Etta James, a little goodbye.

Another great voice of soul and blues has faded these days. She started fading, actually, a while ago, when her mind started to surrender to dementia and illness. But she was there, a living witness to what she was capable to do in the music world. There's no female singer of our times that didn't try to test herself on Etta James hits, and it was never an easy test to pass. Now she's gone. But sure as hell she's going to last.

Etta James singing her most popular hit in 2009. She was beautiful, and she had that sad vibe in her voice like it was the first and the last time she was singing that tune. Awesome.

I think that Aguilera is one of the few contemporary singers that found a personal way to render Etta James songs. She's got a different style, of course, but the same strenght and power and that touch of rage that I think has always been one of the signatures of Etta.

Maybe it should have been Etta that night. But still, Beyoncé gave a great rendition of this song and the couple dancing on the stage made everything very very special. Etta was mad about that, but she was shining on that stage even if she wasn't there. A nice tribute, freshly done, were Etta James voice shines out like a spark on a funky base that honours well her name. Free to download.