Etta James (1938-2012) was a U.S. blues, soul, R&B, rock & roll, and jazz … Read Full Bio ↴Etta James (1938-2012) was a U.S. blues, soul, R&B, rock & roll, and jazz singer and songwriter. She is the winner of four Grammies, seventeen Blues Music Awards, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (in 1993), the Blues Hall of Fame (in 2001), and the Grammy Hall of Fame (in both 1999 and 2008).

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.

Breaking Up Somebody's Home
Etta James Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Lying 'round home alone
On a rainy night like this
Starving for your love
Hungry for just one kiss

Every raindrop I hear
Against my window pane
Speaks so loud and clear, oh Lord

Spelled out your name

Got nowhere to turn, tired of being alone
Feel like breaking up somebody's home

I know it's useless hanging on
When you belong to someone else
Can't control the feelin'
'Cause after all I didn't make myself

Last night I cried so hard
I believe I caught a chill
Can't stand the vibration
Oh, my heart just won't stand still

Got nowhere to turn, tired of being alone
Feel like breakin' up somebody's home
Got nowhere to turn, tired of being alone
Feel like breakin' up somebody's home

I know it's useless hanging on
When you belong to someone else
Can't control my feelin'
'Cause after all I didn't make myself

Got nowhere to turn, tired of being alone
Feel like breakin' up somebody's home
Got nowhere to turn, tired of being alone
Feel like breakin' up somebody's home

Got nowhere to turn, tired of being alone

Feel like smashing up somebody's home
Feel like breakin' up somebody's home

Overall Meaning

In "Breaking Up Somebody's Home" by Etta James, the lyrics depict a person who is feeling lonely and longing for love on a rainy night. The singer is at home alone, yearning for the affection and intimacy of their partner. They are hungry for just one kiss and are desperate for the feeling of being loved and desired. The raindrops against the windowpane symbolize the singer's emotions, as they speak loudly and clearly, reminding the person of their longing for their partner.

Lamenting their current situation, the singer expresses their frustration about having nowhere to turn and being tired of being alone. They feel like breaking up somebody's home, suggesting that they are tempted to interfere in someone else's relationship in their search for love and companionship. This feeling of desperation highlights their intense desire to escape their loneliness, even if it means disrupting someone else's relationship.

The singer acknowledges the futility of holding on to their feelings when the person they desire already belongs to someone else. They cannot control their longing for this person, as they did not choose to feel this way. Despite this awareness, they still find it difficult to accept the circumstances and suppress their emotions. This inner conflict is so distressing for the singer that they express physical symptoms like crying and feeling a chill. The vibration they experience signifies the restlessness and anxiety within their heart, which seems incapable of finding peace or stillness.

Throughout the lyrics, the repetition of the phrase "got nowhere to turn, tired of being alone" underscores the singer's feelings of helplessness and desperation. They yearn for love, companionship, and a sense of belonging. The closing lines reveal the singer's heightened emotions, expressing their inclination toward drastic actions like smashing up somebody's home. This extreme statement emphasizes the extent of their anguish and the desire to find solace and love, even if it means disrupting someone else's relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

Lying 'round home alone
Feeling abandoned and lonely in my own space

On a rainy night like this
During a particularly gloomy and melancholic time

Starving for your love
Desperately yearning for your affection

Hungry for just one kiss
Craving the intimacy of a single kiss from you

Every raindrop I hear
Each drop of rain that falls

Against my window pane
Onto the glass of my window

Speaks so loud and clear, oh Lord
Expresses a clear and powerful message, oh Lord

Spelled out your name
It seems to be spelling out your name

Got nowhere to turn, tired of being alone
Feeling lost and exhausted, tired of my solitude

Feel like breaking up somebody's home
Considering causing the end of someone else's relationship

I know it's useless hanging on
I am aware that holding on is futile