Etta James : Tell Mama

 

Genre: Soul

Dates: 1968

James, who first hit the charts in 1954 with "Roll With Me, Henry" at the tender age of 16, provided the blueprint for not only Tina Turner (who lacked her versatility) but also Janis Joplin (who lacked her tough core). When Aretha Franklin claimed the "Queen of Soul" crown in 1967, Etta had already been doing it all for over a decade; while Franklin's been trying (and failing) to find solid footing over the last quarter-century, Etta's been quietly making solid, soulful records that cry out for a mass audience, and occasionally making her presence felt elsewhere (kicking heroin, upstaging Chuck Berry at his own birthday party, writing a scintillating autobiography). One of the great underrated performers in American music, on her greatest recording, backed by the session aces of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

Playlist:

1. Tell Mama
2. I'd Rather Go Blind
3. Watch Dog
4. Love Of My Man, The
5. I'm Gonna Take What He's Got
6. Same Rope, The
7. Security
8. Steal Away
9. My Mother-In-Law
10. Don't Lose Your Good Thing
11. It Hurts Me So Much
12. Just A Little Bit
13. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man




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