Etta James left us and that isn’t right.
Her voice brought all those who heard it to many places – some bright, some dark.
She was never dull or by the numbers, she was her own woman.
She left the world a richer place.
Almost from program 1 back in March 2008 the “Full Catastrophe” has regularly relied on Etta James to show the way.
That voice, that spirit will live on.
And for the first time TFC dispensed for a while with its usual zig and zag approach to pause and celebrate a great singer.
Vale Etta James.
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Miss You – Etta James
“The matriarch of R&B” sings the Stones.
“Her voice was “an instrument of overwhelming power.”
He’s Funny That Way – Etta James
“Her music defied category.”
“The greatest of modern blues singers . . . the undisputed Earth Mother” sings a 1928 standard.
Good Morning Heartache – Etta James
“As raw as Etta is, there’s a great intelligence and wisdom in her singing.”
Somebody To Love -Etta James
“Perhaps the quintessential R&B diva, was equally at home singing unadulterated blues, searing R&B and sophisticated jazz.”
The Very Thought Of You – Etta James
“When she effortlessly opened her mouth, you could hear her pain and triumph.”
My Favourite Things – New Swing Sextet
Somebody To Love – Queen
Melancholisch Schön – 2raumwohnung
I’m Beginning To See The Light – Rebecca Barnard Quartet
Bilbao Song – Ute Lemper
Bilbao Song – J.J. Johnson
From the surrealistic three-act musical play “Happy End by Weill & Brecht, first performed in 1929.
An abrasive lyric, a lilting melody.
Carrots For My Lady – Denis King
A splendidly silly song from a 70s BBC radio show called “Hello Cheeky“.
Fly Me To The Moon – Bob Downe
Tarzan – Sonny Day & The Rare Breed
The Night They Invented Champagne – Seth MacFarlane
Banjo In The Hollow – The Dillards
Tipi Tii – Marion Rung
And talking of Eurovision here is Hikaru Freeman and yours truly chirping about Yugoslavia and the ESC.
Technicolour Dawn – Jez Kerr
I Wish I Were A Princess – Little Peggy March
Nursery Rhyme – Bo Diddley
Big Apple Boogaloo – Brooklyn Funk Essentials
At Last – Etta James
“When I’m singing blues, I’m singing life. People that can’t stand to listen to the blues, they’ve got to be phonies.”
