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At Last – The Complete Etta James Anthology (1955–1962)

by Olivier Julien

Jamesetta Hawkins, known as Etta James, was born on January 25, 1938 in Los Angeles, California, to an unknown father, while her mother, Dorothy Hawkins, was only fourteen years old at the time. Etta would later speculate that her father was the legendary billiards champion Rudolf “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone, whom she met in 1987.

She referred to her mother as “The Mystery Lady”, as she was often absent due to her unstable personal life and multiple relationships. Etta was raised by a series of foster families, including “Sarge” and “Mama” Lu, to whom she remained deeply attached. Frequently moved between relatives and friends, she eventually stayed with her grandparents, where she began attending a Baptist church.

She received her first singing lessons at the age of five from James Earle Hines, musical director of the Echoes of Eden choir at St. Paul’s Church in Los Angeles. Despite her young age, she quickly became one of the choir’s featured soloists and performed on local radio stations. Even as a child, the sheer power of her voice was already striking.

Sarge, an abusive alcoholic and compulsive gambler, would sometimes wake her in the middle of the night and force her to sing for his friends, often after physically beating her. These traumatic experiences deeply affected her and would later explain her reluctance throughout her career to perform on demand.

After Mama Lu’s death in 1950, Etta moved with her mother to the Fillmore district of San Francisco. There she discovered doo-wop and soon formed a girl group called The Creolettes.

At the age of fourteen, she met musician Johnny Otis, who took The Creolettes under his wing to record an answer song to Hank Ballard’s Work With Me, Annie. He helped them sign with Modern Records and renamed them The Peaches, while also giving Etta her stage name by shortening her real first name.

In 1954, they recorded The Wallflower (Modern Records 45x947), where she was credited as co-writer. The original title Roll with Me, Henry was altered to avoid censorship, as “roll” carried sexual connotations that would soon become central to rock ’n’ roll. Released in early 1955, the record quickly reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart.

The success of The Peaches led them to tour nationally with Little Richard. Around the same time, Georgia Gibbs released a cover titled Dance with Me, Henry, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, much to Etta’s frustration.

During a show in Memphis, she shared the bill with a young Elvis Presley, then only nineteen. After leaving The Peaches, she scored another hit with Good Rockin’ Daddy (Modern Records 45x962).

When her contract with Modern expired, she signed with Chess Records, where she would become one of the label’s key artists. Around this period, she entered a relationship with Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows. Together they recorded under various names, including Betty and Dupree (Kent 45x318) and later Etta and Harvey for Argo Records, scoring R&B hits such as If I Can’t Have You and Spoonful.

She also contributed backing vocals to a Chuck Berry session under the name The Ecuadors, resulting in the single Say You’ll Be Mine / Let Me Sleep Woman (Argo 5353).

Chess co-founder Leonard Chess quickly reco­gnized her potential as a crossover pop vocalist and began surrounding her with orchestral arrangements. This new direction produced My Dearest Darling, which reached the Top 5 in 1960.

Her debut album, At Last!, released later that year, showcased a wide stylistic range, blending jazz standards, blues, doo-wop, and R&B. It included now-classic tracks such as I Just Want to Make Love to You and A Sunday Kind of Love.

In 1961, the title track At Last became her signature song, reaching number two on the R&B charts and number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another standout, Trust in Me, also enjoyed success thanks to its lush orchestration.

Later that year, she released The Second Time Around, an album of jazz and pop standards arranged with strings, producing hits such as Fool That I Am and Don’t Cry Baby.

Her third album, Etta James (1962), incorporated more gospel influences. Something’s Got a Hold on Me reached number four on the R&B charts and entered the pop Top 40, followed by Stop the Wedding, which confirmed her growing versatility.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Etta James continued to evolve stylistically, moving between R&B, soul, funk, and blues. After a difficult period marked by addiction and personal struggles, she made a powerful comeback in the late 1960s with Tell Mama, recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals.

Her career continued with intermittent success through the 1970s and 1980s, including collaborations with artists such as Chuck Berry and appearances at major festivals worldwide. She performed at Montreux, Monterey, Newport, and North Sea Jazz Festivals, becoming a major figure on the international jazz and blues circuit.

