1899 Sleepy John Estes*
1932 Moses "Whispering" Smith*
1933 Little Mack Simmons*
1938 Etta James*
1996 Moritz Zergiebel*
Happy Birthday
Etta James *25.01.1938
Etta James (* 25. Januar 1938 als Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, Kalifornien; † 20. Januar 2012 in Riverside, Kalifornien) war eine US-amerikanische Rhythm-and-Blues-, Blues-, Gospel-, Rock-’n’-Roll- und Jazz-Sängerin.Leben
Etta James wurde als Tochter einer 14-jährigen Afro-Amerikanerin als Jamesetta Hawkins geboren. Ihren ersten Gesangsunterricht bekam sie im Alter von fünf Jahren von James Earle Hines, dem Direktor des „Echoes of Eden“-Chors der St. Paul Baptist Kirche in Los Angeles. Im Jahr 1950 zog sie mit ihrer Familie nach San Francisco.
Sie gründete 1952 das Trio „The Creolettes“, das von Johnny Otis entdeckt wurde. Darüber, wie es zu dieser Entdeckung kam, gibt es zahlreiche Versionen. Otis Version besagt, dass Etta James nach einem seiner Auftritte in San Francisco in sein Hotelzimmer kam und ihn zu einer Audition überredete. Etta James selbst erzählt, dass dies eines der Mädchen aus dem Trio gewesen sei und dass sie um zwei Uhr Johnny Otis vorgesungen hätten. Otis schlug ihr vor, die Silben ihres Vornamens zu vertauschen und daraus einen Künstlernamen zu machen. Ihre ersten Aufnahmen, zusammen mit „The Otis“, folgten alsbald. Der Song The Wallflower, eine Antwort auf Hank Ballards Lied Work with Me, Annie, wurde sofort ein Hit im R&B-Bereich. Später wurde der Song von Georgia Gibbs, als Dance with Me, Henry, neu interpretiert.
Bis 1960 sang sie als Etta James & the Peaches, danach wechselte sie zu Chess Records. Gleichwohl wollte sich lange Zeit kein Erfolg im Mainstream einstellen. Erst nach ihrem Wechsel zu Chess Records kam auch der kommerzielle Erfolg. Er begann mit All I Could Do Was Cry und setzte sich die ganzen 1960er Jahre fort. Mit dem Aufstieg der Disco-Musik am Beginn der 1970er-Jahre nahmen ihre Erfolge wieder ab, aber ihre bisherige Musik machten sie bereits zu einer Ikone der amerikanischen Musik. Nachdem sie ihre Drogensucht erfolgreich bekämpft hatte, engagierte sie sich in Anti-Drogen-Projekten. 1978 und 1980 war sie als Vorgruppe der Rolling Stones unterwegs. Bei der Eröffnung der Olympischen Sommerspiele 1984 in Los Angeles sang sie When the Saints Go Marching In. 1993 wurde sie von den Kritikern mit dem Living Blues Award als beste Blueskünstlerin ausgezeichnet; eine Auszeichnung, die sie auch 2004 erhielt. 1995 erschien ihre Biographie Rage to survive, geschrieben von David Ritz.
Ihr Gesang zeichnete sich durch eine volltönende, ausgereifte Stimme aus, die einem jüngeren Publikum vor allem bekannt ist, weil sie Mitte der 1990er Jahre in einem Cola-Werbefilm mit dem Muddy-Waters-Klassiker I Just Wanna Make Love to You zu hören war. In Österreich wurde Ende der 1990er Jahre ihr größter Hit At Last in einer Essigwerbung verwendet und so einem breiteren Publikum bekannt. Der Film Cadillac Records zeigt ihre Lebensphase vom Wechsel zu Chess Records (1960) bis zum Tod des Gründers Leonard Chess (1969). Der Film kam am 23. April 2009 in die deutschen Kinos. Beyoncé Knowles verkörpert darin Etta. 2011 ist sie in der Single Levels des schwedischen DJs Avicii als Sample zu hören.
Ihre Söhne Donto (Schlagzeug) und Sametto (Bass) sind ebenfalls Musiker und waren Teil ihrer Begleitband, The Roots Band. Sametto produzierte auch ihr mit dem Grammy ausgezeichnetes Album Let’s roll.
Etta James, die an Alzheimer-Krankheit, Leukämie und Hepatitis C erkrankt war,[1] hatte ihren letzten öffentlichen Auftritt im April 2009. Sie starb am 20. Januar 2012 an den Folgen einer schweren Lungenentzündung.[2]
Auszeichnungen
1993: Aufnahme in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[3]
1994: Grammy für die beste Jazz-Stimme
1999: Aufnahme des Titels At Last (Argo, 1961) in die Grammy Hall of Fame
2001: Aufnahme in die Blues Hall of Fame
2003: Grammy für das Lebenswerk
2003: Stern auf dem Hollywood Walk of Fame (Kategorie: Musik)
2004: Grammy für das beste zeitgenössische Blues-Album (Let’s Roll)
2005: Grammy für das beste zeitgenössische Blues-Album (Blues To The Bone)
2008: Aufnahme des Titels The Wallflower (aka Roll with me, Henry) (Modern Records 1955)
in die Grammy Hall of Fame
Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter. Her style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she wrote the lyrics.[1] She faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch.[2]
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 and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008.[3] 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.[4][5]
Early life and career: 1938–1959
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.[6] James speculated that he was the pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, and met him briefly in 1987.[7] Due to her mother's frequent absences 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".[6]
James received her first professional vocal training at age 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 there, and Sarge tried to pressure the church into paying him 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.[8]
In 1950, Mama Lu died, and James' biological mother took her to the Fillmore District, San Francisco.[9] 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 off-color title. In February of that year, the song reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart.[10] Its success gave the group an opening spot on Little Richard's national tour.[11]
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.[12]
Chess and Warner Brothers years: 1960–1978
Dueting with Harvey Fuqua, James recorded for the Chess label, Argo, (later Cadet), and her first hit singles with Fuqua were "If I Can't Have You" and "Spoonful". Her first solo hit was the doo-wop styled rhythm and blues number, "All I Could Do Was Cry", becoming a number two R&B hit.[13] Leonard Chess had envisioned James as a classic ballad stylist who had potential to cross over to the pop charts and soon surrounded the singer with violins and other string instruments.[13] The first string-laden ballad James recorded was "My Dearest Darling" in May 1960, which peaked in the top five of the R&B chart. James sang background vocals on label mate Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A."[14][15]
Her debut album, At Last!, was released in late 1960 and was noted for its varied choice in music from jazz standards to blues numbers to doo-wop and rhythm and blues (R&B).[16] The album also included James' future classic, "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "A Sunday Kind of Love". In early 1961, James released what was to become her signature song, "At Last", which reached number two on the R&B chart and number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though the song was not as successful as expected, it has become the most remembered version of the song.[14] James followed that up with "Trust in Me", which also included string instruments.[13] Later that same year, James released a second studio album, The Second Time Around. The album took the same direction as her previous album, covering many jazz and pop standards, and using strings on many of the songs spawning two hit singles, "Fool That I Am" and "Don't Cry Baby".[17]
James started adding gospel elements in her music the following year releasing "Something's Got a Hold on Me", which peaked at number four on the R&B chart and was also a top 40 pop hit.[18] That success was quickly followed by "Stop the Wedding", which reached number six on the R&B charts and also had gospel elements.[14] In 1963, she had another major hit with "Pushover" and released the live album Etta James Rocks the House, which was recorded at the New Era Club in Nashville, Tennessee.[13] After a couple years scoring minor hits, James' career started to suffer after 1965. After a period of isolation, James returned to recording in 1967 and reemerged with more gutsy R&B numbers thanks to her recording at the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama releasing her comeback hit "Tell Mama", which was co-written by Clarence Carter, and reached number ten R&B and number twenty three pop. An album of the same name was also released that year and included her take of Otis Redding's "Security".[19] The B-side of "Tell Mama" was "I'd Rather Go Blind", which became a blues classic in its own right and was recorded by many other artists. She wrote in her autobiography Rage To Survive that she heard the song outlined by her friend Ellington "Fugi" Jordan when she visited him in prison.[20] According to her account, she wrote the rest of the song with Jordan, but for tax reasons gave her songwriting credit to her partner at the time, Billy Foster.
