R.I.P. Etta James

January 25,1938 - January 20, 2012

We lost another great one yesterday... Etta James...a talented R& B singer whose career spanned nearly every decade I've been alive.

She was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938..Her vocal styles went the gamut of R&B, Gospel, Jazz,Soul and Rock and Roll.

Starting her career in the mid 1950s, she gained fame with hits such as "Dance With Me, Henry", "At Last", "Tell Mama", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she claimed she wrote the lyrics. She faced a number of personal problems including drug addiction before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album The Seven Year Itch.

She is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and was the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Etta James number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists.

She died of Lukemia.