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.
You're Taking Up Another Man's Place
Etta James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you don't want nobody else to want me
What kind of man
What kind of man are you?
You don't need me
And you don't want nobody else to need me
What kind of man
Now if you're not gonna take care of business
Then you ought to stop taking up space
'Cause you're just taking up, that's all you're doing
You just taking up another man's place
Aw baby, you don't even
You don't even want me to go to the store
What kind of man
What manner of man are you?
You run over me
You run right over me trying to answer the telephone
Tell me what kind of thing, what kind of thing
What kind of thing you think you gonna put me through?
You keep me wanting
You keep me wanting the one thing you never gave
Well, right here right now
You can stop taking up another man's space
Baby, I been faithful
And you know I been true
But if you're not gonna love me, baby
Tell me what do you expect me to do?
You keep me wanting
You keep me wanting the one thing you never gave
Well, right here right now
Right here right now
You can stop taking up another man's place
If you're not gonna love me baby
And you know I need somebody to love me
You're just taking up another man's place
If you really don't need me, baby
If you say you just don't need me
You just, oh, stop taking up another man's place
In "You're Taking Up Another Man's Place," Etta James sings about a man who doesn't truly want her, but doesn't want anyone else to have her either. She questions what kind of man he is to behave in such a possessive and selfish way. The lyrics suggest that this man uses her for his own convenience and takes up space in her life without truly caring for her. James implores the man to take care of business and stop occupying a space that another man could potentially occupy.
The lyrics also convey James's frustration and longing for a fulfilling relationship. She expresses that the man keeps her wanting something that he never gives her, implying that he does not reciprocate her love and affection. Despite being faithful and true, she questions what she should do if the man does not truly love her. The repetition of the phrase "taking up another man's place" highlights the idea that someone else could occupy the space that this man occupies in her life.
Overall, the song can be interpreted as a critique of possessive and selfish behavior in relationships, as well as an expression of longing for a deeper connection and love.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't want me
You do not have any desire for me
And you don't want nobody else to want me
You do not want anyone else to have any desire for me
What kind of man
What type of person
What kind of man are you?
What type of person are you being?
You don't need me
You do not require me
And you don't want nobody else to need me
You do not want anyone else to require me
What kind of man
What type of person
Are you trying to send me to?
Are you attempting to push me away?
Now if you're not gonna take care of business
If you are not going to handle things
Then you ought to stop taking up space
You should not take up space
'Cause you're just taking up, that's all you're doing
Because you are simply occupying, that is all you are doing
You just taking up another man's place
You are taking up the spot of another man
Aw baby, you don't even
Oh baby, you do not even
You don't even want me to go to the store
You do not even want me to go to the store
What kind of man
What type of person
What manner of man are you?
What type of person are you being?
You run over me
You disregard me
You run right over me trying to answer the telephone
You disregard me while attempting to answer the phone
Tell me what kind of thing, what kind of thing
Explain to me what type of behavior, what type of behavior
What kind of thing you think you gonna put me through?
What type of behavior do you think you will subject me to?
You keep me wanting
You keep me desiring
You keep me wanting the one thing you never gave
You keep me desiring the one thing you have never given
Well, right here right now
At this very moment
You can stop taking up another man's space
You are capable of ceasing to take up another man's spot
Baby, I been faithful
Darling, I have been loyal
And you know I been true
And you are aware that I have been genuine
But if you're not gonna love me, baby
However, if you are not going to love me, darling
Tell me what do you expect me to do?
Tell me, what do you want me to do?
And you know I need somebody to love me
You are aware that I require someone to love me
If you really don't need me, baby
If you truly do not require me, darling
If you say you just don't need me
If you declare that you just do not require me
You just, oh, stop taking up another man's place
You simply must stop occupying another man's spot
Contributed by Alex B. 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.