1/29/12

The Funeral Services For Chanteuse Lady Etta James


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THE HOME GOING SERVICES FOR LADY ETTA JAMES!
Hundreds of mourners gathered at City of Refuge church in Gardena, south of downtown Los Angeles Saturday to remember singer Etta James, a woman who triumphed against all odds to break down cultural and musical barriers in a style that was unfailingly honest. 
Hundreds of mourners gathered at City of Refuge church in Gardena, south of downtown Los Angeles Saturday to remember singer Etta James, a woman who triumphed against all odds to break down cultural and musical barriers in a style that was unfailingly honest. During a two-hour service that featured performances by Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera, 

The Rev. Al Sharpton eulogized Etta as a woman who rose from a tough childhood and poured her pain into her music.”People need to understand that when they hear the music Etta James sang, she sang the times that she lived,” Rev. Sharpton said.
Rev. Sharpton opened his remarks by reading a statement from President Obama” “Etta will be remembered for her legendary voice and her contributions to our nation’s musical heritage,” Obama’s statement read. “I know she will be sorely missed by all those who knew and loved her.” 

Etta's Husband Artis Mill is being comforted by Rep Waters.
Rev. Sharpton, who met Etta James when he was an up-and-coming preacher said, “Etta should be remembered for blazing a trail for the entertainers who followed her. Etta was the one that brought class — generations behind will try but never quite have the strut and swagger and talent of Etta James,” he said.
In his eulogy, Rev. Sharpton described Etta’s incredible rise from poverty and addiction. “The genius of Etta James is she flipped the script,” Rev. Sharpton said, alluding to her struggles with addiction, which she eventually overcame. She waited until she turned her pain into power,” he said, adding that it turned her story away from being a tragic one into one of triumph. At last you (Etta) can get the gratitude of the savior now! Go on home Etta! Get your reward now! You beat them Etta! You won Etta! Get your reward Etta! At last! At last! At last!”
Stevie Wonder performed with a church choir, singing “Shelter in the Rain,” “The Lord’s Prayer,” and playing a harmonica solo. “Out of all the singers that I’ve ever heard, she was the one that cut right to my soul and spoke to me,” Christina Aguilera told the audience, before giving a performance of “At Last.”

See Christina's Performance here;

U.S. Rep Maxine Waters was also there to offer some words of remembrance. “Etta is special to me and for me, because she represents the life, the triumphs, the tribulations of a lot of black women all over this world,” Waters said. “It does not matter who sang At Last before or after Etta. It does not matter when it was sung, or where it was sung. ‘At Last’ was branded by Etta, the raunchy diva – that’s her signature and we will always remember her.”

Donto James paid tribute to his mother saying, “She was feisty, very feisty,” he said with a knowing smile. He also spoke of her heart and how she would welcome friends of both him and his brother, Sametto, and give them jobs. “She would just pick you,” he said. “Mama, I love you,” he said, choking up. “When I get to the gates, can you just please be there for me?” he asked.
May she rest in Peace!

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