My heart is wrapped up in clover

Before Adele Adkins, there was Jamesetta Hawkins and both are singers I love. My heart sank a little when I logged on Twitter and found out that Jamesetta (Etta James to everyone) died at 73, from complications of leukemia and dementia. She's one of my favorite singers and it's a little sad whenever great pioneers pass away. It always feels like the end of an era. A few months back, I posted a video of Adele singing Etta James' I Just Want To Make Love To You. It's still one of my favorite covers and I get a kick out of singing along whenever it plays on my iPod.

Tonight, though, will be a short tribute to Etta James. She is and will always be the matriarch of rhythm and blues. My God, that voice! She can easily and perfectly transition from R&B to rock-and-roll, jazz and soul without changing that sultry and emotionally-charged singing voice. I think this kind of raw singing, this passionate, powerful vocal assertion is the reason why I love both Etta and Adele.

Etta James is most famous for her song "At Last", which is commonly played as a first dance in weddings. Most recently, the song was a source of a juicy celebrity catfight when the Obama power couple picked Beyonce over Etta James to sing it at their first Neighborhood Ball. I love how fearless and feisty Etta was, insisting she would've sung it better than Bey. I believe her. Never doubt, never doubt.

Here are two of my favorite Etta James songs, Something's Got A Hold On Me sung during her younger years and the equally beautiful Etta singing At Last many years later. God bless you and keep you, Miss Peaches. Thank you for the music. 

PS: One of my favorite mixes, Rainy Days & Diner Dates by DJ Euric, has At Last as its first track. I'm posting the download link just for kicks (you should really go ahead and get it though because it's awesome and fun to listen to on any given work day). It also has Duffy's Syrup & Honey, a song that's been swimming in my head in and out for a whole week now. 

Don't you be wasting your money, on syrup and honey... 

We only said goodbye with words, I died a hundred times

Amy Winehouse is dead. She was an incredible lyricist and an astounding singer. Who could forget Tears Dry On Their Own, Just Friends and everybody's anthem, You Know I'm No Good? Let's face it, when Rehab hit the airwaves years ago, we also sang along, singing "No, no, no" with such conviction that many of us raised suspicion from our parents. I know we all danced to upbeat versions of Valerie, only to wonder later on, "Who the f is Valerie?"

When Amy wrote most of Back to Black to reflect on her failed marriage, we wept not just for her failures in love but for the long-existing big demons that lingered in her life, those that she could not fight. She was in deep trouble but even then, her act was still so phenomenal. Amy now belongs to the Forever 27 Club with other musical greats like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain. It was only a few weeks ago when she made headlines for her horrible performance in Serbia, singing live under the influence. She subsequently cancelled her other tour dates, a rather sad end to what would've been her planned comeback.

I really wanted Amy to overcome her personal demons because she just gave so much of herself into her art and everything she created was so brilliant. I enjoyed her songs immensely. They were so incredible that it was easy to forget these were fueled by her personal tragedies and bad habits that became all-consuming.

Here are some of my favorite Winehouse performances. Back to Black has an excellent music video set in Noir but I thought everyone should remember that once, a long time ago, Amy Winehouse performed live and she did sing with such raw talent. My God, she sang so well.

And in 2008, Amy shared the stage with Mark Ronson to perform "Valerie". She looked so alive here. I love how she went right after Adele, who's now so big all over the world.

I cheated myself,
Like I knew I would,
I told you I was trouble,
You know that I'm no good

Sleep well, princess. Your energy will be missed.