Following this success, James became an in-demand concert performer though she never again reached the heyday of her early to mid-1960s success. She continued to chart in the R&B Top 40 in the early 1970s with singles such as "Losers Weepers" (1970) and "I Found a Love" (1972). Though James continued to record for Chess, she was devastated by the death of Chess founder Leonard Chess in 1969. James ventured into rock and funk with the release of her self-titled album in 1973 with production from famed rock producer Gabriel Mekler, who had worked with Steppenwolf and Janis Joplin, who had admired James and had covered "Tell Mama" in concert. The album, known for its mixtures of musical styles, was nominated for a Grammy Award.[19] The album did not produce any major hits, neither did the follow-up, Come A Little Closer, in 1974, though like Etta James before it, the album was also critically acclaimed. James continued to record for Chess (now owned by All Platinum Records), releasing one more album in 1976, Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!, and her 1978 Warner Brothers album Deep in the Night, produced by Jerry Wexler, saw the singer incorporating more rock-based music in her repertoire.[13] That same year, James was the opening act for The Rolling Stones and also performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Following this brief success, however, she left Chess Records and did not record for another ten years as she struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism.
Later career: 1988–2012
Though she continued to perform, little was heard of Etta James until 1987 when she was seen performing "Rock & Roll Music" with Chuck Berry on his "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" documentary. In 1989, James signed with Island Records and released the album Seven Year Itch. The album was produced by Barry Beckett. She released a second album, also produced by Barry Beckett, in 1989 titled Stickin' to My Guns. Both albums were recorded at FAME Studios.[19] Also in 1989 James filmed a live concert from the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles with Joe Walsh and Albert Collins, "Jazzvisions: Jump The Blues Away". Backing musicians consisted of many top-flight players from LA: Rick Rosas (bass); Michael Huey (drums); Ed Sanford (B3); Kip Noble (piano); and Etta's longtime guitar player Josh Sklair (guitar). James participated in rap singer Def Jef for the song "Droppin' Rhymes on Drums", which mixed James' jazz vocals with hip-hop. In 1992, James released The Right Time produced by Jerry Wexler on Elektra Records and the following year, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[10] James signed with Private Music Records in 1993 and recorded the Billie Holiday tribute album Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday.[18] The album later set a trend for James' music to incorporate more jazz elements.[13] The album won James her first Grammy Award for best jazz vocal performance in 1994. In 1995, she released the David Ritz-co authored autobiography, A Rage to Survive, and recorded the album Time After Time. Three years later she issued the Christmas album Etta James Christmas in 1998.[13]
By the mid-1990s, James' earlier classic music was included in commercials including, most notably, "I Just Wanna Make Love to You". Due to exposure of the song in a UK commercial, the song reached the top ten of the UK charts in 1996.[10] Continuing to record for Private Music, she released the blues album Matriarch of the Blues in 2000, which had James returning to her R&B roots with Rolling Stone hailing it as a "solid return to roots", further stating that the album found the singer "reclaiming her throne—and defying anyone to knock her off it".[18] In 2001, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the latter for her contributions to the developments of both rock and roll music and rockabilly. In 2003, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Her 2004 release, Blue Gardenia, returned James to a jazz music style. Her final album for Private Music, Let's Roll, was released in 2005 and won James a Grammy for best contemporary blues album.[21]
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her No. 62 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[22] James has performed at the top world jazz festivals in the world, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977, 1989, 1990 and 1993,[23] performed nine times at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival, and the San Francisco Jazz Festival five times. Additionally, James often performed at free summer arts festivals throughout the United States.
In 2008, James was portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles in the film Cadillac Records, based on the James' label of 18 years, Chess Records, and how label founder and producer Leonard Chess helped the career of James and other label mates.[24] The film portrayed her pop hit "At Last", though James also had other big hits. James and Knowles were seen at a red carpet event following the film's release embracing each other. James later said that her previous criticizing remarks about Knowles for having performed "At Last" at the inauguration of Barack Obama were a joke stemming from how she felt hurt that she herself was not invited to sing her song.[25] It was later revealed that James' Alzheimer's disease and "drug induced dementia" contributed to her previous negative comments about Beyoncé Knowles.[26]
In April 2009, the 71-year-old James made her final television appearance performing "At Last" during an appearance on Dancing with the Stars. In May 2009, James received the Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year award from the Blues Foundation, the ninth time James had won the award. James carried on touring but by 2010 had to cancel concert dates due to her gradually failing health after it was revealed that she was suffering from dementia and leukemia. In November 2011, James released her final album, The Dreamer, which was critically acclaimed upon its release. James announced that this would be her final album. James's continuing relevance was affirmed in 2011 when the Swedish DJ Avicii achieved substantial chart success with the song "Levels", which samples her 1962 song, "Something's Got a Hold On Me". The same sample was also used by rapper Flo Rida in his hit 2011 single "Good Feeling". Both artists issued statements of condolence on James's death.[27]
Style and influence
James possessed the vocal range of a contralto.[28] James's musical style changed during the course of her career. When beginning her recording career in the mid-50s, James was marketed as an R&B and doo-wop singer.[13] After signing with Chess Records in 1960, James broke through as a traditional pop-styled singer, covering jazz and pop music standards on her debut album, At Last!.[29] James's voice deepened and coarsened, moving her musical style in her later years into the genres of soul and jazz.[13]
Etta James had once been considered one of the most overlooked blues and R&B musicians in Music history of the United States. It was not until the early 1990s, when James began receiving major industry awards from the Grammys and the Blues Foundation, that she began to receive wide recognition. In recent years, James was seen as bridging the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll. James has influenced a wide variety of musicians including Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland,[18] and Hayley Williams of Paramore[30] as well as British artists The Rolling Stones,[31] Rod Stewart,[32] Elkie Brooks,[33] Amy Winehouse,[32] Paloma Faith,[34] Joss Stone[35] and Adele,[36] and also Belgian singer Dani Klein plus New Zealand singer Lorde.[37]
Her song, "Something's Got a Hold on Me", has been recognized in many ways. Brussels music act Vaya Con Dios covered the song on their 1990 album Night Owls. Another version, performed by Christina Aguilera, was in the 2010 film, Burlesque. Pretty Lights sampled the song in "Finally Moving", followed by Avicii's dance hit, "Levels", and again in Flo Rida's single, "Good Feeling".
