A lot of people think the blues is depressing but that's not the blues I'm singing. When I'm singing blues, I singing life. People can't stand to listen to the blues, they've got to be phonies.
Interpretation
Etta James emphasizes that the blues represents life's authentic experiences, not just sadness.
In this quote, Etta James conveys the idea that the blues is often misinterpreted as merely a genre of sadness. Instead, she argues that it embodies the full spectrum of life's emotions, including joy and resilience. By expressing her blues through music, she sheds light on the authenticity of feeling and the human experience, suggesting that those who dismiss it as depressing may not be fully engaging with genuine emotions.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the true meaning behind blues music.
Jazz took too much discipline. You have to come in at the right place, which is different than me singing the blues, where I can sing, 'Oh, baby,' if there's a pause in the melody. With jazz, you better leave that space open, or put in something real cool.
I figured I could do "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World" because I believe it's the truth.
It's not about battling the original artists when I record these songs, it's about paying tribute to them.
I wanna show that gospel, country, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll are all just really one thing. Those are the American music and that is the American culture.
The only time that I am really truly happy—when I feel at my best—is when I'm on the stage.
When I'm singing the blues, I'm singing life.
I don't think people go to musicians for their political points of view. I think your political point of view is circumstances and then how you were nurtured and brought up.
To jazz, or not to jazz, there is no question!
Hell, nobody knows where jazz is going to go. There may be a kid right now in Chitlin Switch, Georgia, who is going to come along and upset everybody.
With pop music and pop musicians, you know everything about everyone all the time, particularly their physical appearance. With female musicians, that's made a big thing of, and I think people, certainly with me, have appreciated a bit of mystery.
When I was eight, my piano teacher played seven or eight notes, and I sang them. She stopped and looked at me in shock! That was the first time I'd gotten that reaction. I'd had looks of horror, but never shock in a positive way.
The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band
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