Janis Joplin modelled her singing closely on James and covered Tell Mama. First, a key spoiler: Cadillac Records is not the story of Chess Records, the blues label started in Chicago in 1950 by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess that featured among its stable of artists Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Etta James, plus many others who birthed rock 'n' roll. "My Foolish Heart" (Gene Ammons), "Rollin' Stone" (Muddy Waters), and "That's All Right" (Jimmy Rogers) were among the first releases on the new label. [20] In 1963, she had another major hit with "Pushover" and released the live album Etta James Rocks the House, recorded at the New Era Club in Nashville, Tennessee. On her 2004 release, Blue Gardenia, she returned to a jazz style. After leaving treatment, however, her substance abuse continued, particularly after she developed a relationship with a man who was also using drugs. Though James continued to record for Chess, she was devastated by the death of record executive Leonard Chess in 1969. 'Cadillac Records' takes gross liberties with Chess' tale Not saying I wasnt pleased to see Beyonces commitment to the role written however that role was poorly written and watered down. Hope is known for her creativity, sense of humor and quirky perfectionism. This self discovery wasnt revealed until Etta checked into a program in the Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital. What did Leonard Chess son say about Etta James? She also often performed at free summer arts festivals throughout the United States. Leonard Chess - Wikipedia inserted here and there to remind us that these small stars are, in fact, portraying larger-than-life musicians whose work would influence generations. She was continuously in and out of rehabilitation centers, including the Tarzana Treatment Centers, in Los Angeles, California. Waters, recorded one day in the field by Alan Lomax (Tony Bentley), reckons he's got a future in the Big City and treads the tracks till he reaches Chicago. That year, James's influence was everywhere, with avariety of black female singers (including Turner, Gladys Knight and Candi Staton) employing her defiant, abrasive vocal style. Henry (also included on the disc), but it failed to make much noise. The label's many talents included Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, Gene Ammons, Jimmy Rogers,. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The ferocity of her voice documents a neglected child, awoman constantly entering into badrelationships and an artist raging against an industry and a society thathad routinely discriminated againsther. He was the co-founder of the legendary Chess Records label, which was responsible for signing and starting the careers of some of music's biggest stars. In a world filled with smoke and mirrors, it always inspires me to see and experience artists who exude a powerful sense of truth. Brussels music act Vaya Con Dios covered the song on their 1990 album Night Owls. How to Market Your Business with Webinars. While Hollywood may try their best, her story is more brilliant and compelling than any writer could create. But Etta James was no one-hit wonder. I agree, the Etta James story needs no embellishment. On his release in 1981, the couple reunited. The true story is that the man who recorded under the pseudonym Howlin Wolf was a 300-pound farmer named Chester Burnette. "He went up and down the halls of Chess announcing, `Etta's crossed over! Fiszel became Phil. [31], In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her number 62 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[32]. Obituary: Etta James - BBC News Meet the Team Meanwhile, the film barely touches upon Chess' questionable business dealings that left these pioneers all but broke, save for the brand-new Cadillacs Chess would buy his artists upon their topping of the pops. It was, instead, the wailing Good Rockin Daddy, co-written by Richard Berry (who can be heard singing counterpoint on Roll With Me Henry) and Joe Bihari (who, with his brother Jules, owned Modern Records) that earned James her second major hit. Though this song has made a musical impact with its torturous cry of love lost, the first tears that fell for this song privately were truly that of Leonard Chess, head of her recording label, Chess Records in his intial hearing of the song. Etta James Dead: Legendary Singer Passes Away At 73 Years Old - HuffPost Martin tells the story elliptically with the occasional bold proclamation ("I don't know what the fuck it is," Chess says of Waters' music, "but I'm recording it!") Although her father has never been identified,[9] James speculated that she was the daughter of pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, whom she met briefly in 1987. Id Rather Go Blind (also, as it happens, sung by Beyonc, when she played Etta James in the film Cadillac Records) was reportedly begun by Ellington Fugi Jordan, a friend of Jamess, when he was in Chino Prison for robbery, and then completed by James later. The same sample was used by the east coast rapper Flo Rida in his 2011 hit single "Good Feeling". With that said, it greatly disappoints me that in light of her authenticity, this truth has failed to be depicted on the screens of Hollywood. Many of the backing musicians were top-flight players from Los Angeles: Rick Rosas (bass), Michael Huey (drums), Ed Sanford (Hammond B3 organ), Kip Noble (piano) and Josh Sklair, James' longtime guitar player. The film Cadillac Records, a heavily fictionalised biopic about Chess Records, attracted wide attention due to Beyonc's appearance asJames. [38], James was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011. [51][52], James had two sons, Donto James and Sametto James, born to different fathers. [1][2][3][4] He and his brother, Fiszel, sister, Malka, and mother arrived in New York in 1928 from Poland. Following this brief success, however, she left Chess Records and did not record for another ten years while she struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism. [10][11] On October 16, 1969, a few months after selling his namesake label to General Recorded Tape, Leonard Chess died of a heart attack. With Fuqua, Etta went on to sing songs like I Just Want to Make Love to You, If I Cant Have You and later became the duo Betty & Dupree on Kent Records while also recording on Chess due to the lack of money they were paid on Chess. She also recalled how happy he made her many years later when she found out that it was Presley who had moved her close friend Jackie Wilson from a substandard convalescent home to a more appropriate facility and, as she put it, paid all the expenses. The blues in Chicago: Cadillac Records - World Socialist Web Site Fortunately, the best of those early recordings, all for Modern Records, have now been assembled in a single-disc collection. As Etta so candidly stated to the New York Posts Page Six in 2007, she is going to have a hill to climb, because Etta James aint been no angel!. [24] Also in 1989 James was filmed in a concert at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles with Joe Walsh and Albert Collins for the film Jazzvisions: Jump the Blues Away. Chess Records, whose founder, Leonard Chess, called James their first soul singer, she wrote. Unfortunately, his role and importance wasnt highlighted in the script of Cadillac Records. DMCA, General Contact What are the 4 main characteristics is shared by all living things? . In more recent years,[when?] Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, California on January 25, 1938; her mother was just 14 years old at the time, and she never knew her father, though she would later say she. After leaving the Peaches, James had another R&B hit with "Good Rockin' Daddy" but struggled with follow-ups. In February 1955, the song reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart. Adrien Brody portrays Leonard Chess, left, and Jeffrey Wright portrays Muddy Waters in a scene from "Cadillac Records." (Courtesy of Sony TriStar) "Cadillac Records" is a story . [19] Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess 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. Who was the co-founder of Chess Records? [50], James was married to Artis Mills from 1969 until her death in 2012. Between this internal tug of war and growing up in a business that didnt cater much to a growing teenager, Ettas life journey was surrounded by upheaval and survival. After beginning to date Harvey Fuqua, a singer for the Moonglows, James signed with Argo Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records. When did Etta James change her name to Peaches? 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 and rockabilly. [5] The family name was changed to Chess, with Lejzor becoming Leonard and Fiszel becoming Philip. James knew Malcolm X and was a member of the Nation of Islam for around 10 years, taking the name Jamesetta X. The film stars Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess, Cedric the Entertainer . Violence andsubstance abuse were now constants in James's life and she would maintain a difficult, combative relationship with her mother across many decades. In time, other important artists signed with Chess Records, including Bo Diddley and Sonny Boy Williamson, while Willie Dixon and Robert Lockwood Jr. took on a significant role behind the scenes. 4:00AM. 5 How many children did Leonard Chess have with Revetta Sloan? She was placed on probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine. [61][62] Her death came three days after that of Johnny Otis, the man who had discovered her in the 1950s. Her approach to both singing and life was throughout one of wild, often desperate engagement that included violence, drug addiction, armed robbery and highly capricious behaviour. Read More Joe Williams: Beyond the Blues, As a JazzTimes writer, I can talk about the powers of a dynamic drummer until Im blue in the face: the weight of each tom-toms Read More Chops: What Bassists Listen for in Drummers, America's jazz resource, delivered to your inbox. [24] The B-side of "Tell Mama" was "I'd Rather Go Blind", which became a blues classic and has been recorded by many other artists. All rights reserved. He helped sign (and then performed with) Black Merda, a Detroit outfit that has been described as the first all black rock band, and which has built a cult following during the last decade. [51] She was in the Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital for 17 months, starting at the age of 36, and went through a great struggle at the start of treatment. In 2010, James received treatment for a dependency on painkillers. 6 Who was the co-founder of Chess Records? In 1967 Leonard Chess, the founder ofChess Records, sent James to Alabama to record at Fame studios with the producer Rick Hall. Etta James - Wikipedia James formed a vocal trio, the Creolettes, with two teenage friends. In 1989, she signed with Island Records and with them released the albums Seven Year Itch and Stickin' to My Guns, both of which were produced by Barry Beckett and recorded at FAME Studios. Here's one interesting reviews of this flick: Cadillac Records chronicles the success of Chess Records owned by shrewd business man Leonard Chess and the rise and fall of its Negro blues recording artists with race, sex, violence and drugs as the backdrop. For instance, while the film plays heavily on a romantic relationship with Chess Records head, Leonard Chess, this information was never once mentioned in Ettas autobiography. Joplin had admired James and had covered "Tell Mama" in concert. And, in 2008, Rolling Stone ranked her at number 22 in its rock-focused list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Etta was definitely one of the greats! Leonard Chess set new standards for the industry in artist development, deal making, networking, and marketing and promotion"[12] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, posthumously, in the non-performer category.[13]. Subscribe, 2023 Grown Folks Music. Poetic license accounts . Who was Harvey Fuqua dating before Etta James? No wonder Martin doesn't let the audience hear more than snatches of tunessave for Knowles' three extended numbers, clearly intended to sell the soundtrack. What happened to the owner of Chess Records? King when she was 16. James was once considered one of the most overlooked blues and R&B musicians in the music history of the United States. Describing the song in her autobiography, James wrote, I was blind. In the 40s, the two brothers owned a blues nightclub on the southside of Chicago where several blues artists would perform at night. Legendary soul singer Etta James dead at 73 | Fox News But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. [11], Sarge, like the musical director for the choir, was also abusive. In 1995, her autobiography, A Rage to Survive, co-written with David Ritz, was published. Presley died a year later. Our Mission [41] James's voice deepened and coarsened, moving her musical style in her later years into the genres of soul and jazz.[19]. Leonard Chess (March 12, 1917 - October 16, 1969) was an American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. Something's Got a Hold on Me - Wikipedia