Etta James Explains Beyonce Diss: “Not From A Vicious Place”
Etta James says she was only joking when she poked fun at President Obama and threatened to snatch off Beyonce’s lacefront during a concert in Seattle last weekend.
“I didn’t really mean anything. Even as a little child, I’ve always had that comedian kind of attitude. …That’s probably what went into it,” the legendary soul songstress said in an interview with the New York’s Daily News on Thursday.
“Nobody was getting mad at me in Seattle,” she adds. “They were all laughing, and it was funny.”
Etta maintains that the jokes were “not from a vicious place,” but admits that she was hurt about not being invited to perform her trademark ballad, “At Last,” for the President and First Lady’s inauguration night First Dance.
Since when is threatening to kick somebody’s ass not considered “vicious?” Maybe Ole Etta’s getting senile.
“I feeling left out of something that was basically mine, that I had done every time you look around,” she said. When asked if she thought she could have done a better job performing the song, Etta answered, “I think so. That’s a shame to say that.”
What do you guys think about Etta’s explanation?
Written by Castina on February 5th, 2009 | Tagged as: Beyonce Knowles,Etta James
On February 6th 2009, marchant wrote:
I sincerely think Etta realizes the mistake that she made with her previous emotionally driven outburst and made the right decision to publicly apologize. It is equally understandable that James was offended by the new administration's slight in overlooking her as the originator of the song and they could have handled it better by choosing to include her as well. James is a pioneer in the music industry and a living legend who deserved far more consideration from the Obama camp than she received. James and artists like her paved the way for the Beyonces of today. It is always sad to see anyone being overlooked to lift up another, which brings to mind, the Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Holiday situation with the recording of "I'm Not Goin'". Holiday was not as abrasive in her comments but it was apparent all the same that she felt overlooked. In both cases, the re-makes did not live up to the splendor of the originals.
On February 10th 2009, Jeanette wrote:
I must say I feel Etta's pain. I felt from the start that Beyonce herself should've reached out to her and said "hey look they want me to do your song" and asked how she felt about that…just reaching out to others is what this industry lacks. Obama's camp made a ridiculous decision in my opinion. The Inaugural Ball should have had a veteran artist. Never be too large where you cannot reach out to others…and remember who got you there!
On February 11th 2009, Crisey wrote:
Etta has the right to feel that way. She wrote and made that song famous, why should Bootylicious Beyonce get to sing it…oh I forgot, Matthew paid the coordinator…so maybe if Etta had paid to sing her own song, she could have. I wouldn't want Beyonce singing my song either. Etta is steak, Beyonce is ground beef…you do the math. It was inconsiderate of her and her father. They are disrespectful and scandalous but everything is coming to the surface as we see. Instead of paying for her to perform in high places, Matthew should be paying for her some diction and speech lessons. The girl has been out for years and still can't complete a sentence…everything is fun to Beyonce. She is still stuck at 9 years old, the age Mattthew first began cracking that whip. She is empty and me and my crew wishes she would vanish from the scene…sit down and get herself together. It is only a matter of time before her head explodes!
On May 5th 2010, Zoox wrote:
Actually Chrisey, those are NOT Etta James’ lyrics.
Etta James made At Last famous… it IS her song, imo, because she is the one who made it a CLASSIC. But ‘At Last’ was written back in 1941 by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for a musical/film and was orignally performed by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday. Etta James covered it in 1960, improvising on the original melody and making it her own… thus giving us the CLASSIC Etta James version of ‘At Last’ that we all know and love.
The fact of the matter is that Etta has every right to feel the way she feels. That song is her trademark song. The only reason Beyonce ever even recorded it in the first place is because she was PORTRAYING ETTA in a movie.
And while I point my finger at Beyonce, classless corporate whore that she is, I also point my finger at the events coordinator for the inauguration and the Obama camp. You should have known better. This was a shameless attempt at appealing to a younger demographic and pull in the next generation of constituents. SHAME.
Ps. I did have the awesome opportunity to see Etta perform at the House of Blues in Chicago last year. Even in her 70′s, she can still sing ‘At Last’ better than Celine Dion, Christina Aguilara, and Beyonce. She’s still got it!