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.
Etta James-I'd Rather Go Blind
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I saw you and her talking
Something deep down in my soul said, cry girl
When I saw you and that girl, walking arround
I would rather, I would rather go blind boy
Than to see you, walk away from me child, and all
So you see, I love you so much
Most of all, I just don't, I just don't want to be free no uh uh
I was just, I was just, I was just sitting here thinking
Of your kisses and your warm embrace, yeah
When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now baby (yeah, yeah)
Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah
And baby, baby (baby, baby, bay) I would rather be blind boy
Than to see you walk away, see you walk away from me, yeah
Baby, baby, baby (baby, baby, bay) I'd rather be blind now (baby, baby, bay)
Etta James's song "I'd Rather Go Blind" is a powerful ballad about love and heartbreak. The lyrics suggest that the singer is in love with a man who is starting to see another woman, causing her to feel deep pain and sadness. She knows that he is going to leave her and she would rather go blind than see him walk away. The emotional depth of the song is conveyed through the way James's voice trembles as she sings the refrain "I'd rather go blind boy" with vulnerability.
The first two lines of the song set the tone for the singer's sense of foreboding. When she sees the man she loves talking to another woman, she senses that it's all over between them. She feels a deep emotional pain or sorrow as a result. This is emphasized in the line "Something deep down in my soul said, cry girl" which speaks to the intense sadness she is trying to hold back. The second verse of the song finds her reminiscing about her relationship with the man, thinking of his warm embrace and tender kisses. But the reflection in the glass in her hand reveals the tears falling down her face. She would rather be blind than to see him walking away from her. The singer feels that her love for this man is so strong that she doesn't want to be free, even if he doesn't love her anymore.
Line by Line Meaning
Something told me it was over
I had a feeling our relationship was coming to an end
When I saw you and her talking
I knew it was over when I saw you with another woman
Something deep down in my soul said, cry girl
I felt so hurt that I couldn't stop myself from crying
When I saw you and that girl, walking arround
I couldn't stand to see you with that other woman
I would rather, I would rather go blind boy
I'd prefer to lose my sight than to watch you walk away from me
Than to see you, walk away from me child, and all
I don't want to see you leave me, along with everything else I love
So you see, I love you so much
My love for you is so strong
That I don't want to watch you leave me baby
I can't bear to see you go
Most of all, I just don't, I just don't want to be free no uh uh
I don't want to let you go because I don't want to be alone
I was just, I was just, I was just sitting here thinking
I couldn't help but think about you
Of your kisses and your warm embrace, yeah
I was remembering how your affection made me feel
When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now baby (yeah, yeah)
I saw my tears reflected in the glass as I took a sip of my drink
Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah
I realized that I had been crying
And baby, baby (baby, baby, bay) I would rather be blind boy
I really mean it when I say I don't want to see you go
Than to see you walk away, see you walk away from me, yeah
It's so painful to watch you leave me behind
Baby, baby, baby (baby, baby, bay) I'd rather be blind now (baby, baby, bay)
I'm serious about not wanting to see you go, even if it means losing my sight
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILLY FOSTER, ELLINGTON JORDAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@larapadovski4997
Something told me it was over
When I saw you and her talkin'
Something deep down in my soul said, 'Cry, girl'
When I saw you and that girl walkin' around
Whoo, I would rather, I would rather go blind, boy
Then to see you walk away from me, child, no
Whoo, so you see, I love you so much
That I don't wanna watch you leave me, baby
Most of all, I just don't, I just don't wanna be free, no
Whoo, whoo, I was just, I was just, I was just
Sittin here thinkin', of your kiss and your warm embrace, yeah
When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now, baby
Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah
Whoo and baby, baby, I'd rather, I'd rather be blind, boy
Then to see you walk away, see you walk away from me, yeah
Whoo, baby, baby, baby, I'd rather be blind...
@ayannajabari
Something told me it was over (yeah)
When I saw you and her talking
Something deep down in my soul said, "Cry girl" (cry, cry)
When I saw you and that girl, walking now
Ooh, I would rather, I would rather go blind boy
Than to see you, walk away from me child, no
Ooh, so you see, I love you so much
That I don't want to watch you leave me babe
Most of all, I just don't
I just don't want to be free no, ooh ooh
I was just, I was just, I was just sitting here thinking
Of your kiss and your warm embrace, yeah
When the reflection in the glass
That I held to my lips now baby (yeah, yeah)
Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah, ooh
And babe, baby (baby, baby, baby) I'd rather
I'd rather be blind boy
Than to see you walk away, see you walk away from me, yeah, ooh
Baby, baby, baby (baby, baby, bay)
I'd rather be blind now
@baltazar45
💖Omg 😍Whos listening this masterpiece in 2024 ....
@baltazar45
I was just, I was just, I was just
@daniellemaiamoura2070
Aqui, Brasil. Etta perfeita, sua voz atravessa a alma.
@jennynanny2887
❤❤ I am ❤❤ outstanding woman ❤❤
@angelinapalminha5691
I'm listening in 2024.❤
@anthonydempsey7693
Me.
Liverpool
@davidbrokend
Who's chilling to this in 2021 with me and my pals?
@sherrymurphy6974
Been chillin to Etta for years
@jennybeam7226
Right here, friend!
@not4_nate667
Me dude