How old is etta james now

Earlier this year, news reports revealed that the singer's estate was being contested in a legal struggle between her husband, Artis Mills, and son Donto James.

Donto and her other son, Sametto, both played in her band. Over the years, James had her share of health problems. In the late s she reportedly weighed more than pounds and required a scooter to get around. In she had gastric bypass surgery and dropped more than half the weight, according to People magazine. However, until her latest issues, James maintained a steady touring schedule and appeared full of energy even when sitting down -- as she sometimes did on stage, due to bad knees and her weight battles.

Even while sitting down, James gave it her all on stage, singing as though possessed, caressing every note like a long-lost love. If that seemed a little much to critics, well, the legendary singer had a show to put on, she told Quan.

I'm vulgar because I dance in the chair? Want me to just be still or something like that? People we've lost in The lives they lived. A shift to Warner Brothers in did not return her to a wide audience and, although she often worked with major producers, James remained beloved more by critics and blues-soul aficionados than a mass audience. When paired with the right producer and material, she delivered superb albums: Seven Year Itch , Matriarch of the Blues and even her swansong The Dreamer find her interpreting lyrics with grace and venom.

In James recorded Mystery Lady, the first in a series of jazz vocal albums where she channelled the influence of Billie Holiday. This brought her to yet another audience. James won six Grammy awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Having finally conquered her drug addiction in , she began to struggle with her weight — in , weighing more than lb, she had gastric bypass surgery and lost lb, which allowed her to return to active singing and performing.

The young superstar made a decent job of portraying her as a foul-mouthed, two-fisted singer, yet lacked the raging bull quality that made James so unforgettable. James publicly criticised her, then later offered an apology, suggesting that she was upset not to have been invited to sing herself. She added that she would have sung the song better. Rage to Survive, James's autobiography, was published in and proved as blistering as her singing. Etta James obituary.

But she wouldn't stay a gospel singer for long. Rhythm and blues soon lured her away from the church, and she found herself drawn to the grittiness of the music.

She was doing just that when bandleader Johnny Otis found her singing on San Francisco street corners with a couple of girlfriends in the early s. We didn't think we would get in show business, we were just running around making up answers to songs," James told The Associated Press in When Otis heard it, he told James to get her mother's permission to accompany him to Los Angeles to make a recording. Instead, the year-old went home and forged her mother's name on a note claiming she was The Gibbs song was one of several in the early rock era where white singers got hits by covering songs by black artists, often with sanitized lyrics.

And we had a lot of fun," she recalled in She also had a lot of success. Chess Records, whose founder, Leonard Chess, called James their first soul singer, she wrote. Etta's crossed over! The Chess brothers kept saying how I was their first soul singer, that I was taking their label out of the old Delta blues, out of rock and into the modern era. Soul was the new direction," she said in her autobiography. In , she cut one of the most highly regarded soul albums of all time, "Tell Mama," an earthy fusion of rock and gospel music featuring blistering horn arrangements, funky rhythms and a churchy chorus.

A song from the album, "Security," was a top 40 single in Her professional success, however, was balanced against personal demons - drug addiction. Billie Holiday sang so groovy. Her medical problems came to light in court papers filed by her husband, Artis Mills.

The two parties later worked out an agreement. James released her latest studio album, The Dreamer , in November , which received warm reviews. A few weeks later, James' doctor announced that the singer was terminally ill. She has also been diagnosed with dementia and Hepatitis C," Dr. Elaine James not related to the singer told a local newspaper. James' sons also acknowledged that Etta's health was declining and was receiving care at her Riverside, California, home.

James died at her home in Riverside, California, on January 20, Today, she continues to be considered one of music's most dynamic singers.

We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. American singer-songwriter Natalie Cole, daughter of mid-century crooner Nat King Cole, was best known for her Grammy Award-winning album 'Inseparable.