Personal life
James encountered a string of legal problems during the early 1970s due to her heroin addiction. She was continuously in and out of rehabilitation centers, including the Tarzana Rehabilitation Center, in Los Angeles, California. Her husband Artis Mills, whom she married in 1969, accepted responsibility when they were both arrested for heroin possession and served a 10-year prison sentence.[38] He was released from prison in 1981 and was still married to James at her death.[18]
In 1974, James was sentenced to drug treatment instead of serving time in prison. She was in the Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital for 17 months, at age 36, and went through a great struggle at the start of treatment. In her autobiography, she said that the time she spent in the hospital changed her life. After leaving treatment, however, her substance abuse continued after she developed a relationship with a man who was also using drugs. In 1988, at the age of 50, she entered the Betty Ford Center, in Palm Springs, California, for treatment.[18] In 2010, she received treatment for a dependency on painkillers.[39]
James had two sons, Donto and Sametto. Both started performing with their mother — Donto played drums at Montreux in 1993, and Sametto played bass guitar circa 2003.[40]
Illness and death
James was hospitalized in January 2010 to treat an infection caused by MRSA, a bacterium that is resistant to most antibiotic treatments. During her hospitalization, her son Donto revealed that James had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2008.[26]
She was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011. The illness became terminal and she died on January 20, 2012, just five days before her 74th birthday, at Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, California.[41][42] Her death came three days after that of Johnny Otis, the man who discovered her in the 1950s. Additionally, just 36 days after her death, her sideman Red Holloway also died.
The funeral, presided over by Reverend Al Sharpton, took place in Gardena, California eight days after her death. Singers Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera each gave a musical tribute.[43][44] She was entombed at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles County, California.
Awards
From 1989, James received over 30 awards and recognitions from eight different organizations, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences which organizes the Grammys.
In 1989, the newly formed Rhythm and Blues Foundation included James in their first Pioneer Awards for artists whose "lifelong contributions have been instrumental in the development of Rhythm & Blues music".[45] The following year, 1990, she received an NAACP Image Award, which is given for "outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts";[46] an award she cherished as it "was coming from my own people".[47]
1993, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
2001, Rockabilly Hall of Fame
April 18, 2003,[48] Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Hollywood Walk of Fame, star at 7080
Hollywood Blvd, and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Lifetime Achievement Award[49]
2006, Billboard R&B Founders Award[50]
Grammys
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. James has received six Grammy Awards. Her first was in 1995, when she was awarded Best Jazz Vocal Performance for the album Mystery Lady, which consisted of covers of Billie Holiday songs.[51] Two other albums have also won awards, Let's Roll (Best Contemporary Blues Album) in 2003, and Blues to the Bone (Best Traditional Blues Album) in 2004. Two of her early songs have been given Grammy Hall of Fame Awards for "qualitative or historical significance": "At Last", in 1999,[52] and "The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)" in 2008.[53] In 2003, she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Blues Foundation
The members of the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up in Memphis, Tennessee, to foster the blues and its heritage,[55] have nominated James for a Blues Music Award nearly every year since its founding in 1980; and she received some form of Blues Female Artist of the Year award 14 times since 1989, continuously from 1999 to 2007.[56] In addition, the albums Life, Love, & The Blues (1999), Burnin' Down The House (2003), and Let's Roll (2004) were awarded Soul/Blues Album of the Year,[56] and in 2001 she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
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 and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008.[3] 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.[4][5]
Early life and career: 1938–1959
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.[6] James speculated that he was the pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, and met him briefly in 1987.[7] Due to her mother's frequent absences 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".[6]
James received her first professional vocal training at age 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 there, and Sarge tried to pressure the church into paying him 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.[8]
In 1950, Mama Lu died, and James' biological mother took her to the Fillmore District, San Francisco.[9] 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 off-color title. In February of that year, the song reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart.[10] Its success gave the group an opening spot on Little Richard's national tour.[11]
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.[12]
Chess and Warner Brothers years: 1960–1978
Dueting with Harvey Fuqua, James recorded for the Chess label, Argo, (later Cadet), and her first hit singles with Fuqua were "If I Can't Have You" and "Spoonful". Her first solo hit was the doo-wop styled rhythm and blues number, "All I Could Do Was Cry", becoming a number two R&B hit.[13] Leonard Chess had envisioned James as a classic ballad stylist who had potential to cross over to the pop charts and soon surrounded the singer with violins and other string instruments.[13] The first string-laden ballad James recorded was "My Dearest Darling" in May 1960, which peaked in the top five of the R&B chart. James sang background vocals on label mate Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A."[14][15]
Her debut album, At Last!, was released in late 1960 and was noted for its varied choice in music from jazz standards to blues numbers to doo-wop and rhythm and blues (R&B).[16] The album also included James' future classic, "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "A Sunday Kind of Love". In early 1961, James released what was to become her signature song, "At Last", which reached number two on the R&B chart and number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though the song was not as successful as expected, it has become the most remembered version of the song.[14] James followed that up with "Trust in Me", which also included string instruments.[13] Later that same year, James released a second studio album, The Second Time Around. The album took the same direction as her previous album, covering many jazz and pop standards, and using strings on many of the songs spawning two hit singles, "Fool That I Am" and "Don't Cry Baby".[17]
James started adding gospel elements in her music the following year releasing "Something's Got a Hold on Me", which peaked at number four on the R&B chart and was also a top 40 pop hit.[18] That success was quickly followed by "Stop the Wedding", which reached number six on the R&B charts and also had gospel elements.[14] In 1963, she had another major hit with "Pushover" and released the live album Etta James Rocks the House, which was recorded at the New Era Club in Nashville, Tennessee.[13] After a couple years scoring minor hits, James' career started to suffer after 1965. After a period of isolation, James returned to recording in 1967 and reemerged with more gutsy R&B numbers thanks to her recording at the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama releasing her comeback hit "Tell Mama", which was co-written by Clarence Carter, and reached number ten R&B and number twenty three pop. An album of the same name was also released that year and included her take of Otis Redding's "Security".[19] The B-side of "Tell Mama" was "I'd Rather Go Blind", which became a blues classic in its own right and was recorded by many other artists. She wrote in her autobiography Rage To Survive that she heard the song outlined by her friend Ellington "Fugi" Jordan when she visited him in prison.[20] According to her account, she wrote the rest of the song with Jordan, but for tax reasons gave her songwriting credit to her partner at the time, Billy Foster.
