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.
Nobody Loves You
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't want you to work all day
But I want you to be true
And I just wanna make love to you
Love to you, ooohooo
Love to you
I don't want to keep you indoors
There is nothing for you to do
But keep me making love to you
Love to you, ooohooo
Love to you
And I can tell by the way you walk that walk
And I can hear by the way you talk that talk
And I can know by the way you treat your girl
That I could give you all the loving in the whole wide world
All I want you to do is to make your bread
Just to make sure that you're well fed
I don't want you sad and blue
And I just wanna make love to you
Love to you, ooohooo
Love to you, oooh
And I can tell by the way you walk that walk
And I can hear by the way you talk that talk
And I can know by the way you treat your girl
That I could give you all the loving in the whole wide world
Oh, all I wanna do, all I wanna do is cook your bread
Just to make sure that you're well fed
I don't want you sad and blue
And I just wanna make love to you
Love to you, ooohooo
Real love to you, ooohooo
Love to you, ooohooo
The song "I Just Want to Make Love to You" by Etta James is about a woman expressing her desire to be with a man. She desires to have a romantic and sexual relationship with him but wants him to understand that she does not want to be his slave or for him to work all day long. She just wants him to be true to her and make love to her. Etta talks about washing his clothes and making him well-fed, but above all, what she wants is to be with him and show him all the love she is willing to give him.
The song is a representation of the changing times as it came out in 1961 in America, where women's liberation movements were becoming increasingly visible. In that culture, women were expected to be subservient to their male counterparts, and they could not seek sexual pleasure without being judged for it. Etta James, through the lyrics, broke from the norm and created a song that celebrated women's sexual freedom, and her desire to be with a man without being judged or tethered to domestic chores.
This song has become one of Etta's most popular songs, and it was covered by several artists throughout the years. It was also used in TV shows, movies and advertisements, maintaining its relevance even almost six decades later. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" also had a significant impact on the Blues genre and is considered one of the Blues standards.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want you to be no slave
I don't want you to work hard for me and feel like you have to do everything I say. I want us to have a real relationship built on mutual respect and love.
I don't want you to work all day
I don't want you to have to work so hard that you don't have any time for yourself or for us to be together.
But I want you to be true
But I want you to be honest with me and to trust me, so we can have a real relationship based on love and respect.
And I just wanna make love to you
And all I want is to express my love for you physically, to show you how much I care.
Love to you, ooohooo
My love for you is all I want to give you, and I want nothing in return.
All I want to do is wash your clothes
I want to take care of the small things for you, to show you that I care and want to make your life easier.
I don't want to keep you indoors
I don't want to control you or keep you locked away from the world. I want you to be happy and free.
There is nothing for you to do
You don't have to worry about anything, as long as we are together and in love.
But keep me making love to you
But I want you to let me show you how much I love you physically, to make you feel good and loved.
And I can tell by the way you walk that walk
I can see in your confident stride that you are strong and capable, and that makes me even more attracted to you.
And I can hear by the way you talk that talk
I can hear in your voice that you are intelligent and confident, and that makes me even more in love with you.
And I can know by the way you treat your girl
I can tell by the way you treat the women in your life that you are kind and respectful, and that makes me want to love you even more.
That I could give you all the loving in the whole wide world
I know that I could love you like nobody else could, and that I could make you feel truly loved and cared for.
All I want you to do is to make your bread
All I want is for you to take care of yourself and make sure that you are healthy and happy.
Just to make sure that you're well fed
I want you to take care of yourself so that you are strong and well-nourished, so we can enjoy our love together.
I don't want you sad and blue
I don't want anything to make you sad or unhappy, because I want us to be happy together and share our love.
And I just wanna make love to you
And all I want is to express my love for you physically, to show you how much I care.
Love to you, ooohooo
My love for you is all I want to give you, and I want nothing in return.
Real love to you, ooohooo
My love for you is true and genuine, and I want to share it with you.
Love to you, ooohooo
My love for you is all I want to give you, and I want nothing in return.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Willie Dixon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Douglas Iannucci
Wow. I'm a big Etta James fan, and this is the first time I've heard this.
69ssrszl1
Wonderful soul singer.
Maryann D'Amico
Love it!
Cosette Lamonsky
This is exactly how I'm feeling right now; I love Etta so much!!!
Leandro Machado
Etta James she’s pure gold ❤️
REM700sniper@playstation network
I have not heard this one in years.
Thanks for sharing it.
Always loved Etta James, she is still the best.
Cybervamp Stevens
RIP..Mrs. Etta James...our 1 of my favorites!!! you will be missed!!!
Hadas Hall
forget the film, Etta was tough as hell ,lived enough to wear out the Stones twice over and had a voice like no one else in Blues or Soul ....only Irma Thomas can come close . Beyonce is a sweetheart , I like her but I don't buy her music . Etta is fantastic , I want all her recordings ....a legend!
Kim Turner
love the blues here, she can sing almost anything!
GA Englund
She´s great.