wrong choices. The second verse illustrates this point by telling a story about the singer seeing her lover with another woman. In response, she jumps into a new relationship with another guy. However, when she later finds out that the woman meant nothing to her lover, she is left heartbroken.
Line by Line Meaning
There's always two sides to every story
Every story has two different perspectives.
Ah, he told me I treated him good
He claimed that I treated him well, but I'm not sure if that's true.
Now you tell me he was playing me for a fool
You're saying that he deceived me and took advantage of me.
But I think you're both playing a silly game
I believe that both of you are acting foolishly.
Believe me, I know I did the same
I understand because I've made the same mistake before.
But there are always two sides to every story, yeah
I know there's more than one perspective to consider.
But two wrongs can't make it right
Doing something hurtful in return won't solve the problem.
Oh, and two mistakes will only bring you heartache
Making the wrong decision twice will only lead to more pain.
And you will end up losing the fight
This situation won't have a clear winner.
Oh, saw my lover with another gal
I caught my partner with another woman.
So I jumped and got myself another guy
I pursued another man in response.
And when I found out she meant nothing to him
I discovered that the other woman didn't matter to him.
All I could do was cry (Too late, too late) (Too late, too late)
I was upset and it was too late to fix what had happened.
Oh, there are always two sides
This situation has different perspectives to consider.
Don't you know there are always two sides
It's important to remember that there are always different viewpoints.
There's always two sides
Both parties have their own version of events.
Ah, you better, you better beware
You should be cautious about getting involved in similar situations.
And you better have faith if you care
If you really care, you should trust and have faith in the other person.
Things aren't always like they seem to be
Appearances can be deceiving.
So take this tip from experienced me
Learn from my experiences.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILL DAVIS
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.