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.
Boy of My Dreams
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Years full of tears and regret;
I've been alone broken hearted,
Trying so hard to forget:
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
You are so sweet,
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Please come back again.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
It's strange how life deals you sorrow,
Sunshine and joy always nigh;
We live and learn for tomorrow,
But sometimes the learning comes high:
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
You are so sweet,
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
Then life would be complete;
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Please come back again.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
You are so sweet,
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
Then life would be complete;
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Please come back again.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
The lyrics to Etta James's song "Boy of My Dreams" poignantly capture the longing and regret that comes with lost love. The singer, addressing a past partner, speaks of their pain of being "alone and broken hearted" since they parted ways. They express an unyielding adoration for their former lover, referring to them as "the girl of my dreams" and speaking earnestly of their desire to hold them again in their arms.
The song delves into the complexities of life, acknowledging the ebb and flow of joy and sorrow and the lessons that come with them. The singer seems to recognize that the cost of their learning has been high, as they implore their former partner to return to them. Despite the pain they have suffered, the singer is resolute in their love, declaring that there is only one person who can make them feel complete.
Overall, "Boy of My Dreams" is a heartfelt and vulnerable exploration of the power of lost love. The lyrics express a deep sense of longing and regret, while also acknowledging the lessons that life teaches us along the way.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear, it seems years since we parted,
It has been an incredibly long time since we have been together and I have been feeling the sadness and remorse of parting ways.
Years full of tears and regret;
During these years, I have cried many tears, feeling a deep regret for allowing us to grow apart.
I've been alone broken hearted,
I have been alone since we parted and my heart has been completely shattered.
Trying so hard to forget:
However, despite my efforts, I have been unable to forget about you and move on from our past.
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
I confess that you are truly the girl of my dreams and I love you more than anything else in this world.
You are so sweet,
You have a sweet and gentle nature that draws me towards you.
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
I wish I could hold you once more and feel the charms and warmth of your embrace.
Then life would be complete;
If I had the chance to hold you once more, my life would feel whole and complete again.
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Ever since you have been gone, my life has felt empty and incomplete without you.
Please come back again.
I am begging you to please come back to my life once more and make my life feel whole again.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
Despite all that has happened, there is only one person who has truly captured my heart and that person is you.
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
You are truly the girl of my dreams and I cannot imagine my life without you by my side.
It's strange how life deals you sorrow,
Life can be unpredictable and it often brings moments of sadness and sorrow that are difficult to deal with.
Sunshine and joy always nigh;
However, there are also moments of sunshine and joy that are always close by and waiting to be captured.
We live and learn for tomorrow,
We are constantly learning and growing, always striving to be better and to achieve more each day.
But sometimes the learning comes high:
Unfortunately, sometimes the lessons we learn can be learned at a cost, and can come at a high price.
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SUNNY CLAPP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
CΓntia Flores
<3
l
i fuckin love this
Mariaprimitiva Pueblafrias
Un orgullo buno
CΓntia Flores
<3
Ramon Pascual
Fine, Etta. Cheers.