Following this success, James became an in-demand concert performer though she never again reached the heyday of her early to mid-1960s success. She continued to chart in the R&B Top 40 in the early 1970s with singles such as "Losers Weepers" (1970) and "I Found a Love" (1972). Though James continued to record for Chess, she was devastated by the death of Chess founder Leonard Chess in 1969. James ventured into rock and funk with the release of her self-titled album in 1973 with production from famed rock producer Gabriel Mekler, who had worked with Steppenwolf and Janis Joplin, who had admired James and had covered "Tell Mama" in concert. The album, known for its mixtures of musical styles, was nominated for a Grammy Award.[19] The album did not produce any major hits, neither did the follow-up, Come A Little Closer, in 1974, though like Etta James before it, the album was also critically acclaimed. James continued to record for Chess (now owned by All Platinum Records), releasing one more album in 1976, Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!, and her 1978 Warner Brothers album Deep in the Night, produced by Jerry Wexler, saw the singer incorporating more rock-based music in her repertoire.[13] That same year, James was the opening act for The Rolling Stones and also performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Following this brief success, however, she left Chess Records and did not record for another ten years as she struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism.
Later career: 1988–2012
Though she continued to perform, little was heard of Etta James until 1987 when she was seen performing "Rock & Roll Music" with Chuck Berry on his "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" documentary. In 1989, James signed with Island Records and released the album Seven Year Itch. The album was produced by Barry Beckett. She released a second album, also produced by Barry Beckett, in 1989 titled Stickin' to My Guns. Both albums were recorded at FAME Studios.[19] Also in 1989 James filmed a live concert from the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles with Joe Walsh and Albert Collins, "Jazzvisions: Jump The Blues Away". Backing musicians consisted of many top-flight players from LA: Rick Rosas (bass); Michael Huey (drums); Ed Sanford (B3); Kip Noble (piano); and Etta's longtime guitar player Josh Sklair (guitar). James participated in rap singer Def Jef for the song "Droppin' Rhymes on Drums", which mixed James' jazz vocals with hip-hop. In 1992, James released The Right Time produced by Jerry Wexler on Elektra Records and the following year, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[10] James signed with Private Music Records in 1993 and recorded the Billie Holiday tribute album Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday.[18] The album later set a trend for James' music to incorporate more jazz elements.[13] The album won James her first Grammy Award for best jazz vocal performance in 1994. In 1995, she released the David Ritz-co authored autobiography, A Rage to Survive, and recorded the album Time After Time. Three years later she issued the Christmas album Etta James Christmas in 1998.[13]
By the mid-1990s, James' earlier classic music was included in commercials including, most notably, "I Just Wanna Make Love to You". Due to exposure of the song in a UK commercial, the song reached the top ten of the UK charts in 1996.[10] Continuing to record for Private Music, she released the blues album Matriarch of the Blues in 2000, which had James returning to her R&B roots with Rolling Stone hailing it as a "solid return to roots", further stating that the album found the singer "reclaiming her throne—and defying anyone to knock her off it".[18] In 2001, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the latter for her contributions to the developments of both rock and roll music and rockabilly. In 2003, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Her 2004 release, Blue Gardenia, returned James to a jazz music style. Her final album for Private Music, Let's Roll, was released in 2005 and won James a Grammy for best contemporary blues album.[21]
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her No. 62 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[22] James has performed at the top world jazz festivals in the world, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977, 1989, 1990 and 1993,[23] performed nine times at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival, and the San Francisco Jazz Festival five times. Additionally, James often performed at free summer arts festivals throughout the United States.
In 2008, James was portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles in the film Cadillac Records, based on the James' label of 18 years, Chess Records, and how label founder and producer Leonard Chess helped the career of James and other label mates.[24] The film portrayed her pop hit "At Last", though James also had other big hits. James and Knowles were seen at a red carpet event following the film's release embracing each other. James later said that her previous criticizing remarks about Knowles for having performed "At Last" at the inauguration of Barack Obama were a joke stemming from how she felt hurt that she herself was not invited to sing her song.[25] It was later revealed that James' Alzheimer's disease and "drug induced dementia" contributed to her previous negative comments about Beyoncé Knowles.[26]
In April 2009, the 71-year-old James made her final television appearance performing "At Last" during an appearance on Dancing with the Stars. In May 2009, James received the Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year award from the Blues Foundation, the ninth time James had won the award. James carried on touring but by 2010 had to cancel concert dates due to her gradually failing health after it was revealed that she was suffering from dementia and leukemia. In November 2011, James released her final album, The Dreamer, which was critically acclaimed upon its release. James announced that this would be her final album. James's continuing relevance was affirmed in 2011 when the Swedish DJ Avicii achieved substantial chart success with the song "Levels", which samples her 1962 song, "Something's Got a Hold On Me". The same sample was also used by rapper Flo Rida in his hit 2011 single "Good Feeling". Both artists issued statements of condolence on James's death.[27]
Style and influence
James possessed the vocal range of a contralto.[28] James's musical style changed during the course of her career. When beginning her recording career in the mid-50s, James was marketed as an R&B and doo-wop singer.[13] After signing with Chess Records in 1960, James broke through as a traditional pop-styled singer, covering jazz and pop music standards on her debut album, At Last!.[29] James's voice deepened and coarsened, moving her musical style in her later years into the genres of soul and jazz.[13]
Etta James had once been considered one of the most overlooked blues and R&B musicians in Music history of the United States. It was not until the early 1990s, when James began receiving major industry awards from the Grammys and the Blues Foundation, that she began to receive wide recognition. In recent years, James was seen as bridging the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll. James has influenced a wide variety of musicians including Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland,[18] and Hayley Williams of Paramore[30] as well as British artists The Rolling Stones,[31] Rod Stewart,[32] Elkie Brooks,[33] Amy Winehouse,[32] Paloma Faith,[34] Joss Stone[35] and Adele,[36] and also Belgian singer Dani Klein plus New Zealand singer Lorde.[37]
Her song, "Something's Got a Hold on Me", has been recognized in many ways. Brussels music act Vaya Con Dios covered the song on their 1990 album Night Owls. Another version, performed by Christina Aguilera, was in the 2010 film, Burlesque. Pretty Lights sampled the song in "Finally Moving", followed by Avicii's dance hit, "Levels", and again in Flo Rida's single, "Good Feeling".
