Etta James Soulfully Has Fun With the Audience and Band

Sometimes I like to slow it down with Etta James, one of the most influential artists of the second half of the twentieth century who received Grammy awards well into this century.

Her debut album was in 1954 and her last studio album was released in late 2011 to great acclaim. That is a staggeringly long career.

I love her soulful rendition of I’d Rather Be Blind in this live recording from 1975.

Etta’s music touched countless genres of music, but it wasn’t until the 1990’s that she was fully appreciated for how much cross-market appeal she had.