By Patrick Luce Jan 20, 2012, 20:12 GMT
R&B icon Etta James died at the age of 73 on Friday, January 20th, at Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, California.
The singer, who was famous for her signature song “At Last,” was in the hospital being treated for leukemia, kidney problems and dementia.
During her career, she earned six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was truly an icon in music inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and again in 2008. She was ranked by Rolling Stone at 22 on the magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and 62 on its 100 Greatest Artists list.
She was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles. She started singing at the St. Paul Baptist Church in Los Angeles. 'At Last!,' her debut album, was released in 1960 and also featured the hit singles "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "A Sunday Kind of Love."
She won Grammy awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for the album 'Mystery Lady' in 1994, Best Contemporary Blues Album 'Let's Roll' in 2003, and Best Traditional Blues Album 'Blues To The Bone' in 2004.
Her singles "At Last" and "The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)" received Grammy Hall of Fame Awards for "qualitative or historical significance." She was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
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