Rage To Survive: The Etta James Story

Oh boy. What an amazing read. I felt like Etta was truly speaking to me on these pages. She was so raw and boy, did she live on the razor’s edge of life. So many stories of incredible blues and soul musicians along with her deep passion for releasing her deepest emotions through song is what makes her an icon. A must read for all.

I'll be the first one to admit, I'm not a huge lover of books, but when I find one that holds my interest, I become engulfed in the story and it becomes hard for me to put it down. This book proves that point very well. This book is not only a must read for Etta James fans but it also should be recommended to anyone who enjoys reading about overcoming obstacles. Etta's story is so powerful and thrilling, that I firmly believe she was put on this earth for something far too great to measure. I have never read an autobiography more brutally honest than this one. Too many times in autobiographies (especially those by singers/entertainers) the author paints themselves in the best light possible, this is not a normal autobiography. In this book Etta tells us candid, dark tales of her life that seem so outrageous it leaves the reader questioning whether Etta is making this stuff up! During the time I was reading this book I learned so much about Etta as a person and the impression she made on me was as a caring yet honest person who unfortunately got caught up in the pitfalls of life and thankfully made it out with her life, barely! Etta's had many close calls and I'm sure she thanks the lord for giving her the strength to make it through them. Another reason to get this book is for her often times brutally honest nature about fellow celebrities including Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Bo Diddley and many others; Etta's descriptions of them are at times very candid. In one of the chapters Etta tells of the egotistical nature of James Brown and Marvin Gaye, But even when engaging in these unflattering remarks, Etta doesn't come off as mean, But instead as honest; Etta holds no punches on herself and others and if that means pissing someone off, then so be it! That's the way Etta comes off in this book. I should also mention that Previous to me reading this book I also purchased the Etta James Gold collection, To make me better appreciate Etta as a singer and after reading this book, I must recommend that collection as a companion piece to this book, To fully experience the "Etta effect". Sadly earlier this year I was shocked to learn that Etta has been diagnosed with the incurable Alzheimer's disease, so there's a chance Etta won't be here much longer. Get this book while Etta's still here with us and learn about this amazing woman before it's too late!

Etta James makes you laugh out loud for real. There are several sad moments, but you get through them. Ms. Etta James is transparent and knows how to tell her story. I enjoyed reading the book. #MuchRespect #whoisaware ❤️✌️🏽✊🏽🔥😎

A great book on Eta’s life!

TAYLOR HACKFORD OR SPIKE LEE NEEDS TO LOOK INTO THIS BOOK FOR A MOVIE BIO!! THIS WOULD BE A GREAT BLOCKBUSTER!! THIS BOOK MUST BE TOLD ON THE SCREEN. CALL IT, "RAGE!" "THE ETTA JAMES STORY" I'M READING THIS BOOK FOR THE THIRD TIME. THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE AUTOBIOS. I LOVE DAVID RITZ. HE DOES NOT HOLD BACK IN HIS HONEST WRITING. HE DOES NOT SUGARCOAT NOT ONE STORY TOLD BY THIS WONDERFUL LEGEND OF R&B MUSIC. I LOVE ETTA JAMES! SHE WAS A PURE, REAL, RAW, TAKE NO PRISONERS KIND OF ARTIST. HER LIFE WAS WHAT IT WAS, REAL, AND HARD AND NO HOLDS BARRED. JUST LIKE HER MUSIC. IF THIS BOOK TURNS INTO A MOVIE, I SUGGEST QUEEN LATIFHA PLAY HER.

I love Etta James music so I bought this book. It’s kind of a typical story of an entertainer as far as choices went. She got heavily into drugs and made some bad choices / mainly in men. She had a complex about her self-centered mother who flew in and out of her life. All these things led to her insecurity and the many ups and downs. For years she never really understood what an awesome talented singer she was. I was amazed at all the stars she knew and sang with.

Despite all odds, Miss Etta is still with us: read this book if you have the courage to learn what life 'on the road' was like for an entertainer in the 50's and 60's, with the difficulty enhanced tremendously for African-Americans. The debt today's divas owe Etta and others from 40 years ago will never be repaid. The book pulls no punches: white record label owners shafted their acts in every way imaginable, yet there's a snapshot of Leonard Chess that you'll be thankful for. Etta writes of doing heroin with Little Esther, being in and out of jail, being up and down, getting her "X" by joining the Black Muslims, touring with Little Richard, the dangers of driving through Dixie in the late 50's and early 60's with a blond 'do' (and a monkey). There's another reason to buy the book: you can dine out for weeks by sharing the story of Etta's father. The book includes a photo of the two of them side-by-side. Yup, amazing resemblance. And no, I'm not going to tell. Etta did the Letterman tv show a few weeks ago; is still making music. She's a national treasure. When she appeared in Dallas I slipped a note to a member of her crew to pass along, thanking her for all the music that has meant so much to me. If you've never heard Etta, look for that two cd set of her Chess recordings. One listen, and you'll be hunting for a pen and pad to send her the same kind of note.

Simple edition for a really good book (at least if you're a fan)

Such brutal honesty and such resistance against in her case the well-earned victimhood so troublingly popular today, Etta James was the real deal. She would have been nice to know. How few musicians today one would say this about. Ugh. Etta was still another gospel prodigy - like Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls and Aretha - one who badly needed good, earnest parents, not the broken 14-yr-old Dorothy Hawkins, who abandoned her genius girl except to return periodically only to steal from her so famously that Leonard Chess kept the deed to Etta's LA house so that she wouldn't end up homeless. I wish she'd hung more with Wolf and Muddy and enjoyed their more stable, grounding family lives, but she called theirs sharecroppers music, alas. I had no idea there was so much heroin around the music industry then or that so many black musicians needed a second string dealing, stealing and/or running prostitutes b/c they were so poorly paid. What a revelation. Yrs before the royalties lawsuits shored things up. Dreadful to read of Etta's first rehab stint replete with truly shocking punishments. Glad she left the subsequent rehab test of strength clean but whole for rejecting their excessive, still over-negative nonsense. Hope anyone today struggling with addiction would look first to Silva, Centerpointe, Learning Strategies, MindTrax, Hypnosis.com, Joseph Murphy's books and other similar truly healing, truly effective tools to enlightenment and health. This book is an exhausting, frantic read of an exhausting, frantic life of a motherless child, who somehow - HOW?! - left us with some of the saddest, most haunting, inspiring music ever made. At Last by Etta is still an anthem to marriage. Think of that. And hers lasted. Unbelievably! Wow. So God bless the sharecroppers, Leonard Chess, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton for ensuring their fame and God bless Etta, who was one helluva great singer. Hideous junkpop Bay-un-see can't hold a candle to dear Etta.

This is a book of history a great soul / blues singer well worth a read

Love this book, Etta is one of my fav's, may she rest in beautiful eternal peace, so well deserved.....

The person liked it very much.