Personal life
James encountered a string of legal problems during the early 1970s due to her heroin addiction. She was continuously in and out of rehabilitation centers, including the Tarzana Rehabilitation Center, in Los Angeles, California. Her husband Artis Mills, whom she married in 1969, accepted responsibility when they were both arrested for heroin possession and served a 10-year prison sentence.[38] He was released from prison in 1981 and was still married to James at her death.[18]
In 1974, James was sentenced to drug treatment instead of serving time in prison. She was in the Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital for 17 months, at age 36, and went through a great struggle at the start of treatment. In her autobiography, she said that the time she spent in the hospital changed her life. After leaving treatment, however, her substance abuse continued after she developed a relationship with a man who was also using drugs. In 1988, at the age of 50, she entered the Betty Ford Center, in Palm Springs, California, for treatment.[18] In 2010, she received treatment for a dependency on painkillers.[39]
James had two sons, Donto and Sametto. Both started performing with their mother — Donto played drums at Montreux in 1993, and Sametto played bass guitar circa 2003.[40]
Illness and death
James was hospitalized in January 2010 to treat an infection caused by MRSA, a bacterium that is resistant to most antibiotic treatments. During her hospitalization, her son Donto revealed that James had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2008.[26]
She was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011. The illness became terminal and she died on January 20, 2012, just five days before her 74th birthday, at Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, California.[41][42] Her death came three days after that of Johnny Otis, the man who discovered her in the 1950s. Additionally, just 36 days after her death, her sideman Red Holloway also died.
The funeral, presided over by Reverend Al Sharpton, took place in Gardena, California eight days after her death. Singers Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera each gave a musical tribute.[43][44] She was entombed at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles County, California.
Awards
From 1989, James received over 30 awards and recognitions from eight different organizations, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences which organizes the Grammys.
In 1989, the newly formed Rhythm and Blues Foundation included James in their first Pioneer Awards for artists whose "lifelong contributions have been instrumental in the development of Rhythm & Blues music".[45] The following year, 1990, she received an NAACP Image Award, which is given for "outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts";[46] an award she cherished as it "was coming from my own people".[47]
1993, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
2001, Rockabilly Hall of Fame
April 18, 2003,[48] Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Hollywood Walk of Fame, star at 7080
Hollywood Blvd, and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Lifetime Achievement Award[49]
2006, Billboard R&B Founders Award[50]
Grammys
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. James has received six Grammy Awards. Her first was in 1995, when she was awarded Best Jazz Vocal Performance for the album Mystery Lady, which consisted of covers of Billie Holiday songs.[51] Two other albums have also won awards, Let's Roll (Best Contemporary Blues Album) in 2003, and Blues to the Bone (Best Traditional Blues Album) in 2004. Two of her early songs have been given Grammy Hall of Fame Awards for "qualitative or historical significance": "At Last", in 1999,[52] and "The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)" in 2008.[53] In 2003, she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Blues Foundation
The members of the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up in Memphis, Tennessee, to foster the blues and its heritage,[55] have nominated James for a Blues Music Award nearly every year since its founding in 1980; and she received some form of Blues Female Artist of the Year award 14 times since 1989, continuously from 1999 to 2007.[56] In addition, the albums Life, Love, & The Blues (1999), Burnin' Down The House (2003), and Let's Roll (2004) were awarded Soul/Blues Album of the Year,[56] and in 2001 she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Little Mack Simmons *25.01.1933
Little Mack Simmons, eigentlich Malcolm Simmons, (* 25. Januar 1933 in Twist, Arkansas; † 24. Oktober 2000) war ein US-amerikanischer Mundharmonikaspieler, Sänger und Songwriter.
Biographie
Little Mack Simmons wuchs in seinem Geburtsort Twist, Arkansas, auf. Dort war er mit James Cotton befreundet, mit dem gemeinsam er das Mundharmonikaspiel erlernte. Mit 18 zog er nach St. Louis, Missouri, wo er bei der Eisenbahn arbeitete. Dort gab er mit Robert Nighthawk auch sein Bühnendebüt. Danach zog er nach Chicago, wo er in den späten 1950er- und frühen 60er-Jahren für verschiedene Labels, darunter auch Chess, Platten aufnahm. Von Mitte bis Ende der 60er betrieb er die Zodiac Lounge, besaß ein Aufnahmestudio und eine eigene Plattenfirma (PM Records und Simmons Records).
Ende der 60er Jahre zog er sich aus der Musikindustrie zurück und wurde Prediger. Erst ab 1995 nahm er wieder Bluesplatten auf, was er bis zu seinem Tod im Jahr 2000 tat.
Little Mack Simmons (January 25, 1933 — October 24, 2000)[1][2] was an African-American Chicago blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter.
Biography
Malcolm Simmons was born in Twist, Arkansas.[3] In his youth he befriended James Cotton, and they grew up learning to play the harmonica. Simmons relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 18 and worked on the railroad. At this time Simmons made his stage debut with Robert Nighthawk.[4]
In 1954 he moved again to Chicago, put together his own backing band, and had a five year residency at Cadillac Baby's. He commenced recording in 1959, issuing records on a number of labels including Chess.[4]
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Simmons recorded several more obscure singles, often simply billed as Little Mack (or Mac).[3] Simmons went on to provide the opportunity for others talents to be seen. He owned and managed Chicago's Zodiac Lounge from the mid to late 1960s. In addition, he owned a recording studio and recorded on his own labels, PM Records and Simmons Records.[2] Simmons left the music industry at that time for the ministry, and was rarely heard in 30 years, notwithstanding an album he recorded in 1975 in Paris, France.[3]
His return to blues music arrived with High & Lonesome (1995), which was an early success for St. George Records, an independent record label. Simmons' energetic style, accompanied by Studebaker John, belied his years. Come Back to Me Baby (1996), with featured sidemen John Primer, Willie Kent and Jake Dawson (guitarist) was also well received.[3]
Simmons died in October 2000, of colon cancer, in his adopted hometown of Chicago, at the age of 67.
Biography
Malcolm Simmons was born in Twist, Arkansas.[3] In his youth he befriended James Cotton, and they grew up learning to play the harmonica. Simmons relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 18 and worked on the railroad. At this time Simmons made his stage debut with Robert Nighthawk.[4]
In 1954 he moved again to Chicago, put together his own backing band, and had a five year residency at Cadillac Baby's. He commenced recording in 1959, issuing records on a number of labels including Chess.[4]
In the late 1950s and early 1960s Simmons recorded several more obscure singles, often simply billed as Little Mack (or Mac).[3] Simmons went on to provide the opportunity for others talents to be seen. He owned and managed Chicago's Zodiac Lounge from the mid to late 1960s. In addition, he owned a recording studio and recorded on his own labels, PM Records and Simmons Records.[2] Simmons left the music industry at that time for the ministry, and was rarely heard in 30 years, notwithstanding an album he recorded in 1975 in Paris, France.[3]
His return to blues music arrived with High & Lonesome (1995), which was an early success for St. George Records, an independent record label. Simmons' energetic style, accompanied by Studebaker John, belied his years. Come Back to Me Baby (1996), with featured sidemen John Primer, Willie Kent and Jake Dawson (guitarist) was also well received.[3]
Simmons died in October 2000, of colon cancer, in his adopted hometown of Chicago, at the age of 67.
Sleepy John Estes *25.01.1899
Sleepy John Estes (* 25. Januar 1904 in Ripley, Tennessee; † 5. Juni 1977 in Brownsville, Tennessee; eigentlich John Adam Estes) war ein einflussreicher US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist, -Sänger und -Komponist. Sein Spitzname Sleepy John wird auf niedrigen Blutdruck und die sich daraus ergebenden Schlafanfälle zurückgeführt. Es wird berichtet, dass er im Stehen schlafen konnte und auch auf der Bühne eingeschlafen sein soll.
