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.
Jingle Bells
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On a one-horse open sleigh,
Over the fields we go,
Laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring,
making spirits bright,
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
A day or two ago,
I thought I'd take a ride,
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank;
Misfortune seemed his lot;
He got into a drifted bank,
And we, we got upsot.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
A day or two ago,
the story I must tell
I went out on the snow
And on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by
In a one-horse open sleigh,
He laughed as there
I sprawling lie,
But quickly drove away.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
Now the ground is white
Go it while you're young,
Take the girls tonight
And sing this sleighing song;
Just get a bob-tailed bay
two-forty as his speed
Hitch him to an open sleigh
And crack! you'll take the lead.
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way!
What fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
The song "Jingle Bells" by Etta James is a catchy and upbeat tune that captures the joy of winter and the excitement of riding in a one-horse open sleigh. The first verse describes the experience of dashing through the snow over fields and laughing along the way. The jingling bells on the bob-tail ring help to lift spirits and make the ride all the more fun. The chorus of the song repeats the jingle bells refrain and emphasizes the fun and joy of sleigh riding.
The second verse tells a story about a ride taken by the singer and Miss Fanny Bright. The horse was thin and misfortune befell them when they got stuck in a drifted bank. However, this mishap did not diminish their enjoyment of the sleigh ride, as they continued to sing the sleighing song. The third and final verse encourages listeners to take advantage of the snowy weather while they are young and enjoy the company of friends or loved ones. The verse advises listeners to harness a speedy bob-tailed bay to their open sleigh and hit the snow-covered roads.
Overall, the song "Jingle Bells" is a cheerful and upbeat tune that captures the spirit of winter and emphasizes the joy and excitement of riding in a one-horse open sleigh.
Line by Line Meaning
Dashing through the snow
Moving quickly through the snow
On a one-horse open sleigh,
Riding on a sleigh pulled by one horse and without a roof
Over the fields we go,
Traveling across the fields
Laughing all the way;
Enjoying the journey and expressing happiness by laughing
Bells on bob-tail ring,
The bells attached to the horse's harness jingle as the horse moves
making spirits bright,
The sound of the jingling bells uplifts the spirits and creates a pleasant atmosphere
What fun it is to ride and sing
Riding and singing on the sleigh is enjoyable
A sleighing song tonight
Singing a song while sleighing tonight
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
The bells on the horse's harness are jingling
jingle all the way!
The bells keep jingling throughout the ride
O what fun it is to ride
Riding on the sleigh is so much fun
In a one-horse open sleigh
Riding on a sleigh pulled by one horse and without a roof
A day or two ago,
A few days back
I thought I'd take a ride,
I decided to go for a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
A woman named Fanny was soon accompanying me on the ride
Was seated by my side;
She was sitting next to me
The horse was lean and lank;
The horse was thin and bony
Misfortune seemed his lot;
The horse seemed to be unlucky
He got into a drifted bank,
The horse got stuck in a snow bank
And we, we got upsot.
Both Fanny and I fell off the sleigh
Now the ground is white
The snow has covered the ground
Go it while you're young,
Enjoy the sleigh ride while you're young and have the energy and enthusiasm for it
Take the girls tonight
Take the girls with you for the ride tonight
And sing this sleighing song;
Sing this song while sleighing
Just get a bob-tailed bay
Get a horse with a short tail
two-forty as his speed
A horse that can run the quarter-mile in two minutes and forty seconds
Hitch him to an open sleigh
Connect the horse to an open sleigh
And crack! you'll take the lead.
And then, you will be in the front position of other sleighs, moving ahead of them quickly
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group, VERNITA MUSIC
Written by: FRANCESCO MOCCHI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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.