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.
Lie No Better
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Three a.m. again
Grinnin' that silly grin
Smellin' just like sin
Holdin' up that alibi that's tissue paper thin
Diggin' down deeper and deeper
In that hole you're already in
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better than that
You might as well tell the truth
I know you been foolin' around
With some fool from way 'cross town
You're tearin' our good thing down
Makin' me out your clown
Lookin' for excuses that you know can't be found
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better than that
You might as well tell the truth
And you could be more discreet
With your love letters
And honey, I smell some other man
All over your Cashmere sweater
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better than that
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better
If you can't lie no better than that
You might as well tell the truth
In Etta James's song "Lie No Better", the singer addresses her lover who has been coming home late, smelling like sin, and trying to come up with flimsy excuses that won't hold up. The singer knows that her lover has been cheating on her with someone from across town, and is destroying their relationship. She is tired of the lies and deception, and tells her lover that if they can't do any better than that in terms of lying, they might as well tell the truth.
The lyrics are powerful in how they capture the pain and betrayal that comes with infidelity. The singer is hurt by her lover's actions and is aware of the lies they have been telling. She calls them out on it and asks for the truth. It takes courage to face the reality of a situation, but it's the only way to move forward and either work on the relationship or end it.
Overall, "Lie No Better" is a poignant song about love, deception, and the importance of honesty in a relationship. The singer conveys heartbreak and disappointment in a way that is relatable to many, and the message of the song is still relevant today.
Line by Line Meaning
Here you come draggin' in
You're walking in looking tired and disheveled
Three a.m. again
It's late at night and you're coming in at an unusual hour
Grinnin' that silly grin
You're smiling like an idiot
Smellin' just like sin
You have the scent of someone else's perfume on you
Holdin' up that alibi that's tissue paper thin
You're trying to present a flimsy excuse for your behavior
Diggin' down deeper and deeper
You're trying to convince me of something, but your story keeps changing
In that hole you're already in
You're already deep into a bad situation
If you can't lie no better
If your lying skills don't improve
You might as well tell the truth
It's better to just be honest
I know you been foolin' around
I'm aware that you've been cheating
With some fool from way 'cross town
You're seeing someone who lives far away
You're tearin' our good thing down
Your actions are ruining our relationship
Makin' me out your clown
You're making me look foolish
Lookin' for excuses that you know can't be found
You're searching for reasons to justify your behavior, even though there aren't any
And you could be more discreet
You could be more careful in hiding your infidelity
With your love letters
Your written correspondence to your lover should be more hidden
And honey, I smell some other man
I can clearly detect the scent of another man on you
All over your Cashmere sweater
The smell is present on your clothing
If you can't lie no better
If your lying skills don't improve
If you can't lie no better than that
If the best lie you can come up with is that weak
If you can't lie no better
If your lying skills don't improve
If you can't lie no better than that
If the best lie you can come up with is that weak
You might as well tell the truth
It's better to just be honest
Lyrics © CAROL VINCENT & ASSOC LLC
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.