Leben
Als Kind erblindete Estes nach einem Baseball-Unfall auf dem rechten Auge. Er baute sich schon früh aus Zigarrenkisten Gitarren, um darauf zu spielen. 1915 zog die Familie nach Brownsville, Tennessee, wo Estes den Mandolinenspieler Yank Rachell kennenlernte; die beiden wurden langjährige Bluespartner. Ein weiterer Jugendfreund von Estes war Sonny Boy Williamson.
Estes, Rachell und Hammie Nixon (Mundharmonika) traten häufig zusammen auf. Mit dem Jug-Spieler und Pianisten Jab Jones gründeten Estes und Rachell in Memphis die „Three J’s Jug Band“, die 1929 und 1930 einige Aufnahmen machte. Im Jahr 1931 gingen Estes und Nixon nach Chicago. Später zogen sie auf der Suche nach Auftritten umher. 1937 und 1938 machten sie Aufnahmen in New York, unter anderem zusammen mit Robert Nighthawk.
Im Jahr 1941 zog Estes nach Brownsville zurück. Musikalisch wurde es still um ihn, und man sagt, er soll sogar für tot gehalten worden sein. 1950 wurde er vollständig blind. Im Zuge des Folk-Revivals wurde er 1962, völlig verarmt, wiederentdeckt. Er trat 1964 mit Rachell und Nixon beim Newport Folk Festival auf, nahm einige Alben auf und ging wieder auf Tour, bevor ihn gesundheitliche Probleme an sein Heim in Brownsville banden.
Sleepy John Estes starb am 5. Juni 1977 und ist in Durhamville, Tennessee, beigesetzt.
John Adam Estes[1] (January 25, 1899[2] – June 5, 1977[3]), best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was an American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.[1]
Career
In 1915, Estes' father, a sharecropper who also played some guitar, moved the family to Brownsville, Tennessee. Not long after, Estes accidentally lost the sight in his right eye when a friend threw a rock at him.[3] At the age of 19, while working as a field hand, he began to perform professionally. The venues were mostly local parties and picnics, with the accompaniment of Hammie Nixon, a harmonica player, and James "Yank" Rachell, a guitarist and mandolin player. He would continue to work on and off with both musicians for more than fifty years.[1]
Estes made his debut as a recording artist in Memphis, Tennessee in 1929, at a session organized by Ralph Peer for Victor Records.[3] He recorded the tracks "Drop Down Mama" and "Someday Baby Blues" with Nixon in 1935. He later worked with Son Bonds and Charlie Pickett.[4] He later recorded for the Decca and Bluebird labels, with his last pre-war recording session taking place in 1941.[3] He made a brief return to recording at Sun Studio in Memphis in 1952, recording "Runnin' Around" and "Rats in My Kitchen", but otherwise was largely out of the public eye for two decades.
Estes was a fine singer, with a distinctive "crying" vocal style. He frequently teamed with more capable musicians, like "Yank" Rachell, Hammie Nixon, and the piano player Jab Jones. Estes sounded so much like an old man, even on his early records, that blues revivalists reportedly delayed looking for him because they assumed he would have to be long dead, and because fellow musician Big Bill Broonzy had written that Estes had died. By the time he was tracked down, by Bob Koester and Samuel Charters in 1962, he had become completely blind and was living in poverty. He resumed touring and recording, working with Nixon on tour and on works released on the Delmark Records label.[4] His later records are generally considered less interesting than his pre-war output. Estes, Nixon and Rachell appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964.[5]
Bob Dylan mentions Estes in the sleeve notes to Bringing It All Back Home (1965).[6]
Many of Estes' original songs were based on events in his own life or on people he knew from his home town of Brownsville, Tennessee, such as the local lawyer ("Lawyer Clark Blues"), local auto mechanic ("Vassie Williams' Blues"), or an amorously inclined teenage girl ("Little Laura Blues").[4] "Lawyer Clark Blues" referenced the lawyer, and later judge and senator, Hugh L. Clarke. Clarke and his family lived in Brownsville, and according to the song let Estes 'off the hook' for an offense.
He also dispensed advice on agricultural matters ("Working Man Blues") and chronicled his own attempt to reach a recording studio for a session by hopping a freight train ("Special Agent (Railroad Police Blues)"). His lyrics combined keen observation with an ability to turn an effective phrase.[7][8]
Some accounts attribute his nickname "Sleepy" to a blood pressure disorder and/or narcolepsy. Others, such as blues historian Bob Koester, claim he simply had a "tendency to withdraw from his surroundings into drowsiness whenever life was too cruel or too boring to warrant full attention".[7][9]
Death
Estes suffered a stroke while preparing for a European tour, and died on June 5, 1977, at his home of 17 years in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee.[3][10][11] Estes is buried at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.[11]
His gravemarker reads:[2]
Sleepy John Estes
".. ain't goin' to worry Poor John's mind anymore"
In Memory
John Adam Estes
Jan. 25, 1899
June 5, 1977
Blues Pioneer
Guitarist – Songwriter – Poet
Sleepy John Estes' epitaph ".. ain't goin' to worry Poor John's mind anymore"[2] was derived from his song, "Someday Baby Blues." "I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More" was recorded in 1935,[12] and in his song "Drop Down Mama", also recorded in 1935, Sleepy John refers to himself as "Poor John". Estes' grave at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville is located off a country road and at the far end of the cemetery. His grave is adjacent to a small grove of trees, secluded but not hidden.
In 1991, Estes was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Career
In 1915, Estes' father, a sharecropper who also played some guitar, moved the family to Brownsville, Tennessee. Not long after, Estes accidentally lost the sight in his right eye when a friend threw a rock at him.[3] At the age of 19, while working as a field hand, he began to perform professionally. The venues were mostly local parties and picnics, with the accompaniment of Hammie Nixon, a harmonica player, and James "Yank" Rachell, a guitarist and mandolin player. He would continue to work on and off with both musicians for more than fifty years.[1]
Estes made his debut as a recording artist in Memphis, Tennessee in 1929, at a session organized by Ralph Peer for Victor Records.[3] He recorded the tracks "Drop Down Mama" and "Someday Baby Blues" with Nixon in 1935. He later worked with Son Bonds and Charlie Pickett.[4] He later recorded for the Decca and Bluebird labels, with his last pre-war recording session taking place in 1941.[3] He made a brief return to recording at Sun Studio in Memphis in 1952, recording "Runnin' Around" and "Rats in My Kitchen", but otherwise was largely out of the public eye for two decades.
