earsucker

Legendary blues singer Etta James has passed away at the age of 73, according to her manager, Lupe De Leon.

She had a long battle with illness, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2008, following a terminal cancer diagnosis. She was put under 24-hour care and had been battling cancer throughout 2011. It was then that her manager revealed that she was “in the final stages of leukemia” and was diagnosed with dementia and Hepatitis C.

She was hospitalized in December of 2011 after it was reported that she was having trouble breathing. She was finally released from the hospital on January 5, 2012, but passed away today.

May she rest in peace.

The legendary singer is survived by her husband, Artis, and their two sons, Donto and Sametto. RIP Etta. Your talented voice will surely be missed.

When Beyonce belted out “At Last” at Barack Obama’s inaugural ball, she did a fine job and was all class. Etta James lashed out at the “big eared” President along with Beyonce, saying that “she was singing my song.”

James issued an apology to the President, but never really apologized to Beyonce.

Check out her rant:

Beyonce is taking the high road, saying, “I played Etta James (in Cadillac Records), so I did my research, I read her book. I was not at all surprised. That’s Etta. She’s hilarious.”

Image Credit: Bauer-Griffin

After Etta James dissed Beyonce for “singing her song”, she has just released a statement saying that it was all a joke.

She says, “I didn’t really mean anything. Even as a little child, I’ve always had that comedian kind of attitude… That’s probably what went into it.”

She said that she was put out by Beyonce’s performance because she felt left out of something that “was basically mine, that I had done every time you look around.”

She added, “Nobody was getting mad at me in Seattle. They were all laughing, and it was funny.”

She doesn’t exactly apologize or downplay what she said about Beyonce. But she does say that the comments she made about Barack Obama were a joke. She says, “I always thought he was handsome and he was cool. I still had my joke about him. That might be horrible. The President might not ever like me in life. But he’s got other stuff to worry about besides Etta James.”

So she was basically miffed that Beyonce was asked, instead of her. Etta’s rant is here, in case you missed it.

Image Credit: Bauer-Griffin

Oh snap!

Etta James got on stage and was getting ready to sing her famous song, “At Last” when she dug her claws into Beyonce. Bey sang the song at Barack Obama’s Inaugural Ball and this did not make Etta happy, not one bit.

Etta says:

“I’m gonna do a song for ya now that…umm….You guys know your president right? (crowd: “Yeah.”) You know the one with the big ears. Yeah, wait a minute, he ain’t my President, he might be yours. I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song, she gonna get her ass whipped. (Applause.) The great Beyonce! Now like I said, she ain’t mine. And you aint mine, I mean I made a mistake, you are mine. But I can’t stand Beyonce! She had no business up there singing. Singing on a big ol’, big ol’ president’s day and going be singing my song that I’ve been singing forever. We’re gonna do that song for you. I gotta do it for you…(inaudible over applause)…That song is called, ‘At Last.’”

Mwuahahaha! (In case you missed it, this was also my first Youtube upload….enjoy!)

Image Credit: Bauer-Griffin

Beyonce sang Etta James’ song “At Last” to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle. She did an amazing job singing this classic song.

Have a listen for yourself:

Beautiful. Good stuff. And she looked so proud to be there, too, didn’t she?

Image Credit: Bauer-Griffin