Etta James - from fame to caII girI to psych ward & despising Beyonce!

something told me it was over when I saw you and heard talking I would rather I would rather go blind boy and to see you walk away from me I heard church bells I heard a choir singing I saw my love walk down the AIS all I could do all I could do was cry oh all I could do was cry Eda James lived quite the life right there was a lot of pain in her music and once we are done with her story you're going to understand the pain behind her music and the soulfulness behind it Eda James went from having a very troubling childhood very disturbing childhood to becoming famous to then at some point in her career having to sell her body which was just crazy to know about to then go into a pych cord and then you guys all know about her battle with Beyonce we're going to talk about that too but before we get into all of this hey friend welcome to my channel crean alude where we Deep dive and break down the most iconic Stars through history if you're not yet subscribed please be sure to do so and if you're already subscribed please turn on your notification Bell so you never miss an upload now without further Ado let's get into this video of course before we get into all of the details let's start from the very beginning which is her troubling childhood so on a chilly day in Los Angeles California on January 25th 1938 a young girl of just 14 years old Dorothy Hawkins gave birth to a baby girl so her mother gave birth to her at just 14 she named her James Eda the curious Whispers in a neighborhood hinted at an Italian lineage judging by James eda's Fair complexion and striking almond eyes later Dorothy would reveal to her daughter that her father was a notorious pool Hustler known as Minnesota Fats Dorothy and her daughter lived in Watts one of LA's most dangerous and poverty-stricken neighborhoods and despite the perilous surroundings Dorothy often left her infant daughter alone in the modest apartment while she spent her nights with various men trying to make in me if you guys catch my drift this Reckless Behavior couldn't go unnoticed for long and eventually Social Services intervened James Eda was taken from her mother and shuffled between foster homes she referred to her biological mother as the Mystery Lady a testament to her enigmatic and Elusive presence in her life two of James eda's recurring foster parents were Sarge and mamalu Sarge was an alcoholic with a soft spot for music he discovered James singing talent and often flaunted it in front of his poker buddies if he desired music in the middle of the night he'd wake James Eda and demand a performance in the middle of the night should she resist a beating would ensue until she complied she had no choice and despite the turmoil at home James Eda found solace in the St Paul's Baptist Church her Angelic voice did not go unnoticed and she quickly caught the attention of the church music director James Earl Hines recognizing her potential he took her under his wing vowing to mold her into a professional singer however Hines was no saint his training methods were harsh and unorthodox he believed in singing from the gut not the chest and he enforced this principle through physical punishment whenever James Eda sang from her chest he'd deliver a swift punch mhm he was punching her in her stomach to get her to sing from her stomach which is just crazy despite this brutal training J James ETA held a deep respect for Hines she acknowledged the role he played and honing her voice turning it from beautiful to extraordinary whether it was due to his methods or in defiance of them James eda's voice blossomed setting her on a path to start him thanks to the chitlin circuit a young girl named James Eda got a chance to perform in the vibrant R&B clubs of Nashville Tennessee James Eda who was still under the guardianship of Sarge and mamao spent her childhood performing on this circuit her life was in anything but ordinary for a 12-year-old as she found herself working in clubs and bars at just 12 years old this unconventional upbringing was made possible by her Guardians especially Mama Lou who turned a blind eye to her young charge unusual lifestyle however 1950 tragedy struck when Mama L passed away out of nowhere James eda's biological mother Dorothy appeared she had moved to the Filmore District in San Francisco California along with many other African-Americans causing uneased among the white residents despite the racial tension James Eda was more interested in skipping school and enjoying alcohol other than you know trying to do the right thing undeterred by her mother's disapproval James Eda formed a girl group with her friends and as most members including James ETA are light-skinned they chose to name the creets even though she was just a teenager James Eda was living her dream but this was just the beginning of her journey to stardom enter Johnny Otis a man many talents who saw potential in the creets he decided to transform them into Stars starting with a change in their name he thought the cretes was too obvious and suggested peaches as an alternative the new name was a hit and