Σαν ψάρι κολυμπώντας μέσα στα συγκοινωνούντα δοχεία των blues, της soul και της jazz, η Etta James άφησε ανεξίτηλο στίγμα ως ερμηνεύτρια.
Την ακούμε σε τρία στιγμιότυπα της μακρόχρονης καριέρα της, όλα από τα ‘60s : το πρώτο, σύνθεση του Jimmy Reed, βρίσκεται στο άλμπουμ Live At The New Era Club του 1963. Το δεύτερο [του Clarence Carter] έρχεται από τα τέλη της ίδιας δεκαετίας. Όσο για το all-time classic των Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler [πρώτη ερμηνεία το 1933 από την Ethel Waters] ακούγεται στο μνημειώδες άλμπουμ – ντεμπούτο της Etta, At Last! κυκλοφορία του 1960.

Like a fish swimming inside the communicating vessels of blues, soul and jazz, Etta James left an indelible mark as a performer.
We hear her on three highlights of her long career, all from the ’60s: The first one, by Jimmy Reed, comes from the 1963 album Live At The New Era Club. The second, by Clarence Carter, is from the end of the same decade. As for the Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler all-time classic [first performed by Ethel Waters in 1933] it was on Etta’s monumental debut album, At Last! released in 1960.

00:00 ‘Baby What You Want Me to Do’
You’ve got me runnin’
You’ve got me hidin’
You’ve got me run, hide, hide, run
Anyway you wanna let it roll
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You’ve got me doin’ what you want me
A-baby why you wanna let go
I’m goin’ up
I’m goin’ down
I’m goin’ up, down, down, up
Anyway, ya wanna let it roll
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You’ve got me doin’ what you want me
A-baby why’d you wanna let go
You’ve got me peepin’
You’ve got me hidin’
You’ve got me peep, hide, hide, peep
Anyway you wanna let it roll
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You’ve got me doin’ what you want me
So baby, why ya wanna let go

04:20 Tell Mama
You thought you’d found a good girl
One to love you and give you the world
Now you find that you’ve been misused
Talk to me, I’ll do what you choose, I want you to
Tell Mama, all about it
Tell Mama, what you need
Tell Mama, what you want
And I’ll make everything alright
That girl you had didn’t have no sense
She wasn’t worth all the time that you spent
She had another man throw you outdoors
Now the same man is wearing your clothes, I want you to
Tell Mama, all about it
Tell Mama, what you need
Tell Mama, what you want
And I’ll make everything alright
Tell me, tell me now
She would embarrass you anywhere
She’d let everybody know she didn’t care
Give me a chance I’ve been beggin’ you
And I just want to take care of you, I want you to
Tell Mama, all about it
Tell Mama, what you need
Tell Mama, what you want
Tell Mama, what you want right now
Tell me, tell your mom
I’m your Mama
Tell me what you want

06:42 Stormy Weather
Don’t know why
There’s no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain’t together
Keeps raining all of the time
Oh, yeah
Life is bad
Gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather, stormy weather
And I just can get my poor self together
Oh, I’m weary all of the time
The time, so weary all of the time
When he went away
The blues walked in and met me
Oh, yeah if he stays away
Old rocking chair’s gonna get me
All I do is pray
The Lord will let me
Walk in the sun once more
Oh, I can’t go on, can’t go on, can’t go on
Everything I have is gone
Stormy weather, stormy weather
Since my man and I, me and my daddy ain’t together
Keeps raining all of the time
Oh, oh, keeps raining all of the time
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah raining all of the time
Stormy stormy
Stormy weather
Yeah