Mourners bid passionate farewell to Etta James

[n2doc]

By Dalina Castellanos, Los Angeles Times
January 28, 2012
The setting sun cast a golden glow Friday over hundreds of mourners who came to pay their respects to singer Etta James at the Inglewood Cemetery Mortuary.

People began lining up an hour before the viewing began, reminiscing about their favorite songs as her voice boomed from chapel's speakers.

"Whenever I hear that song, I freeze," Donald Hicks, 67, of Inglewood said about James' mega-hit "At Last." "I even pull over when it comes on."

Many in attendance viewed James as a close family friend after years of inviting her into their homes via their stereo speakers. The singer died Jan. 20 in Riverside of complications from leukemia


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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-etta-james-20120128,0,1283010.story?track=icymi

[xchrom]

1. ...

[hlthe2b]

2. NPR (Fresh Air) replayed an interview with her from 1994...

Worth pulling from the archives if interested. While she made quite a few political statements (and rather negative comments towards other performers) near the end of her life, that was easy to take offense, I came away with a much better appreciation of her from this interview, when she was still healthy and occasionally performing.

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/27/138985700/etta-james-the-1994-fresh-air-interview