Farewell Etta James – Singer of At Last, dead at 73

With a voice made of pure fire, Etta James, the soul and blues singer best for her unusually sweet song “At Last,” died today after a long battle with chronic leukemia. She was 73.

You might remember her getting mad at Beyonce for singing her ballad “At Last” at President Obama’s inaugural ball.

Maybe she was also angry at the way Beyonce played her in the 2008 film “Cadillac Records,” which suggest her success was not one of her own making. Either way, we’ll never forget the strength and intensity of her voice and music.

Here’s one of her last TV appearances on Dancing with the Stars, singing her iconic song.

Ruth Brown as Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs in the original film Hairspray.

Was Etta James part of the inspiration for John Water’s soulful rebellious character Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs in Hairspray?

Here’s a great mix of some of her sexier, racier songs. In the Basement, down in the basement!

This entry was posted on Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 1:45 pm and is filed under Music, People. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.