Etta James, a Grammy Award-winning singer whose forceful renditions of "At Last," I'd Rather Go Blind," "Tell Mama," and "Something's Got A Hold On Me" made her a widely admired interpreter of love and pain and one of the first rhythm-and-blues singers to gain mainstream popularity, passed away on Friday at a Riverside, California hospital at age 73.
Miss James had been diagnosed with dementia and leukemia.
For followers of mid-1950s R&B music, here's Etta's 1955 recording of "The Wallflower," which was her answer to Hank Ballard and the Midnighters' "Work With Me Annie." Etta's record scored very well on the R&B charts, only to see Georgia Gibbs come up with a cover recording that wound up a big hit on the pop charts. Etta's record became known as either "Roll With Me, Henry" or "Dance With Me Henry," the latter was the name of Georgia's cover.
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