Friday, January 20, 2012

Good-bye Etta!

The sad news is in - Etta James finally lost to her multitude of ailments and passed away at the age of 73. Etta was up there in my pantheon of favorite singers, and I had the privilege of seeing her live several times - two or three times in Newport at the Rhythm & Blues Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival, and one memorable occasion at the original House of Blues in Cambridge, MA. I thought I'd include a couple of my favorites for this tribute - her version of Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do" and her big hit "I'd Rather Go Blind"; when she did this one at the House of Blues they damned near tore the roof off the place! Go in peace, Etta. We'll miss you!



5 comments:

  1. you are a lucky man indeed Roy...Wow I am jealous getting to see this wonderful singer live! hopefully she is at peace, but still singing the blues!

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  2. I saw this on the news. Sad. And I just love that first photo of her. Gosh, 73 sounds younger all the time, doesn't it?

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  3. A great singer--"I'd Rather Go Blind" is truly a killer song, especially when she sang it.

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  4. Thanks for the clips Roy. Whilst there were a fair number of short obituary pieces on TV over here, the clips they used to illustrate her work just didn't do her justice. That is a great photograph as well.

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