Blog: The Vinyl District

Etta James was somewhere between the femme fatale and grand dame of the Rhythm and Blues movement. Her lyrics were sulky and yearning, occasionally content. Though few of her songs were self-written, the verses were custom-made. Etta crossed-over last Friday on January 20th, a few days after Johnny Otis-the man credited for discovering her fierce talent. Otis, the multi-hyphenate singer, songwriter, producer, and et cetera, died on January 17th. With good reason Otis singled out the teenage James (at the time, part of a doo-wop group called the Creolettes) [...]