modern records signed them up but Johnny Otis had one more change in mind he felt that James Eda was too much of a mouthful his solution was straightforward yet ingenious simply reversed the two parts of her name and add a space between them and just like that we got ETA James so back in the day answering songs were all the rage okay so what is answering songs so answering song is when one artist wrote a song right and another artist replies back with a song of their own so now Johnny Otis had this bright idea to answer a song by Hank Ballard called work with me Annie and he wanted young Eda James to join him in the musical duel you see work with me Annie already had some pretty spicy lyrics but James and Otis decided to turn up the even more keep in mind that Eda was just 16 years old okay while Otis was a grown man in his 30s so the title of their song was roll with me Henry okay the title itself did raise quite a few eyebrows to dodge the sensors they cleverly renamed the song The Wallflower making it sound like they were talking about dancing you know what's crazy uh in that era they did that a lot with songs they'll be talking about one topic and it's not until you get older you're like what was I singing about but keep in mind she was 16 writing these lyrics with the help of a 30s something year old man so where was her mother when all of this was happening the James mother wasn't exactly you know a great mom to her as we saw so James ended up moving in with Otis yes the same 30-year-old man Eda James ended up moving in with him she was still 16 Otis paid James $10 for every performance but kept the Lion's Share for himself James went on to record the Wallflower with her group peaches and it quickly climbed the charts and by February of 1955 it reached number one on the hot rhythm and blues tracks James had her first brush with Fame and she was hungry for more the cherry on top Superstar Little Richard took notice of her in peaches when James heard about Little Richard's interest she decided to give herself a makeover she always been a bit of a tomboy but she knew that you know she had to be a little bit more girly to get more attention sex sales right so she transformed herself into a Glamour Girl girl complete with high heels rhinestone earrings you know the blonde hair the eyebrows the dark eyebrows and fancy gowns despite being just a teenager she looked much older you know with her glamorous New Look James was ready to hit the road with Little Richard but as they say trouble always finds her Little Richard who later earned the title the architect of rock and roll had heard peaches perform and wanted them for his national tour they went on Tor together in 1956 playing gigs all over the United States this was a dream come true for James so in the mid 20th century the music industry was a wild west of cultural appropriation often white artists would borrow songs from black musicians sanitize them for white audiences and write the wave of popularity to the top of the charts so it would be like they'd cover the song but they called it borrow they'd covered the song the same song and made it more white kind of like what Elvis Presley did and and then you know the audience would think and give credit to whoever that white artist is that stole the song and it'll be like it was their song it was their beat Etc right so unfortunately Eda James was a victim of that okay Georgia Gibbs a white singer known for her crossover hits did just that with Eda James Roni hit the Wallflower she scrubbed it clean renamed it dance with me Henry and turned it into a chart topping sensation and no time that was on Billboard while Eda James was not on Billboard so she was very upset with that and she felt robbed roll roll roll [Music] R hey baby what do I have to do hen any old time talk to hen you got to dance while the music on to say that James was livid was an understatement she felt robbed her hard work and creativity stolen and repackaged for a white audience but this was the reality of the time undeterred James sped ways with her group peaches and went on to have a solo career her first solo release good rocking daddy was a hit however subsequent success proved elusive leading James to question her decision to go solo in a daring move she left modern record her initial label and signed with chess records as it turned out it was a gamble that paid off handsomely while at chess records James turned out a string of hits and also found love during her tour with Little Richard she occasionally performed alongside the moonglows a doop group founded by Harvey Fuqua fuka and James Duets were hit and soon they became more than just singing Partners their palpable chemistry translated into a romantic relationship marking James first serious boyfriend however Bobby morray who toured with James for over 20 years had a different version of James romantic history according to him when James was just 16 she dated the blues Legend babby King who was then 29 years old this wasn't just Idol gossip as king single sweet 16 he made a whole song called sweet 16 released a few years later had James convinced that it was about her so it was like that secret in Hollywood that everyone knew they were saying that they she came into the industry pretty young they were kind of like using her up if you catch my drift while the company of BB King James cross pass with a future icon Elvis Presley the 19-year-old Presley a big fan of BB King left the lasting impression on Eda James also with his talent and good manners eventually she performed with the future king of rock and roll just outside Memphis tenness after two successful duets with fuka James decided to go solo again she released all I could do was cry in 1960 which reached the number two spot on the R&B charts Leonard Chess the founder of Chess Records saw potential and James he believed she could transition from R&B to pop and thought introducing string instruments into her music would facilitate this transition the resulting single my dearest darling picked at number five on the charts James debut album at last did initially meet Chess Records expectations however over time critics recognized its significance all music rated it five out of five star the album also featured what is now considered James signature song At Last despite her success James was far from wealthy Chess Records her label for 14 years manipulated her financially paying her a meager $10,000 during her entire stay with them instead of compensating their artist fairly Chess Records had a notorious practice of gifting them Cadillacs a fact memorized in the title of the 2008 film Cadillac Records most of James income came from her live performances not her record sales this harsh reality underscores the exploitation black artists often faced in the music industry during that era and still today Eda James a sofo diva with a golden voice continued to enchant audiences with her powerful performances throughout the 1960s she expanded her musical range by incorporating gospel sounds into her repertoire however beneath the bright stage lights and adoring fans James was living through a dark chapter of her life like many artists of her era she was caught in the deadly grip of substance addiction her habit was not only destructive but also very expensive the money she earned from her music was spent faster than it came in all to feed her insatiable Cravings as her dependency intensified James sank to unimaginable depths she was willing to do whatever it took to get her fixed even if it met compromising her dignity and integrity a shocking moment in her career came when she no longer felt she needed to conceal her addiction at one concert Spectators were taking a back when they saw bandages wrapped around her arms the implication was clear these bandages were concealing the physical scars left by her Relentless you know injections it seemed that James had reached a point where she was indifferent to the world knowing her deepest darkest Secrets her dependency led her down a path filled with regrettable actions she stooped to stealing money from Friends forging prescriptions and even selling her body in 1966 her unlawful activities caught the attention of law enforcement and she was slapped with a pro sentence she was fined $500 for writing a bad check but her disregard for her probation led to a brief scent in prison in the midst of these tumultuous times James found a creative Outlet disco music she recorded her first disco song in the basement before journeying to Alabama there she recorded the Soulful tell mama in its bide I'd Rather Go Blind so she met this guy named Foster Danto who was also an inmate and in 1968 it marked a significant year for James and Foster they welcomed the son Danto the societal Norms of that era were rigged and unforgiving when authorities discovered that James an unmarried woman was sharing a hotel room with Foster they arrested her such Behavior was deemed illegal and James found herself facing legal repercussions with the end so if you was sharing a hotel with a man it had to be your husband okay in 1969 James checked into rehab to combat her addiction there she encountered artist Mills another individual battling the scourge of substance despite his struggles Mills emerged as a Beacon of Hope for James and her son Danto Mills willingly stepped into the role of a father figure for Danto despite not beinging his biological father the 1970s promised a fresh start yet the same old problems kept coming back despite the chaos swirling around her James somehow managed to keep her music career afloat in 1973 law enforcement officers arrested her and her husband artist Mills on substance possession the following year she found herself confined with in the sterile walls of a drug treatment facility where doctors attempted to cure her addiction with methadone however this cure turned into another addiction adding another layer to her ongoing struggles while James was battling her demons Mills was fighting his own battles his involvement with James landed him a harsh 10-year prison sentence their marriage it seemed was proving to be more of a curse than a blessing for him in amid this turmoil James found herself at Tarzana psychiatric hospital she spent a grueling 17 months there surrounded mostly by white youngsters took a decade long Hiatus from recording to focus on her Fight Against Addiction with her husband still behind bars James found solace in the arms of Sam Dennis can you imagine doing 10 years for someone and then they cheat on you while you're doing Serving time for them an ex-user turned therapist is who she found her arms in Dennis proved to be a steady Rock in the tumultuous sea of her life their relationship resulted in the birth of their son samto in 1976 by the late 1980s James seemed to have finally tamed her personal demons she was ready to return to the recording studio after nearly a decade she signed with Island records and released 7-year itch in 1988 a nod to her lengthy Hiatus from the music industry 2 years later she dropped another album sticking to my guns marking a triumphant comeback and in 1993 despite her roots in R&B James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 Eda James took a bold step away from her Roots into rock soul in R&B and ventured into the sophisticated world of jazz she signed with private music records to produce an album dedicated to the legendary Billy Holiday titled Mystery Lady songs of Billy Holiday in 2009 pop Superstar Beyonce was given the honor of performing at the inaugu B of America's first black President Barack Obama having recently portrayed AA James in the movie Cadillac Records Beyonce chose to sing James iconic song At Last however when James heard about this she didn't react kindly never want to miss her words she publicly voiced her displeasure in a fiery rant threatening to harm Beyonce and declaring that Obama was not her President James son later attributed his mother's Outburst to drug induced dementia Beyonce who had earlier claimed that James was pleased with her rendition of at last for the film was taken aback by the sudden change in James attitude during a performance the 70-year-old James at the time had scornfully referred to Beyonce and criticized her for singing her song at the presidential inauguration she was just not happy about it and she also said I can't stand Beyonce I can't stand Beyonce she had no business up there singing singing up there on a big old a big old president day and going to be singing my song that I've been singing for him Beyonce plays thater in the upcoming Cadillac Records and has been popping up at various events singing her song At Last but it seems it was one time too many for ETA she's not impressed Beyonce performed the number for President Obama's first dance after his inauguration at the Cadillac Records premere Beyonce described the legend as her hero and told reporters Essa loved her rendition of what has become her calling card but it seems ETA is no longer feeling the love and wants her song back a lot of people was dragging ETA James for this you know but understand that they didn't invite her they wanted the song At Last to be played for them to dance that was a song they said that President Obama requested but instead of having Eda James Come and sing it and she's still alive a living legend they wanted Beyonce and I understand because Beyonce and for this current generation is the biggest star that we have so they wanted the Legacy to be more impactful but for Eda James it was like disrespectful and I can understand her frustration can you guys understand her frustration even a little bit Yeah but Beyonce was very confused cuz she was very proud of Beyonce's role in Cadillac Records Beyonce played her and she was proud of it they were very friendly and then fre you to come out and say oh I can't stand you and stuff Beyonce was very shook like hold on what happened and maybe I don't know should Beyonce have given her a heads up hey they asked me to sing this song I'm going to sing it you know for you or maybe Beyonce felt like it was okay to sing it since she played um Eda James in a movie role already so in January 2010 James was admitted to the hospital for an infection it was then that her son revealed the devastating news that she was suffering from dementia the following year her health deteriorated further when she was diagnosed with leukemia James passed away on January 20th 2012 just 5 days before her 74th birthday her funeral held 8 Days Later was a grand Affair musicians like stepen Wonder and Christina agilera she loved Christina agilera and Christina agilera loved her too Beyonce did seem to keep her distance James was laid to rest in the Englewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest voices of her Century comment below your thoughts she just lived a wild life you know but she has such an iconic voice it's a very powerful singer right but oh what got her voice to that point was just scary troubling but comment below your thoughts I love you guys so much comment below who else would you guys like me to do a video for and if you like the music you're listening to the link is in the description until next time

Channel: Karine Alourde 🇭🇹

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Id: zwUeq_7KdYY

Length: 21min 20sec (1280 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 29 2024