In 1987, she returned to prominence through the documentary Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll, performing alongside Chuck Berry. Two years later, she signed with Island Records and released Seven Year Itch and Stickin’ to My Guns, produced at Fame Studios.

Her career resurgence continued in the 1990s with The Right Time, Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday—which earned her a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance—and later albums such as Life, Love & the Blues and Matriarch of the Blues, which reaffirmed her roots.

She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

Etta James remained active into the 2000s, recording Blue Gardenia and appearing in the film Cadillac Records (2008), where she was portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles. Beyoncé’s performance of At Last at President Barack Obama’s inauguration brought the song to a new generation.

Etta James gave her final televised performance in 2009 and continued touring until declining health forced her retirement. She passed away on January 20, 2012, at the age of 73, surrounded by her sons Donto and Sametto and her husband Artis Mills.

Etta James left behind a legacy spanning gospel, blues, R&B, soul, jazz, and rock ’n’ roll. Her voice, powerful and deeply expressive, remains one of the most distinctive and influential in American music history.

Olivier Julien

© Frémeaux & Associés 2026

At Last – The complete Etta James

1955-1962

Discographie

CD 1

1 - Etta James & The Peaches - The Wallflower
(Roll with Me, Henry) (Etta James / Phyllis Otis)
2 - Etta James & The Peaches - Hold Me, Squeeze Me (Etta James / Phyllis Otis)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre

45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x947 – 1955

3 - Hey Henry (avec Richard Berry) (Richard Berry / Frank Gallo)
4 - Be Mine (Richard Berry / Joe Josea)
Avec Maxwell Davis et son Orchestre

45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x957 – 1955

5 - Good Rockin’ Daddy (Richard Berry / Joe Josea)
6 - Crazy Feeling (Frank Gallo)
Avec Maxwell Davis et son Orchestre

45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x962 – 1955

7 - W-O-M-A-N (Abbye Mallory / Jamesetta Rogers / Jean Mitchell)
8 - That’s All (Joe Josea / Maxwell Davis)
Avec Maxwell Davis et son Orchestre

45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x972 – 1955

9 - Number One (My One and Only) (Sam Ling)
10 - I’m a Fool (Richard Berry / Joe Josea)
Avec Maxwell Davis et son Orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x984 – 1956

11 - Shortnin’ Bread Rock (Eddie Brandt /
Freddy Morgan)
12 - Tears of Joy (Jerome Leiber / Mike Stoller)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x972 – 1956

13 - Tough Lover (Etta James)
14 - Fools We Mortals Be (Dorothy Hawkins)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x998 – 1956

15 - Dance with Me, Henry (Phyllis Otis /
Jamesetta Rodgers)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
33 tours 30 cm RPM Records - LRP 3001 – 1956

16 - Good Lookin’ (Joe Josea / Maxwell Davis)
17 - Then I’ll Care (Dorothy Hawkins)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x1007 – 1957

18 - The Pick-Up (Harold Battiste / Scot Johnson)
19 - Market Place (Ray Stanley / Rick Darnell /
Scot Johnson)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x1016 – 1957

20 - Come What May (Franklyn Tableporter)
21 - By the Light of the Silvery Moon
(Edward Madden / Gus Edwards)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Modern Records 45x1022 – 1957

22 - Sunshine of Love (Bob Sherman)
23 - Baby Baby Every Night (Ed Townsend /
Ronie Rae / Scott Johnson)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Kent 45x304 – 1958

24 - Strange Things Happening (Etta James /
Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
33 tours 30 cm Kent LP 3002 – 1958

25 - Betty & Dupree - If It Ain’t One Thing
(Etta James / Harvey Fuqua)
26 - Betty & Dupree - I Hope You’re Satisfied
(Etta James / Harvey Fuqua)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Kent 45x318 – 1959

27 - Etta & Harvey - My Heart Cries (Etta James / Harvey Fuqua)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Chess 1760 – 1959

28 - Etta & Harvey - It’s a Crying Shame (Etta James / Harvey Fuqua)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Chess 1771 - 1960

