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.
Evening of Love
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Slip through her fingers?
But then she didn't know
I was here standing in line
I would have never ever treated you bad
If I had met her
Because all my life, all my life
Oh baby, why don't you spend
An evening of love with me?
And if we should fall in love
Ain't it just what we both need?
An evening of love to remember
I'm just as lonely as you are
Oh, baby
Oh, baby
I hope tomorrow, you'll wake up and find
You don't need her
And as long as I'm around
You never will
'Cause I wanna hold you as close to my heart
As my body will let me
And oh I know and I know the way
That you feel
Oh baby, why don't you spend
An evening of love with me?
And if we should fall in love
Ain't it just what we both need, hey, hey
An evening of love to remember
I'm just as lonely as you are
Oh, baby
Oh, baby
Oh baby, why don't you spend
An evening of love with me?
And if we should fall in love
Ain't it just what we both need?
Oh baby, why don't you spend
An evening of love with me?
If we should fall in love
Ain't it just what we both need?
Baby, why don't you spend
An evening of love with me?
If we should fall in love
Ain't it just what we both need, oh?
The lyrics to "Evening of Love" by Etta James speak about the desire to be with someone who is already taken but is not necessarily happy with their current relationship. The singer wonders how the other woman could let such a good man slip through her fingers and laments that she wasn't around to show him the love and affection he deserved. The singer then suggests that they spend an evening together and see where it leads, hoping that they will fall in love and find exactly what they both need.
The lyrics convey a sense of longing and a willingness to take a chance on love, even if it means potentially hurting someone else. The singer believes that they can offer the man in question the love and affection that he deserves, and is willing to go out on a limb to prove it. The repeated refrain of "An evening of love to remember" serves as a reminder of the possibility of romance and the potential for a deep connection between two people.
Overall, "Evening of Love" is a song about taking a chance on love, even when it seems unlikely or impossible. It speaks to the power of affection and the hope that one day, the right person will come along and make everything worth it.
Line by Line Meaning
How could she let a man as good as you
Slip through her fingers?
I'm surprised that the person who used to be with you did not realize how valuable you are.
But then she didn't know
I was here standing in line
The reason why the previous woman did not appreciate you is because she did not realize there was someone like me who wanted to be with you.
I would have never ever treated you bad
If I had met her
Because all my life, all my life
I've been the loving kind
If I had been with you before, I would have loved and cared for you deeply unlike the previous woman who must have mistreated you because I am a very affectionate person.
Oh baby, why don't you spend
An evening of love with me?
And if we should fall in love
Ain't it just what we both need?
I am inviting you to spend some quality time with me filled with love and care. And if we do fall in love, that would be the perfect thing for both of us.
An evening of love to remember
I'm just as lonely as you are
Oh, baby
Oh, baby
I too feel lonely and crave someone's presence in my life. So let's spend an evening filled with love and passion to remember forever.
I hope tomorrow, you'll wake up and find
You don't need her
And as long as I'm around
You never will
I wish that tomorrow you would realize that you don't need the person who left you because I am here for you and will always be there for you.
'Cause I wanna hold you as close to my heart
As my body will let me
And oh I know and I know the way
That you feel
I want to hold you close to my heart and be as close to you as possible because I understand how you're feeling right now and I want to be there for you.
If we should fall in love
Ain't it just what we both need? hey, hey
An evening of love to remember
I'm just as lonely as you are
Oh, baby
Oh, baby
Falling in love with each other would be the perfect thing for us, and we both need it. Let's spend an evening filled with love and passion to remember forever. I too feel lonely and crave someone's presence in my life.
Baby, why don't you spend
An evening of love with me?
If we should fall in love
Ain't it just what we both need, oh?
I am inviting you again to spend an evening filled with love and care with me. And if we do fall in love, that would be the perfect thing for both of us and fulfill our needs for love and companionship.
Contributed by Ruby B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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.