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.
Girl 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.
In the song "Girl Of My Dreams," Etta James seems to be singing about a lost love. The song's opening lyrics suggest that the couple split up years ago, and since then, the singer has been alone and heartbroken. She admits to trying hard to forget about her love, but to no avail. The singer then refers to the lost love as "the girl of my dreams," suggesting that this person was someone she always wanted, someone perfect for her. The singer expresses her love for this person and how sweet she is, and how complete her life would be if only she could hold her in her arms once again.
The song speaks to the idea that sometimes we do not understand what we have until we lose it. The singer's reference to having "learned" something from this loss suggests that she has gained wisdom through heartbreak. But ultimately, what remains is the singer's deep love for the person who has gone away. Despite everything that life has thrown her way, there is only one girl of her dreams, and she is the only one who can make life complete.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear, it seems years since we parted,
It feels like it's been an eternity since we separated.
Years full of tears and regret;
During all this time, I've been crying and feeling remorseful.
I've been alone broken hearted, Trying so hard to forget:
I've been lonely and emotionally devastated, doing my utmost to erase my feelings for you.
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
You are the woman that I idealize, and I truly, genuinely love you.
You are so sweet,
You are kind and endearing.
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
If only I could embrace you and be close to you once more.
Then life would be complete;
Having you in my life would make everything perfect and satisfying.
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Ever since you left, my existence has been lacking and desolate.
Please come back again.
I implore you to return and be with me again.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
Despite everything that has happened, there is only one person for me.
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
You are the one that I cannot imagine my life without, and you are the girl of my dreams.
It's strange how life deals you sorrow,
It's peculiar how life can subject you to pain and misery.
Sunshine and joy always nigh;
Happiness and contentment are always within reach, but not always present.
We live and learn for tomorrow,
We grow and develop every day to prepare for the future.
But sometimes the learning comes high:
Sometimes our lessons come with a heavy cost.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SUNNY CLAPP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert 81
Boa
ELBez Kais
OMG