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Etta James
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Miami Vice Performer
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Born
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January 25, 1938, Los Angeles, California
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Died
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January 20, 2012, Riverside, California (age 73, leukemia)
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Active
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1954-2012
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Spouse/Children
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Artis Mills (1969-2012, her death), two sons
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Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012) was an American R&B and Blues singer known as Etta James, whose song "You Want More" appeared in the episode "Give a Little, Take a Little" of the show Miami Vice.
Career[]
James was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother claimed she was the daughter of famed pool player "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, but was never proven. In 1950 she teamed up with two other girls to form a doo-wop group, two years later bandleader Johnny Otis took the group to record a song, "The Wallflower (Dance With Me, Henry)", which became a R&B/Blues hit in the 1950s. In the 1960s James began reaching the R&B Top 10 regularly with such songs as "Spoonful", "All I Could Do Is Cry", and many others, but James also became addicted to drugs during this time that lasted until the mid 1970s. Her career slumped during the 1980s, but she did record the song "You Want More" for the movie Heartbreakers, and had Brian Ray as her guitarist, and released albums in the late 1980s and 1990's that sounded like her 1960's releases. In the 2000s she released Pop Standards albums and classic R&B, overall she released 26 albums over her career, reaching the Billboard Top 40 six times, and the R&B charts 16 times. James also was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Personal life[]
James married Artis Mills in 1969, who served a 10 year prison sentence for drug possession in the 1970s, released in 1982. They have two sons, Donto & Sametto. In 2010 it was revealed that James has been suffering from Alzheimer's Disease since 2009. In late 2011, it was revealed that James was also suffering from terminal leukemia and the illness claimed her life on January 20, 2012 in Riverside, California, at the age of 73, surrounded by her husband and sons.