Music legend and author Etta James has passed away. She was 73 years old.
In the video embedded above, James sang her classic tune, “At Last.” In 1995, she co-wrote a memoir with David Ritz, a book called Rage To Survive: The Etta James Story. Follow this link to read excerpts from her memoir.
Here’s one review of her book: “This is a personal testament to one woman’s struggle to survive. Etta doesn’t seem to leave much out, but she’s largely non-judgemental, both about her own failings and those of others. She tells of her own demons and how self-doubt and her heroin addiction threatened to destroy her, but she never descends into self-pity. There are numerous stories about those she has known and worked with, including Johnny Otis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Esther Phillips and Bo Diddley.”