DID YOU KNOW THAT?

Etta James, hall of fame singer and songwriter, died. James was born Jamesetta Hawkins January 25, 1938 in Los Angeles, California. As a teenager, she teamed up with two other girls and formed a group called The Peaches a...nd in 1955 they released “The Wallflower” which reached number two on the R&B charts. Soon after that, James went solo and during the 1960s had a number of hits, including “At Last” (1961), “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” (1962), “Pushover” (1963), and “Tell Mama” (1967). James career stalled in the 1980s but she returned with several recordings in the 1990s, including the album “Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holliday” which won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. In 2005, she released the album “Let’s Roll” which won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2001, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and in 2003 received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Her recordings “At Last” and “The Wallflower” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and 2008, respectively, as recordings of “qualitative or historical significance.” James published her autobiography, “Rage to Survive,” in 1995.