Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Montreux Years , from Etta James and it's dynamite. Opening with Breakin' Up Somebody's Home , Etta James hits like a truck on lead vocal, supported by Herman Roscoe Ernest III on drums, Ronnie Buttacavoli on trumpet, Bobby Murray on guitar, Josh Sklair on guitar, Bobby Vega on bass, Kraig Kilby on trombone, Richard Howell on sax, David Matthew on keyboards, Donto James on percussion and Claude Nobs on harmonica. Great opener. Emotionally charged, A Lover Is Forever , is a quiet contrast to the opener with James wooing the mic over the electro acoustic guitar work of Murray and Sklair. Very nice. Rockin, Tell Mama , has great drive, with hot vocal by James, backed by Klaus Doldinger on sax, Lew Soloff on trumpet, Rick Wakeman on keys, David Fathead Newman on sax, Brian Ray on guitar, Richard Tee on keys, Steve Ferrone on drums and David Lowrey on bass. R&B track, Something's Got A Hold On Me gets a...

Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012) was an American singer. Her style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "Roll With Me, Henry", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she wrote the lyrics. She faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album The Seven Year Itch. James is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and is the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone ranked James number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Si...

Etta James January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012 . How many people have fallen in love while listening to the song "At Last" or shed a tear when listening to "I'd Rather Go Blind" or danced with delight and empowerment when the song "Tell Mama" would come on? That was the power of the legendary Etta James who died today after a long struggle with numerous health issues. She was 73. Etta represented the human condition and all of its imperfections of which she could sing about with an experienced vulnerability that would seem to cut straight to your heart. Born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles, Etta began singing in church at age 5. She would launch a professional music career under the name "Peaches" while still in her early teens. In 1955 she teamed up with producer/musician/ bandleader/talent scout Johnny Otis to release "The Wallflower" which rose to #1 in the Rhythm & Blues charts. Throughout the 1950s she...

Etta James, the powerful blues voice behind the chart-topping 1961 evergreen "At Last," has died after a lengthy struggle with leukemia. She was 73. Her longtime friend and manager, Lupe De Leon, first confirmed the news to CNN . "This is a tremendous loss for the family, her friends and fans around the world," De Leon said. "She was a true original who could sing it all – her music defied category. I worked with Etta for over 30 years. She was my friend and I will miss her always." Because of her health concerns, James had curtailed her concerts in January 2010 to enter the hospital with a blood infection, among other ailments, including Alzheimer's disease. In May 2011, James was again admitted to a hospital in Riverside, Calif., with a urinary tract infection and the blood infection sepsis, her son Sametto James told Reuters at the time. The winner of four Grammys and a 1993 inductee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, James was port...

Beth Hart (born January 24, 1972) is an American singer who became famous with the hit "LA Song (Out of This Town)", which aired during Episode 17 of the 10th and final season of Beverly Hills, 90210. While playing the Los Angeles clubs, she enlisted bassist Tal Herzberg and guitarist Jimmy Khoury. In 1993, Hart appeared on Ed McMahon's Star Search several times. "Beth Hart and the Ocean of Souls" was recorded in 1993. It includes "Am I the One" (re-worked on later albums[citation needed]) and a pop-rock cover of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Hart released her album Immortal with her band Beth Hart Band in 1996. Her next album, Screamin' for My Supper (Atlantic, 1999), featured "LA Song (Out of This Town)," a top-5 Adult Contemporary Chart hit. At the same time, Hart was singing the lead role in "Love, Janis," an Off-Broadway musical based on Joplin's letters home to her mother. Hart...

Blues/soul icon Etta James, whose health has been fading in recent years, is now terminally ill, and her live-in doctor is asking for prayers. Dr. Elaine James, who isn't related to the 73-year-old Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, says medical experts informed the performer that her chronic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, was declared incurable two weeks ago. The doctor has cared for Etta James around-the-clock care at the singer's Riverside, CA, area home since March 2010. James is barely able to communicate at this point, she added. Elaine James says she's spreading word of the singer's ailments so people will pray for her. She says fans know Etta James has been sick "but not how sick." Court records in the singer's probate case show she also suffers from dementia and kidney failure. Dr. James made her comments outside a Riverside conservatorship hearing over the singer's $1 million estate. The singer's son, Donto J...