22/01/2012

Legendary Etta James



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The great and legendary Jazz vocalist Etta James, has died aged 73 and as sad as it is, she has left us with something so amazing and inspiring-her timeless music.
From the way she sings almost like she's heavily drunk but so heartbroken on the classic 'All I could do was cry' to the way she depicted how deep she loved to the point that she'd 'rather go blind' than see her man with another, is only just the tip of the iceberg of her great great catalogue of music that she has recorded in her career. 
Her tenacity and fighting spirit had the ability to empower women whilst remaining true and telling  stories of how love makes us all weak and defenseless-she encapsulated the mind and thinking process of a real woman through her lyrics, making her an extremely raw talent with a unique voice.
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Most memorable for recording the hit 'I just want to make love to you', which was synonymously used in the 1990's diet coke '11.30appointment' advert (kudos to the advertising boffins who came up with that one!!). Women were embracing the lyrics, in their need for sexual liberation but also a new generation was reintroduced to Etta James' music. Her style too was different on the scene at the time; for an African-American with honeycomb blond hair, rosy cheeks and cute eyes-she wasn't your average girl, known for her 60's bouffant hair  with thick brows and peaty lips she had a great sense of style. 
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Choosing my favourite Etta song is hard but I'd have to go with 'Trust in me'. A beautiful love song, one could consider it to be a vow to ones lover-detailing how you wish for your intended to love and trust in you as would ask/say in your marital vows. With a deep meaning but sung coquettishly is what makes me love this song from all the rest.
Classic, uniquely raw and extremely talented, RIP Etta James. 


4 comments:

  1. What an amazing, amazing voice..

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    Replies
    1. yes very amazing indeed!
      Thankyou for your comment!

      x

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  2. this was an absolutely fantastic post, thanks for sharing. her voice was heavenly and reading about her and looking at these pictures was really fun.
    i completely agree, i cannot pic just one favorite song either!
    xoxo

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