On this episode of the Rock n Roll Librarian, Shelley tells Christian all about the book RAGE TO SURVIVE: THE ETTA JAMES STORY. 

One of the great women of American music, Etta was equally at home singing blues, R&B, and jazz, and gave us such amazing songs as “I’d Rather Go Blind”, “Tell Mama”, and “At Last”. She regales us with riveting stories of her chaotic youth in Los Angeles, her teen years in San Francisco’s Fillmore district, and her troubled trip to stardom. From being discovered at age five singing in her church choir, to her first hit record, to her work and friendships with Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, and other stars of the Golden Age of Soul, Etta relates with brutal honesty her struggle with drugs, her childhood dealing with an elusive and unstable mother, and her lifelong trouble with brutal and controlling men. A riveting story told in Etta’s own unvarnished and humorously right-on words.

By Etta James and David Ritz

Da Capo Press, 1995

#EttaJames #ChessRecords #Rhythm&Blues #JohnnyOtis #JohnnyGuitarWatson #FillmoreDistrict #MarvinGaye #SamCooke #LittleRichard #JackieWilson #TheMoonglows #ArethaFranklin #TinaTurner #BillieHolliday #Jazz #Blues #SouthCentral

This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

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