Soul singer Etta James dies aged 73

ETTA James, the popular rhythm and blues singer best known for the hit ‘At Last’ has died in Riverside, California. She was 73.

She had been battling dementia and kidney problems, and was diagnosed as suffering from terminal leukaemia in December of last year.

Her manager Lupe De Leon confirmed that the singer, born Jamesette Hawkins in Los Angeles, had died in Riverside Community Hospital with her two sons and husband, Artis Mills, at her side.

He added: ‘It’s a tremendous loss for her fans around the world. She’ll be missed. A great American singer. Her music defied category.”

A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, James set the benchmark for a number of varied performers including Janis Joplin and Joss Stone. President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Terry Stewart paid tribute to the singer, adding:

“Etta James was a pioneer. Her ever-changing sound has influenced rock and roll, rhythm and blues, pop, soul and jazz artists, marking her place as one of the most important female artists of our time. There is no mistaking the voice of Etta James, and it will live forever.”

Her jazz-influenced rendition of ‘At Last’ became her trademark song, the hit that would define her and confirm her status as one of the world’s leading female artists.

Perhaps most famously, President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama danced to a version of the song at President Obama’s inauguration ball.

The product of a troubled childhood - she describes her mother in her 1995 autobiography as unstable and a substance abuser, and never knew her father - Etta James was raised by Lula and Jess Rogers, who owned the house her mother once lived in. The couple brought James up in the Christian faith, leading to time spent in her formative years as a gospel singer.

She began to make a stir in the music business in the 1950s, before embarking on a number of tours with such established acts as the Everly Brothers, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino.