Scorching Side by The Queen of Scorching Soul!

This track can be found on the “Singles Mixer Vol. 2” podcast.

I’m a week or so behind in eulogizing one of my favorite singers of all time.  I’ve been busy the past month (along with having some computer problems) so I haven’t been able to keep up as much as I’d like.  Part of that not keeping up was not acknowledging the passing of the inimitable Etta James.

Her career was one marked by endless personal ups and downs- experiences she relayed in her music and in her amazing autobiography Rage To Survive- but she had remarkable and sustained success with her music despite the down times.  I don’t know how many tracks I could call “my favorite” but it’s a list longer than most artists could ever dream of assembling.

She had most recently been in the news about the controversy surrounding Beyonce’s rendition and ultimate performance of “At Last” at the White House.  While it only seems sensible that Etta should have been honored it ultimately overshadowed a career of remarkable breadth and gave the perception she was being slighted because her hit was being taken by someone else.  In my mind it’s no contest.  Beyonce could never handle 85% of Etta’s catalog, never mind that should couldn’t hold a candle to Etta’s versions of the other 15%.  Etta was also familiar with re-working other people’s material though in her cases she took on tough challenges and made them very much her own.  Who else would dare take on Otis Redding (and win!) in his prime?

Anyhow, I digress.  What is important is Etta had a startling career from her early days with Johnny Otis (RIP) singing her playful “Roll With Me Henry” (penned by Mr. Otis)  and shooting up the tour bus as a wild teenager through her barnstorming soul tracks with Chess finally to her stateswoman like performances of the past 10 years where she would perch upon a crown and rain down her gifts on spellbound audiences who know she was and will always be the true Queen of Soul.