Etta James, famous for her rendition of the song “At Last,” is apparently miffed that pop star Beyoncé was tapped to perform the ballad as the president and first lady slow-danced during the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball on January 20. The 71-year-old singer, who rose to fame in 1950s, recently made it clear that she was not a fan of Beyoncé. Based on Ms. James' rant, she is not a fan of the president either. After initially praising the performance, Ms. James later responded critically during a show at Seattle's Paramount Theatre on January 28, 2009. “You guys know your president, right? You know the one with the big ears? Wait a minute, he ain't my president. He might be yours; he ain't my president. But I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song.... she's going to get her ass whipped. The great Beyoncé? Like I said, she ain't mine. ... I can't stand Beyoncé. She has no business up there, singing up there on a big ol' president day, gonna' be singing my song that I've been singing forever”
Ms. James' son came out on Etta's behalf and said she was speaking in anger, after feeling snubbed for the honor herself, and has "Nothing but love for both Ms. Knowles and President Obama."
Turns out Etta James has just been adding a little standup comedy to her concerts, wink, wink. The veteran singer said Thursday that she was purely joking — despite the fact that she feels she would have done a better job singing her signature tune, "At Last," to President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.
"I didn't really mean anything," Ms. James told a New York newspaper of her onstage rant. "Even as a little child, I've always had that comedian kind of attitude...That's probably what went into it." "Nobody was getting mad at me in Seattle," she added. "They were all laughing, and it was funny." She also said that her little speech did not arise "from a vicious place."
But when asked if she could have out-sung Beyoncé, who played James in Cadillac Records and walked the red carpet with her at the film's premiere, the elder stateswoman of R&B replied, "I think so. That's a shame to say that." Ms. James also figures that President Obama probably isn't too bothered that she referred to him as "the one with the big ears" last week. "He's got other stuff [to worry about] besides Etta James."
Is Etta James flip-flopping on Beyoncé? She did not raise an objection when the singer portrayed her in the film “Cadillac Records” — and just recently, her son told a New York paper that his mother was moved by the inauguration night performance. Maybe the whole thing was just Etta James joking around with her audience and really has no riff with President Obama or Beyoncé.
If this wasn’t so funny it would be pathetic. After all her career has been reinvigorated by Beyoncé’s portrayal of Etta James in the recent movie “Cadillac Records” and performing the song Etta made famous at the Inaugural’s Neighborhood Ball. And maybe someone should tell Etta that “At Last” was originated by the Glenn Miller Band and also recorded by Nat King Cole before Ms. James sang it.
Who knows what Etta James would bring to the table since she is known for exactly what she displayed in Seattle? This was the first song at a presidential ball – probably a song chosen by the president and first lady. It's just like choosing a song for a first wedding dance. If you like the song and the emotion it presents, then you choose it. Ms. James has made clear that she does not like or agree with President Obama's politics, so she then made herself left out of the loop. Her bad. Don't get angry at Beyoncé because she has aligned herself with a winner. Whether you like Beyoncé or not, she has made wise and savvy choices in the music business to be on top. If they had chosen to go out to a "jook joint" then they might want to see Etta James. With national TV and the world watching, they wanted that song and not the potential drama of the singer. After all it was about them and not about the singer.
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