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.
Hold Me
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before, no no (Yeah)
And I just wanna tell you right now that I
I believe, I really do believe that
Something's got a hold on me, yeah (oh, it must be love)
Oh, something's got a hold on me right now, child (oh, it must be love)
Let me tell you now
Everything about me seems to have changed
Step by step, I got a brand new walk
I even sound sweeter when I talk
I said, oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh)
Hey, hey yeah
Oh, it must be love (you know it must be love)
Let me tell you know
Something's got a hold on me, yeah (oh, it must be love)
Oh, something's got a hold on me right now, child (oh, it must be love)
Let me tell you now
I've never felt like this before
Something's got a hold on me that won't let go
I believe I'd die if I only could
I feel so strange but it sure is good
I said, oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh)
Hey, hey yeah
Oh, it must be love (you know it must be love)
Let me tell you know
My heart feels heavy, my feet feel light
I shake all over, but I feel alright
I never felt like this before
Something's got a hold on me that won't let go
I never thought it could happen to me
Got me heavy without the misery
I never thought it could be this way
Love's sure gonna put a hurting on me
I said, oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh)
Hey, hey yeah
Oh, it must be love (you know it must be love)
Oh, you know he walks like love (you know he walks like love)
He talks like love (you know he talks like love)
Makes me feel alright (makes me feel alright)
In the middle of the night (in the middle of the night)
La la la la (la la la la)
La la la la (la la la la)
Etta James's song "Something's Got A Hold On Me" talks about a love that has completely taken over the singer's life. The lyrics express how the singer is feeling very differently from before and now feels as if something has a hold on her. The song describes how everything about her seems to have changed and that she has a brand new walk and talks sweeter than before. The song gives the feeling that love is the explanation for this transformation. It talks about how her heart feels heavy, and her feet feel light and how love has made her feel strange, but it sure is good. The song ends with the singer expressing how love sure is going to put a hurting on her.
Overall, the song gives off a lot of positive vibes with its upbeat tempo and is a perfect example of blues music. The sound quality in the song is authentic that one can expect from blues and jazz music. The song was part of Etta James's third album, "Etta James," and was first released in 1962. It later earned her a spot at number 37 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah (Yeah)
I occasionally have an amazing feeling that fills me with great pleasure.
I get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before, no no (Yeah)
That feeling is one that I've never once had or experienced.
And I just wanna tell you right now that I
I believe, I really do believe that
Something's got a hold on me, yeah (oh, it must be love)
I have a compelling feeling that something is effecting me strongly, that makes me believe it must be love holding me.
Oh, something's got a hold on me right now, child (oh, it must be love)
At this very moment, something has complete control over me, it's very likely love holding me.
Let me tell you now
I've got a feeling, I feel so strange
Everything about me seems to have changed
Step by step, I got a brand new walk
I even sound sweeter when I talk
I can sense that something is different about me, from my speech to my walk, I am a completely new person.
I said, oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh), oh (oh)
Hey, hey yeah
Oh, it must be love (you know it must be love)
The powerful feeling I'm experiencing must undoubtedly be love, as it is overwhelming and consuming me completely.
Let me tell you know
Something's got a hold on me, yeah (oh, it must be love)
Oh, something's got a hold on me right now, child (oh, it must be love)
I need to let you know that something is definitely controlling me, and once again, it must be love.
I've never felt like this before
Something's got a hold on me that won't let go
I believe I'd die if I only could
I feel so strange but it sure is good
This feeling has taken over me like never before, refusing to leave me alone. It's overwhelming and amazing, that I'd wish I could live in it forever.
My heart feels heavy, my feet feel light
I shake all over, but I feel alright
I never felt like this before
Something's got a hold on me that won't let go
My heart is weighed down with overwhelming emotions, and yet my feet feel weightless. My whole body feels shaken by this experience, although I'm still okay with it persisting.
I never thought it could happen to me
Got me heavy without the misery
I never thought it could be this way
Love's sure gonna put a hurting on me
I never believed this will ever happen to me, that I could feel this committed without any painful emotions. By embracing this love, I never realized it would hurt me eventually.
Oh, you know he walks like love (you know he walks like love)
He talks like love (you know he talks like love)
Makes me feel alright (makes me feel alright)
In the middle of the night (in the middle of the night)
By the way he carries himself and speaks, it's clear that he is love personified. This love gives me the courage to feel okay, even when it's dark outside.
La la la la (la la la la)
La la la la (la la la la)
Sometimes I hum in pure ecstasy, words cannot express the joy I have inside.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Etta James, Leroy Kirkland, Pearl Woods
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mar Mar
i've been lyin' here thinkin' over old times
old friends of yours, old friends of mine
at least half of these hearts have been broken in two
sometimes love just ain't strong enough
some give in and some give up and it started me
thinkin'
what would i do without you.
so you can hold me in your sweet lovin' arms
take me where it's safe and warm
hold me, just a little longer tonight.
people take love for a foolish thing
some tear it down, some give it wings
i'd like to think
that we could fly away, hey hey yeah.
you always have, say always will
stand by me baby, till the world stands still
say you will, say it tonight baby
say you will.
oh, hold me in your sweet lovin' arms
take me where it's safe and warm
hold me, just a little longer tonight.
hold me just a little longer tonight.
hold me, i i i want you to take me
oh baby now hold me baby
i i i want you to take me
ohh hold me
i i i want you to take me now baby
uuuh hold me
Robin Wilson
I have only just acquired this CD, "Love's Been Rough On Me", and I have been playing it almost constantly since then. Although it was released in 1997, thank goodness that I have caught up with it now - AAAA+++++
catherine ortiz
I would love to go back in time ,just to be able to have seen this wonderful lady in person .
Denis Brnjas
For me "Love's Been Rough On Me " was her best album. Even if she herself didn't like it :)
Kokoa J. White
I saw this Etta James years ago at a club in San Jose,CA. She was really high but she still had that place rocking.
Allen Anderson
Unbelievable how good this lady was.
taffysmooth
Beautiful
Patricia Bertol
Alguém tem a tradução dessa música?
Mar Mar
i've been lyin' here thinkin' over old times
old friends of yours, old friends of mine
at least half of these hearts have been broken in two
sometimes love just ain't strong enough
some give in and some give up and it started me
thinkin'
what would i do without you.
so you can hold me in your sweet lovin' arms
take me where it's safe and warm
hold me, just a little longer tonight.
people take love for a foolish thing
some tear it down, some give it wings
i'd like to think
that we could fly away, hey hey yeah.
you always have, say always will
stand by me baby, till the world stands still
say you will, say it tonight baby
say you will.
oh, hold me in your sweet lovin' arms
take me where it's safe and warm
hold me, just a little longer tonight.
hold me just a little longer tonight.
hold me, i i i want you to take me
oh baby now hold me baby
i i i want you to take me
ohh hold me
i i i want you to take me now baby
uuuh hold me
Robin Wilson
Thanks for the lyrics, Marija - she has such a good voice!
Kari Rose
I want to go drown in my flooded basement -go down listening to Etta I’d rather be blind then to watch you walk away from me