12 Songs of Christmas (Etta James album)
12 Songs of Christmas is the twenty-second studio album and the first Christmas album by American blues singer Etta James. Private Music released the album in October 1998. Produced by John Snyder, the album includes standards arranged mostly by pianist Cedar Walton and solos by Walton, George Bohanon on trombone, and Red Holloway on tenor saxophone. Critical reception of the album was positive overall. Following its release, 12 Songs reached a peak position of number five on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart.
12 Songs of Christmas (Etta James album)
Arranger and pianist Cedar Walton performing in 2001
Red Holloway performed saxophone solos throughout the album.
Jamesetta Hawkins, known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind". She faced a number of personal problems, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse, and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch.
James performing in France in July 1990
James performing in 2000
James at the 2006 Common Ground Festival in Lansing, Michigan
James's tomb at Inglewood Park Cemetery