James is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and is the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone ranked James number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists.
Jamesetta Hawkins was born on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, to Dorothy Hawkins, who was only 14 at the time. Her father has never been identified. James speculated that her father was the pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, and met him briefly in 1987. Due to her mother being often absent from their Watts apartment, conducting relationships with various men, James lived with a series of foster parents, most notably "Sarge" and "Mama" Lu. James referred to her mother as "the Mystery Lady".
James received her first professional vocal training at the age of five from James Earle Hines, musical director of the Echoes of Eden choir, at the St. Paul Baptist Church in south central Los Angeles. She became a popular singing attraction at the church, and Sarge tried to pressure the church into paying him money for her singing, but they refused. During drunken poker games at home, he would often wake James up in the early hours of the morning and force her through beatings to sing for his friends. As she was a bed-wetter, and often soaked with her own urine on these occasions, the trauma of being forced to sing meant she had a lifelong reluctance to sing on demand.
In 1950, Mama Lu died, and James' real mother took her to the Fillmore District, San Francisco. Within a couple of years, James began listening to doo-wop and was inspired to form a girl group, called the Creolettes (due to the members' light skinned complexions). The 14-year-old girl met musician Johnny Otis. Stories on how they met vary including Otis' version in which James had come to his hotel after one of his performances in the city and persuaded him to audition her. Another story came that Otis spotted the group performing at a Los Angeles nightclub and sought them to record his "answer song" to Hank Ballard's "Work With Me, Annie". Nonetheless, Otis took the group under his wing, helping them sign to Modern Records and changing their name from the Creolettes to the Peaches and gave the singer her stage name reversing Jamesetta into Etta James. James recorded the version, which she was allowed to co-author, in 1954, and the song was released in early 1955 as "Dance with Me, Henry". Originally the name of the song was "Roll With Me, Henry" but was changed to avoid censorship due to the subtle title. In February of that year, the song reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart. Its success gave the group an opening spot on Little Richard's national tour.
While on tour with Richard, pop singer Georgia Gibbs recorded her version of James' song, which was released under the title "The Wallflower", and became a crossover hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, which angered James. After leaving the Peaches, James had another R&B hit with "Good Rockin' Daddy", but struggled with follow-ups. When her contract with Modern came up in 1960, she decided to sign with Leonard Chess' namesake label, Chess Records, and shortly afterwards got involved in a relationship with singer Harvey Fuqua, founder of the doo-wop group, The Moonglows.
Bobby Murray, aka "Taters", toured with Etta James for 20 years. He wrote that James had her first hit single when she was 15 years of age and went steady with B.B. King when she was 16. Etta James believed the hit single "Sweet Sixteen" by King was about her.
The Wallflower
Etta James & The Peaches Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To make you love me too?
You've got to roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (don't mean maybe)
Roll with me, Henry (any old time)
Roll with me, Henry (don't change my mind)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
Roll on, roll on, roll on
While the cats are ballin'
You better stop your stallin'
Its intermission in a minute
So you better get with it
Roll with me, Henry
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Oh, oh, ooh-wee
Henry, you ain't movin' me
You better feel that boogie beat
And get the lead out of your feet
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Roll on
Roll with me, Henry
Alright, baby
Well, I ain't teasin' (talk to me, baby)
You better stop your freezin' (alright, mama)
If you want romancin' (okay, sugar)
You better learn some dancin' (mm, mm)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (don't mean maybe)
Roll with me, Henry (any old time)
Roll with me, Henry (don't change my mind)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Oh, oh, Henry (oh, mama)
Roll with me, Henry (mm, mm)
Roll with me, Henry
The song "Roll With Me, Henry" by Etta James, also known as "The Wallflower", is a plea from a woman to a man, asking what she has to do to win his love. She exclaims "Roll with me, Henry" repeatedly throughout the song, urging him to dance with her and enjoy the music while the "cats are ballin'". Her push for him to join in shows her enthusiasm and desire for him to share in her love of dance, and by extension, her love for him. The urgency in her voice and the repetitive nature of the chorus also depict her impatience with him, as she tells him to "roll it while the rollin' is on", suggesting that the moment is fleeting and they should take advantage of it while they can.
