Editor's note: On this date in 1938, Etta James was born.
Etta
James At Last!
in the midst of pop music doldrums
that
magnificent voice came along An’ yeah,
Somethin’
Got A Hold On Me an’ so many, many
others
An’
yeah, it wasn’t just that It Must Be Love
It Was Love!
An’
it was a lot more than just a Sunday Kinda Love But, no,
I
couldn’t Tell Mama straight, uptight,
white lower middle class
prig
obsessed with shabby respectability and an ignorant fascist
brutal
father for whom Etta’s powerful voice
was just more
“nigger
music” no decent white person listened
to but I did
guess
I wasn’t decent! But that was the way I
liked it—and
wanted
it! Raw, powerful, soulful ‘Cause I’d Rather Go Blind
than
live in a world without Etta James’s music!
I
saw her live about three decades before her death opening for
B.B.
King ‘cause the King of the Blues knew
he needed a true
Princess
of the Blues to properly open the show
Yeah, so that’s it
Etta and this little exercise of Etta-mology in
tribute
—by
George Fish
Bio: George Fish is an Indiana freelance journalist and poet
whose work has appeared in several national and regional publications and
websites, especially those of left and alternative publications. He has been
described as "knowledgeable in an unusual variety of fields." In
addition to short stories and poems, Fish has also published extensively on
economics and politics; popular music, especially blues; and humor. He also
does Lenny Bruce/George Carlin-inspired stand-up comedy.