Estes was a fine singer, with a distinctive "crying" vocal style. He frequently teamed with more capable musicians, like "Yank" Rachell, Hammie Nixon, and the piano player Jab Jones. Estes sounded so much like an old man, even on his early records, that blues revivalists reportedly delayed looking for him because they assumed he would have to be long dead, and because fellow musician Big Bill Broonzy had written that Estes had died. By the time he was tracked down, by Bob Koester and Samuel Charters in 1962, he had become completely blind and was living in poverty. He resumed touring and recording, working with Nixon on tour and on works released on the Delmark Records label.[4] His later records are generally considered less interesting than his pre-war output. Estes, Nixon and Rachell appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964.[5]
Bob Dylan mentions Estes in the sleeve notes to Bringing It All Back Home (1965).[6]
Many of Estes' original songs were based on events in his own life or on people he knew from his home town of Brownsville, Tennessee, such as the local lawyer ("Lawyer Clark Blues"), local auto mechanic ("Vassie Williams' Blues"), or an amorously inclined teenage girl ("Little Laura Blues").[4] "Lawyer Clark Blues" referenced the lawyer, and later judge and senator, Hugh L. Clarke. Clarke and his family lived in Brownsville, and according to the song let Estes 'off the hook' for an offense.
He also dispensed advice on agricultural matters ("Working Man Blues") and chronicled his own attempt to reach a recording studio for a session by hopping a freight train ("Special Agent (Railroad Police Blues)"). His lyrics combined keen observation with an ability to turn an effective phrase.[7][8]
Some accounts attribute his nickname "Sleepy" to a blood pressure disorder and/or narcolepsy. Others, such as blues historian Bob Koester, claim he simply had a "tendency to withdraw from his surroundings into drowsiness whenever life was too cruel or too boring to warrant full attention".[7][9]
Death
Estes suffered a stroke while preparing for a European tour, and died on June 5, 1977, at his home of 17 years in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee.[3][10][11] Estes is buried at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.[11]
His gravemarker reads:[2]
Sleepy John Estes
".. ain't goin' to worry Poor John's mind anymore"
In Memory
John Adam Estes
Jan. 25, 1899
June 5, 1977
Blues Pioneer
Guitarist – Songwriter – Poet
Sleepy John Estes' epitaph ".. ain't goin' to worry Poor John's mind anymore"[2] was derived from his song, "Someday Baby Blues." "I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More" was recorded in 1935,[12] and in his song "Drop Down Mama", also recorded in 1935, Sleepy John refers to himself as "Poor John". Estes' grave at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville is located off a country road and at the far end of the cemetery. His grave is adjacent to a small grove of trees, secluded but not hidden.
In 1991, Estes was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Here's a record I bought in the 1950's when going through my 'duffel coat, roll-neck sweater, corduroy trousers and sandals' phase. (A real "mouldy fig", as the sharp suited 'modern' jazz fans called us 'trad' fans.)
It is one of the recordings sponsored by "The Jazz Appreciation Society" and features Sleepy John in typical form and accompanied by Hammie Nixon on harmonica.
Born John Adam Estes, to a sharecropper family in Ripley Tennessee on the 25th. Jan. 1904, his life was complicated from the start. One of a family of ten, at the age of six he lost his right eye in a baseball accident. As his father was a guitarist, he grew up with similar interests and made himself cigar-box guitars to play from the early days.
He went totally blind in 1950, and had gained the sobriquet "sleepy" from a chronic blood pressure disorder which led to fits of narcolepsy, which caused him to drop off to sleep without warning, sometimes standing up!
He was "rediscovered" during the blues revival in 1962, after a long and varied career through the 1920's and 30's.
He died on the 5th. June 1977
It is one of the recordings sponsored by "The Jazz Appreciation Society" and features Sleepy John in typical form and accompanied by Hammie Nixon on harmonica.
Born John Adam Estes, to a sharecropper family in Ripley Tennessee on the 25th. Jan. 1904, his life was complicated from the start. One of a family of ten, at the age of six he lost his right eye in a baseball accident. As his father was a guitarist, he grew up with similar interests and made himself cigar-box guitars to play from the early days.
He went totally blind in 1950, and had gained the sobriquet "sleepy" from a chronic blood pressure disorder which led to fits of narcolepsy, which caused him to drop off to sleep without warning, sometimes standing up!
He was "rediscovered" during the blues revival in 1962, after a long and varied career through the 1920's and 30's.
He died on the 5th. June 1977
Moses "Whispering" Smith (January 25, 1932 – April 28, 1984)[2] was an American blues harmonicist and singer.[2] He recorded tracks including "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" and "Texas Flood", and worked with both Lightnin' Slim and Silas Hogan. He was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame.
Smith was born in Union Church, Mississippi.[2]
In the 1960s, Smith's harmonica playing accompanied recordings by swamp blues notables Lightnin' Slim and Silas Hogan,[3] before he was able to record some tracks of his own making. At this time he worked alongside the Crowley, Louisiana based record producer, J. D. "Jay" Miller, and his output was released by Excello Records. His singles included "Mean Woman Blues", "I Tried So Hard", and "Don't Leave Me", plus the instrumental tracks "Live Jive" and "Hound Dog Twist".[1]
Although he was a powerful singer, and a straight but unsophisicated harmonica player,[3] his potential was diminished by his appearance towards the end of the swamp blues period. He recorded his final album for Excello, Over Easy, in 1971.[4]
Whispering Smith died in April 1984 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at the age of 52.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHudyzyaLtQ
Moritz Zergiebel *25.01.1996
https://www.facebook.com/thebackyardband
2009
zog Familie Zergiebel nach Nideggen – Rath, dem Dorf, in dem auch
Familie Kleene ihre Residenz besitzt. Irgendwann im Winter machten sich
Moritz Zergiebel und die Geschwister Sebastian Kleene und sein jüngerer
Bruder Maximilian Kleene das erste Mal untereinander bekannt. Schnell
wurde klar, dass Musik in beiden Familien eine sehr große Rolle spielt.
Nach einem Jahr und mehreren Treffen und Konversationen über Musik
tauschte Moritz seine Playstation 2 gegen die Bass Gitarre eines
Bekannten aus. Schon 2 Tage nachdem er den Bass erhielt, hatte er sich
selbst einige Bassläufe beigebracht und diese den Geschwistern
Maximilian und Sebastian präsentiert. Fasziniert von einem Instrument,
beschlossen nun die Geschwister Maximilian und Sebastian auch
musikalisch tätig zu werden.
Noch zu Weihnachten des selben Jahres
(welches nur noch einen Monat hin war), wünschten sich Sebastian und
Maximilian jeweils auch ein Instrument. Sebastian empfand viel Interesse
am Gitarrenspiel. Maximilian blieb nichts anderes übrig als spontan zu
beschließen, Schlagzeug zu spielen. Schon zum Neujahrsfest 2010 war es
soweit, dass die gegründete Band 7 Tage nach dem Weihnachtsfest (an dem
Maximilian und Sebastian Schlagzeug und Gitarre geschenkt bekommen
hatten), ihr erstes Konzert mit 5 Songs, darunter 3 eigene instrumentale
Stücke, wohlbemerkt ohne jeglichen Unterricht, vor den Familien geben
konnten. Man merkte sofort, dass die Band zusammenpasst. In den Wochen
nach dem Konzert verbrachte die neu gegründete Band jedes Wochenende im
Proberaum (Keller der Familie Kleene), um zu proben, zu jammen, zu
experimentieren und vor allem, um Spaß und Freude an der Musik zu haben.
