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.
My Mother-In-Law
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She′s always stickin' her nose in my business, it seems I married her instead of you
Oh my mother-in-law,
Oh she makes me sick
Oh my mother-in-law,
I got to get away from her quick, now
Got to get away from her quick
I've tried and tried to get along, but nothing I do is right
I'm packing my bags and leaving tonight
Oh my mother-in-law,
Oh she makes me scream
Oh my mother-in-law,
It′s worse than a horrible dream, now
Oh yeah, she's worse than a horrible dream
Wooh...
Somebody has got to go (It won′t be me)
It's either her or me (It won't be me)
I′m sick and tired of your mother, there′s not enough room for us three
Oh, my mother-in-law
Oh, she worries me so
Oh, my mother-in-law, now
You know she's got to go now, yeah, you know she′s got to go
Oh, my mother-in-law
Oh, she worries me so (she drinks all of my booze)
The lyrics of Etta James's song My Mother-In-Law express the artist's frustration and annoyance with her mother-in-law's interference in her life. The first two lines of the song set an angry tone, with Etta proclaiming, "I'm sick and tired of your mother, telling me what to do. She's always sticking her nose in my business, it seems I married her instead of you." These lines encapsulate the artist's feeling of intrusion, as her mother-in-law constantly interferes in her life and makes her feel powerless.
Etta James's frustration with her mother-in-law peaks in the chorus of the song, where she declares, "Oh my mother-in-law, oh she makes me sick. Oh my mother-in-law, I got to get away from her quick, now. Got to get away from her quick." These lines emphasize how much the artist wants to separate herself from her mother-in-law's overbearing presence. Later in the song, Etta James offers a solution to her problem when she sings, "I'm packing my bags and leaving tonight. Oh my mother-in-law, oh she makes me scream. It's worse than a horrible dream, now. Oh yeah, she's worse than a horrible dream." The artist is willing to take drastic measures to get rid of her mother-in-law, as she cannot continue living with her intrusion any longer.
In summary, Etta James's song My Mother-In-Law portrays the artist's constant struggle with her mother-in-law's constant intrusion and meddling in her life. The lyrics express her frustration and her desire to break free from her mother-in-law's overbearing presence.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm sick and tired of your mother, tellin' me what to do
I'm feeling fed up with your mother interfering in my life
She′s always stickin' her nose in my business, it seems I married her instead of you
She's always invading my privacy, it's like I married her instead of you
Oh my mother-in-law, Oh,she makes me sick
Oh,my mother-in-law is making me feel ill
Oh my mother-in-law, I got to get away from her quick, now Got to get away from her quick
I need to flee from my mother-in-law immediately
I've tried and tried to get along, but nothing I do is right If she can′t mind her business, I′m telling you what I'm goin′ to do I'm packing my bags and leaving tonight
I have attempted to have a good relationship with her, but whatever I do, she doesn't approve. If she won't stop interfering, I'll be forced to leave tonight
Oh my mother-in-law, Oh, she makes me scream Oh my mother-in-law, It′s worse than a horrible dream, now Oh yeah, she's worse than a horrible dream Wooh...
I scream because of how bad my mother-in-law is. She's the stuff of nightmares
Somebody has got to go (It won′t be me) It's either her or me (It won't be me) I′m sick and tired of your mother, there′s not enough room for us three Oh, my mother-in-law Oh, she worries me so
One of us needs to depart (and it won't be me). Either she goes, or I do. I'm getting tired of your mother, and there's not enough room in this house for the three of us. My mother-in-law is worrying me greatly
Oh, my mother-in-law, now You know she's got to go now, yeah, you know she′s got to go Oh, my mother-in-law Oh, she worries me so (she drinks all of my booze)
My mother-in-law must leave now; there's no question about it. She's distressing me, and she's even drinking my alcohol
Writer(s): Lee Diamond, George David
Contributed by Kayla I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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.