The lyrics, which were co-written by James along with Johnny Otis and Hank Ballard, reflect the gender dynamics and cultural norms of the time period they were written in. The woman in the song is taking a traditionally masculine role in asking the man to dance, while he is portrayed as resistant and in need of persuasion. The upbeat tempo and bluesy sound of the song also reflect the musical styles popular in the early 1950s, when the song was released.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, baby, what do I have to do
To make you love me too?
The singer is asking the listener what she needs to do to be loved back.
You've got to roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (don't mean maybe)
Roll with me, Henry (any old time)
Roll with me, Henry (don't change my mind)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
The singer is asking Henry to dance with her and enjoy the moment while they can.
While the cats are ballin'
You better stop your stallin'
Its intermission in a minute
So you better get with it
Roll with me, Henry
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
The singer is urging Henry to stop hesitating and join her in dancing.
Oh, oh, ooh-wee
Henry, you ain't movin' me
You better feel that boogie beat
And get the lead out of your feet
The artist is telling Henry that his lack of enthusiasm is not enough to impress her and that he needs to move more rhythmically to the music.
Well, I ain't teasin' (talk to me, baby)
You better stop your freezin' (alright, mama)
If you want romancin' (okay, sugar)
You better learn some dancin' (mm, mm)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
The artist is making it clear that she is not joking and that if Henry wants to be romantically involved with her, he needs to learn how to dance with her.
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (don't mean maybe)
Roll with me, Henry (any old time)
Roll with me, Henry (don't change my mind)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Oh, oh, Henry (oh, mama)
Roll with me, Henry (mm, mm)
Roll with me, Henry
The singer is repeatedly asking Henry to dance with her and enjoy the moment, emphasizing the urgency of rolling with her while the music is playing.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Hank Ballard, Etta James, Johnny Otis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mykolazaharchuk2934
Hey, baby, what do I have to do
To make you love me too?
You've got to roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (don't mean maybe)
Roll with me, Henry (any old time)
Roll with me, Henry (don't change my mind)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
While the cats are ballin'
You better stop your stallin'
Its intermission in a minute
So you better get with it
Roll with me, Henry
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Oh, oh, ooh-wee
Henry, you ain't movin' me
You better feel that boogie beat
And get the lead out of your feet
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Roll on
Roll with me, Henry
Alright, baby
Well, I ain't teasin' (talk to me, baby)
You better stop your freezin' (alright, mama)
If you want romancin' (okay, sugar)
You better learn some dancin' (mm, mm)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (don't mean maybe)
Roll with me, Henry (any old time)
Roll with me, Henry (don't change my mind)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Oh, oh, Henry (oh, mama)
Roll with me, Henry (mm, mm)
Roll with me, Henry
@amandarepinski2274
One of the best songs, by one of the best female artists 💕
@krobigraubart
I agree with you Amada, thx for your comment!
@nicomateo23
What a great song ....Rest In Peace Etta James!
@mykolazaharchuk2934
Hey, baby, what do I have to do
To make you love me too?
You've got to roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (don't mean maybe)
Roll with me, Henry (any old time)
Roll with me, Henry (don't change my mind)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
While the cats are ballin'
You better stop your stallin'
Its intermission in a minute
So you better get with it
Roll with me, Henry
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Oh, oh, ooh-wee
Henry, you ain't movin' me
You better feel that boogie beat
And get the lead out of your feet
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
Roll with me, Henry
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Roll on
Roll with me, Henry
Alright, baby
Well, I ain't teasin' (talk to me, baby)
You better stop your freezin' (alright, mama)
If you want romancin' (okay, sugar)
You better learn some dancin' (mm, mm)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll on, roll on, roll on
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (don't mean maybe)
Roll with me, Henry (any old time)
Roll with me, Henry (don't change my mind)
Roll with me, Henry (alright)
You better roll it while the rollin' is on
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Roll with me, Henry (alright, baby)
Oh, oh, Henry (oh, mama)
Roll with me, Henry (mm, mm)
Roll with me, Henry
@troysmith6568
Great sound like its straight out the recording studio.
@krobigraubart
Thanks for your comment!
@baizarosiem
My first record back in 55 in Los Angeles. Lincoln high
@baizarosiem
Helen Martinez Baiza 1955 not rosie
@krobigraubart
Thx for your comment!
@OscarZT
I am your density I mean your destiny ❤