I had a couple of ideas about what I was going to write about today, but it strikes me as simply unacceptable to let the passing of Etta James go by without comment on the site. I'll be honest with you, I'm not an Etta James fan. Which is not to say that I in any way dislike James or her music. She just wasn't an artist with whom I spent much time. There's a lot of music out there and only so many hours in the day.
However, Facebook was absolutely doused today with posts, comments, and videos about James' life, music, and passing. I must have read literally dozens of comments about how people had endured heartache to I'd Rather Go Blind, made life altering decisions against rhe back drop of wine and Something's Got A Hold On Me, and -- of course -- danced to At Last at their wedding.
Indeed, one of those comments came from Br. Dierkes' beautiful wife Chloe. Relistening to At Last just now I was, literally, transported back to the ornate Vancouver Art Gallery room wherein newly married Chris and Chloe Dierkes swayed gently to the howling windstorm of James' voice on that sweltering May afternoon.
This, then, is the signature of a musical legend. That we mark the deep grooves of our lives to the sound of their craft. We don't even think about doing it, the plush contour of their creativity naturally seeps into those indelible moments of our lives.
There are, not surprisingly, a myriad of tributes to Etta James on You Tube right now. For a host of reasons, this one nailed it for me:
