Farewell to a Tremendous Talent, Etta James.

In all of the press reports regarding the passing of Etta James, a lot has been written about her struggles with addiction, her beef with Beyonce and the court battles over the control over her estate once her various illnesses took over.

They mention At Last and they should. Its an epic pop standard.

What should also be mentioned is that she spent 20 plus years sober, was married since 1969, and her children were actively involved in her life on and off stage.

They should also mention when the hits dried up for Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, Etta James kept Chess Records afloat with At Last, Tell Mama and other hits.

They should mention that she had a keen ear for good songs and songwriters regardless of genre. She openly championed and recorded songs written by Randy Newman, Alice Cooper, The Eagles and later Prince and Guns N’ Roses.

They should mention that the second phase of her career was as fruitful and creative as her first, as she recorded a series of critically acclaimed and award-winning albums that touched on blues, funk, soul, jazz and standards.

And they should mention that without Etta James, there’s no Aretha Frankiln, Carla Thomas, Esther Phillips, Janis Joplin, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, Cassandra Wilson, Beyonce or any other female singer who wants to be a true soul diva.

No one is denying that Etta James played it fast and loose, lived her life hard and lived to tell the tale (her autobiography is aptly titled ‘Rage To Survive’).

But let’s tell about all of the good, because it certainly outweighed the bad.

Rest in peace Ella. You’ve earned it.

Here’s a little bit of Etta to listen to an a cold January night, and check out our all Etta playlist which will be featured tomorrow all day long on The Interrobang.