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.
How Deep Is The Ocean
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How many times a day do I think of you?
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How far would I travel
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How high is the sky?
Etta James's song "How Deep Is The Ocean" is a beautiful love song that poses a series of rhetorical questions in order to explain the depth and intensity of the singer’s love for her partner. The first two lines set the tone for the song, with the singer telling her lover that she will not lie to him when she says, "How much do I love you? I'll tell you no lie." She goes on to compare the intensity of her love to the depths of the ocean and the heights of the sky, asking her lover, "How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky?" She uses metaphors such as the number of times she thinks of him in a day and the number of roses that are sprinkled with dew to represent the extent of her love for him.
The singer also talks about the distances she is willing to travel to be with her lover. She asks, "How far would I travel to be where you are? How far is the journey from here to a star?" Here, she uses the imagery of space travel to illustrate the lengths she would go to be by her partner's side. The final lines of the song are filled with longing and desperation as the singer asks, "And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry? How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky?" Ultimately, the song is a declaration of love and devotion, with the singer expressing the depths of her feelings for her partner.
Line by Line Meaning
How much do I love you?
I want to express my love for you.
I'll tell you no lie
I am being honest with you.
How deep is the ocean?
My love for you is immeasurable, just like the depth of the ocean.
How high is the sky?
My love for you is infinite, just like the expanse of the sky.
How many times a day do I think of you?
You are always on my mind.
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
I can't quantify my love for you, just like I can't count how many roses are covered in dew.
How far would I travel
I would go to great lengths to be with you.
To be where you are?
Being with you brings me happiness.
How far is the journey
The distance between us pales in comparison to the love I have for you.
From here to a star?
Even if the journey was as far as to a star, I would still travel it for you.
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
The thought of losing you brings me great sadness.
How high is the sky?
My love for you is unmeasurable, just like the height of the sky.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Danny Irie Roots
"Cuán profundo es el océano". Bebé
Cuanto te quiero No te diré mentira Cuantas veces al día pienso en ti Cuantas rosas están salpicadas de rocío
¿Qué profundidad tiene el océano? Que tan alto esta el cielo
¿Qué tan lejos viajaría para estar donde estás?
¿Qué tan lejos está el viaje desde aquí hasta una estrella? Y si alguna vez te perdiera, cuánto lloraría. ¿Qué profundidad tiene el océano? Que tan alto esta el cielo
¿Qué tan lejos viajaría para estar donde tú estás? ¿Qué tan lejos es el viaje desde aquí hasta una estrella? Y si alguna vez te perdiera, ¿cuánto lloraría? ¿Cuán profundo es el océano? ¿Qué altura tiene el cielo? ¿Qué altura tiene el cielo?
Margaret Gaskell
"How Deep Is The Ocean"....baby
How much do I love you? I'll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky
How many times a day do I think of you
How many roses are sprinkled with dew
How far would I travel to be where you are
How far is the journey from here to a star
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry
How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky
How far would I travel to be where you are
How far is the journey from here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry
How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky
How high is the sky?
Danny Irie Roots
"Cuán profundo es el océano". Bebé
Cuanto te quiero No te diré mentira Cuantas veces al día pienso en ti Cuantas rosas están salpicadas de rocío
¿Qué profundidad tiene el océano? Que tan alto esta el cielo
¿Qué tan lejos viajaría para estar donde estás?
¿Qué tan lejos está el viaje desde aquí hasta una estrella? Y si alguna vez te perdiera, cuánto lloraría. ¿Qué profundidad tiene el océano? Que tan alto esta el cielo
¿Qué tan lejos viajaría para estar donde tú estás? ¿Qué tan lejos es el viaje desde aquí hasta una estrella? Y si alguna vez te perdiera, ¿cuánto lloraría? ¿Cuán profundo es el océano? ¿Qué altura tiene el cielo? ¿Qué altura tiene el cielo?
Anita Garner
This is a favorite. Etta's voice and that sax!
Rick Artdefoix
This fabulous, excellent cover will let you see how good the great Etta James was. Not only was she a soul queen or a brilliant blues singer. When she decided to dedicate two cds to the Billie Holiday songs, she set a landmark difficult for any other jazz singer to match. Concretely in this beautiful song, think that can be easily understood. Of course it is a matter of the musicians she worked with and the superb sound the records have. But remains undeniable that the Etta touch gives it a different sensitivity than the Billie's one. A singer as unique as Billie needed someone as E. J. to deliver us another prism side of her songs. No one better than Etta. Although have the cds Carmen McRae did about the same songbook, and if you get them too you'll have the nowadays outlook of those lovely works. All these four cds (the two by E. J. and the C. McRae ones) enjoys very good productions and can assure you are a sophisticated pleasure for any jazz lover.
Sharon Le Saldo
Best version! her voice is like butter! Love the instrument included.... 👏🏽👏🏽🙌🏼❤️
Triple R2017
Absolutely one of my favorite renditions.
Jennifer Kellow
One of the best albums ever.. You will be MISSED Etta!
Becky Davis
yes, one of my favorite albums too. I listen and listen and she has greatly influenced my singing......
Lucia Helena Corrêa
WONDERFUL SINGER... UNFORGETTABLE...
Shelby Elaine
Just a gorgeous song.
Wendy Marietta
Ultimate love song. She was a master of the journey