CD 2

At Last

1 - Anything to Say You’re Mine
(Sonny Thompson)
2 - My Dearest Darling (Edwin Bocage /
Paul Gayten)
3 - Trust in Me (Jean Schwartz / Milton Ager /
Ned Wever)
4 - Sunday Kind of Love (Anita Leonard /
Barbara Belle / Louis Prima / Stan Rhodes)
5 - Tough Mary (Lorenzo Manley)
6 - I Just Want to Make Love to You (Willie Dixon)
7 - At Last (Harry Warren / Mack Gordon)
8 - All I Could Do Was Cry (Billy Davis)
9 - Stormy Weather (Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler)
10 - Girl of My Dreams (Rendered as Boy
of My Dreams) (Charles Clapp)
Avec Riley Hampton et son orchestre
33 tours 30 cm Argo LP 4003 – 1960

The Second Time Around

11 - Don’t Cry Baby (James Price Johnson /
Saul Bernie / Stella Unger)
12 - Fool That I Am (Floyd Hunt)

13 - One for My Baby (Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer)

14 - In My Diary (Mark Silverman /
Michael Graham)
15 - Seven Day Fool (Berry Gordy Jr / Gwen Gordy / Roquel Billy Davis)
16 - It’s Too Soon to Know (Deborah Chessler)
17 - Dream (Johnny Mercer)
18 - I’ll Dry My Tears (Clyde Walker / Etta James)
19 - Plum Nuts (Robert Plummer)
20 - Don’t Get Around Much Anymore (Bob Russell / Duke Ellington)
Avec Riley Hampton et son orchestre
33 tours 30 cm Argo LP 4011 – 1961

21 - How Big a Fool (Can You Be) (George Motola)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Kent 45x352 – 1961

22 - Don’t You Remember
23 - Hickory Dickory Dock
24 - Nobody Loves You Like Me
25 - Betty & Dupree - We’re in Love
26 - You Know What I Mean
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
33 tours 30 cm Crown LP 5234 - 1962

CD 3

Etta James

1 - Waiting for Charlie to Come Home
(Burt Bacharach / Bob Hilliard)
2 - Guess Again (Aaron Schroeder / Wally Gold /
Tom Glazer)
3 - A Lover’s Mourn (John Reese)
4 - You Can Count on Me (Eddie Singleton)
5 - Etta & Harvey - If I Can’t Have You
(Harvey Fuqua / Etta James)
6 - Something’s Got a Hold on Me (Pearl Woods / Leroy Kirkland / Etta James)
7 - My Dear (John Reese)
8 - Nobody but You (Willie Dixon)
9 - Let Me Know (Billy Davis / Berry Gordy)
10 - Etta & Harvey - Spoonful (Willie Dixon)
Avec Riley Hampton et son orchestre
33 tours 30 cm Argo LP 4013 – 1962

Sings for Lovers

11 - Don’t Take Your Love from Me (Henry Nemo)
12 - How Do You Speak to an Angel (Bob Hilliard / Jule Styne)
13 - Fools Rush In (Rube Bloom / Johnny Mercer)

14 - Don’t Blame Me (Jimmy McHugh / Dorothy Fields)

15 - Someone to Watch Over Me (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin)
16 - Again (Lionel Newman / Dorcas Cochran)
17 - I Want to Be Loved (Savannah Churchill)
18 - It Could Happen to You (Jimmy Van Heusen / Johnny Burke)
19 - These Foolish Things (Eric Maschwitz /
Jack Strachey / Harold Link)
20 - Prisoner of Love (Russ Columbo / Leo Robin / Clarence Gaskill)
Arrangements : Al Poskonka et Riley Hampton
33 tours 30 cm Argo LP 4018 – 1962

21 - Stop the Wedding (Freddy Johnson /
Leroy Kirkland / Pearl Woods)
22 - Street of Tears (Freddy Johnson /
Leroy Kirkland / Pearl Wood)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Argo 5418 – 1962

23 - Next Door to the Blues (Pearl Wood)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Argo 5424 – 1962

24 - Would It Make Any Difference to You
(Bob Forshee)
Arrangements Cliff Parman
45 tours SP 17 cm Argo 5430 - 1962

Bonus Tracks : The Ecuadors

25 - Say You’ll Be Mine (Richard Butler)
26 - Let Me Sleep Woman (Richard Butler)
(The Ecuadors : Etta James / Harvey Fuqua /
Billy Davis / Chuck Berry)
Avec accompagnement d’orchestre
45 tours SP 17 cm Argo 5353 - 1959