# Etta James: 1938-2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etta-james-1938-2012/610151 "2012-01-20T17:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etta-james-1938-2012/610151/21 "2012-01-20T23:46:50Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > When Beyonce sang “At Last” at Obama’s inaugeration, Etta got into a bit of trouble when she said at a performance something like, ‘I’ll kick Beyonce’s ass, singing my song like I’m dead already’ or something like that. She ended up trying to apologize and explain that she wasn’t serious. > > I saw her live in Niagara Falls a few years ago. She did a lot of banter between songs, of course, and her personality shone through as brassy, sassy and very acerbic and strong. Anyone who saw her perform live knows that she wasn’t really serious about what she said about Beyonce. She was just kind of playing in that brassy way that a lady like her can pull off without being truly offensive. A shame she had to kind of recant because she was misunderstood. > > She was one of my favorites. What a voice. If you loved her, chances are you’ll love Ruby Wilson. [This album](http://www.amazon.com/Song-You-Ruby-Wilson/dp/B0037Z6TSW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1327102952&sr=1-1http://www.amazon.com/Song-You-Ruby-Wilson/dp/B0037Z6TSW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1327102952&sr=1-1) is dynamite, but in a very long and celebrated career I think she’s only cut two albums. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etta-james-1938-2012/610151/22 "2012-01-20T23:48:36Z")
A sad day for music and a sad day for crossword puzzles. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etta-james-1938-2012/610151/23 "2012-01-21T16:46:42Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > She shouldn’t have apologized. She had a valid point. If _anyone_ was going to sing _At Last_ to the first Black President, it should be: > > [ol] > [li]The person who made it famous[/li][li]The person who has been waiting to sing it to him the longest.[/li][/ol] Yeah, and you can tell that she was serious about the part where she wanted to be the one to sing it, but putting on a bit about wanting to kick Beyonce’s ass. No, carnivorous plant, she didn’t have the weight problem. She was slim. A lot of her banter was about how much happier she was as a slim woman, and I was happy for her, but I sheepishly admit, I liked her and identified with her as a big mama. Chefguy, I will check out that link when I get home. I’m doing some Saturday overtime right now and can’t click it. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etta-james-1938-2012/610151/24 "2012-01-21T16:52:34Z")
Missed the edit window, but wanted to say I was able to click the Ruby Wilson link after all…I thought it would be a youtube video. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etta-james-1938-2012/610151/25 "2012-01-21T20:33:16Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Missed the edit window, but wanted to say I was able to click the Ruby Wilson link after all…I thought it would be a youtube video. If you scroll down, you can listen to small bits of the cuts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etta-james-1938-2012/610151.md?page=1)