From unpromising beginnings - she was the daughter of a 14-year-old unmarried
mother - Etta James developed into one of the world's most ferociously
passionate singers, capable of delivering pop, gospel, blues and R&B with the
same intensity. As a child she received vocal training from James Earle Hines,
musical director of the Echoes of Eden choir. When her mother took her to San
Francisco in 1950 she formed a doo-wop group with two other girls, calling
themselves The Peaches. The girls were picked up by bandleader Johnny Otis who
released their first single, The Wallflower in 1...