Damals waren der Einfachheit wegen hauptsächlich Rockklassiker im
Repertoire. Auf dem ersten richtigen öffentlichen Gig in der Altstadt
Nideggen im Mai 2012 spielten sie nur Covers von The Beatles, ACDC,
Lynrd Skynrd und wohl am wichtigsten, Chuck Berry und Muddy Waters. Aber
vor allem der Musikstil von John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry oder Muddy
Waters ist der Band wohl am wichtigsten, da dieser Musikstil der Band am
meisten entsprach und ihrem eigenen Verständnis von Musik und seiner
musikalischen Vielfalt gerecht wurde, ohne sich dabei selbst zu
verfälschen.
Im Rhythm and Blues konnte sich die Band jedoch frei
entfalten und somit auch musikalisch ein eigenes Niveau erreichen. Nach
einer kurzen Diskussionsrunde von 2 Minuten (wohl die wichtigsten 2
Minuten der 3 Jungs), beschloss die Band, dem Rythm and Blues treu zu
bleiben und sich von niemandem abhängig zu machen. Zudem hat die Band
sich einen Namen gegeben - The Backyard Band. Die musikalische Freiheit
stand absolut im Vordergrund. Während dieser Zeit hat sich Moritz eine
E-Gitarre zugelegt und spielte nun zusätzlich zum Gesang die
Lead-Gitarre in der Band, da Sabastian sich als äußerst begabter
Rhthmusgitarrist erwies. Sein Stil wurde prägend für die Band, denn auf
Grund seines Rhythmischen Gitarrenspiels in Verbindung mit den laufenden
Drumrhythmen von Maximilian, konnte Moritz nun als Leadgitarrist die
Musik der Band interessanter gestalten. Maximilian schaffte es bis
heute, voll und ganz, auf Schlagzeugunterricht zu verzichten. Ihm
genügten bis jetzt, Lehrbücher, Youtube, der Austausch mit Freunden, das
Exerimentieren und der große Einfluss von seinen Lieblingsschlagzeugern
Keith Moon, John Henry Bonham und Charlie Watts. Sebastian erlangte
durch wiederholtes Hören seiner Bluesidole wie Muddy Waters, Howlin‘
Wolf, BB King und Hubert Sumlin und ständiges Nachspielen der
Bluesrhythmen sein derzeitiges Gitarrenspiel. Moritz versuchte ebenfalls
die Riffs seiner Musikidole wie Chuck Berry, George Harrison und John
Lennon nachzuspielen. Es war für Moritz wie ein Wunder, als er
entdeckte, dass man mit den Riffs von Chuck Berry nahezu zu jedem Blues
und jeder Tonart spielen kann. Nun war es soweit und die Band konnte
beginnen, eigene Songs zu schreiben. Bei einer Bandprobe fiel Moritz
eine Mundharmonika auf, die in einer Ecke lag. Mitten in einem Blues-Jam
schnappte sich Moritz dann die Mundharmonika und spielte einfach drauf
los. Natürlich fehlten die Tricks eines Mundharmonikaspielers, doch
Moritz wollte sich unbedingt, was Mundharmonikas angeht, weiterbilden.
Gesagt, getan, kaufte sich Moritz seine erste „Blues-Harp“. Innerhalb
einer halben Stunde, die Moritz alleine auf seinem Zimmer verbrachte,
lernte er, wie man eine Blues-Harp spielt. Daraufhin wurde die
Mundharmonika zum festen Bestandteil der Band und Moritz entwickelte
sich im Mundharmonikaspiel immer weiter. Nach einigen privaten Gigs und
Konzerten in Düren und Umgebung kam es dazu, dass sich der Produzent
Jürgen Wirtz, welcher sich zufällig beim Gig der Backyard Band in
Harry’s American Bar Düren (Juli 2013), welches im Zuge der Jazztage
veranstaltet wurde, an diesem Abend spontan entschied, durch die Dürener
Kneipen zu wandern, um zu gucken, was für Musik gemacht wird. Beim Gig
der Backyard Band hielt er inne und schaute sich das Restkonzert der
Band an. Nach dem Gig sprach er mit Moritz ausfürlich darüber, dass er
von unserer Musik total begeistert sei und entschied sich mit der Band
in Kontakt zu bleiben, um bald in seinem Studio das erste Album
aufzunehmen. Der Gig in Harrys American bar gilt bis heute noch als der
Durchbruch der Band in der Stadt Düren und hatte eine einzigartige
klassische Clubatmosphäre. Die Interpretation ihrer Musik und
insbesondere der für viele unbekannten Coverlieder, ist aufgrund der
Besetzung ihrem musikalischen Stil entsprechend einzigartig in Dynamik
und Aussagekraft und vermittelt den Konzerten einen ganz besonderen,
unkonventionellen, unverbrauchten und natürlichen, mit Spielfreude
dargebotenen Musikstil.
Anschließend kam die Albumproduktion, bei der
die Backyard Band 8 ihrer eigenen Songs in Jürgen Wirtz Studio –
Mariaweiler – an einem Tag und Live eingespielt aufnahmen. Jürgen war
sehr glücklich über das Resultat und die Art der Rythm and Blues
Aufnahmen.
Duch einen sehr guten Freund der Band, Klaus Humme gelang
es beim Stadfest im Düren 2013 mit dabei zu sein. Dies war ein sehr
denkwürdiger Sonntagabend für die Band. Nach diversen
Organisationsänderungen der Spielzeit wurde es sehr bedenklich in den
Köpfen der Bandmitglieder, ob überhaupt aus dem Konzert noch etwas
Vernünftiges werden kann. Das Wetter sollte sich verschlechtern und der
Annaplatz Dürens begann sich zu leeren. Die Backyard Band begann aus
Rücksicht auf eine Abendmesse in der benachbarten Kirche erst um 19.00
Uhr mit ihrem Gig. Der Platz war fast leer, aber nach den ersten beiden
Songs füllte sich plötzlich der Annaplatz wieder, das Wetter
stabilisierte sich und die Band spielte 2 Stunden voller Leidenschaft
und Energie, als gäbe es keinen Morgen mehr. Es ist bis jetzt das beste
Konzert der Bandgeschichte gewesen und für die meisten Besucher war es
auch das beste Konzert der Stadtfestgeschichte der vergangenen Jahre, da
die Präsentation Spielfreude und Authentizität vermittelte. Nun wartet
die Band auf mehr Gigs und kann es kaum erwarten, wieder irgendwo
aufzutreten.
Die Backyard Band ist eine Band, welche sich von Gig zu
Gig musikalisch immer weiter entwickelt hat und gleichzeitig den Spaß an
ihrer eigenen Musik vermittelt.
The BackYard Band - Dead Love
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