Etta James and the Peaches
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L-R: Jean Hawkins, Etta James, Abby Mitchell
Etta James was discovered by songwriter-band leader Johnny Otis
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Members:
    Jamesetta (Etta) Hawkins
    Jean Mitchell
    Abbysinia (Abby) Mitchell

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Dorothy Hawkins

James was s born Jamesetta Hawkins  January 25, 1938 to Dorothy Hawkins . At the time Hawkins was a 14 year old student attending Jordan High School in Watts.Hawkins  was a 14 year old unwed mother. Dorothy constantly changed to the name as to was the father. However an Al Mitchell, a mechanic was named on the birth certificate. Times were different then, Dorothy was put in reform school and Anderson in jail. When the case finally went to trial the judge took a look at the light complected, blond hair and bouncy curls of Etta and the extremely dark-skinned Anderson and dismissed the case. Dorothy would be in and out of Etta's life

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It was in 60s that she learned from the actor Willie Best that her natural father was Rudy Wonderone aka Minnesota Fats.

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Aunt Cozetta Hawkins

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Uncle James

It was after Dorothy was sent to reform school  that Dorothy's sister Cozetta Hawkins and uncle James? became her legally guardians.Taking  parts from each others first names, they named here Jamesetta. Upon Dorothy's release she rented a room in a rooming house owned by a middle age couple Lula and Jesse Rogers. Dorothy would eventually give Etta to that childless couple and grew up believing they were actual parents. Dorothy was constantly in and out of her life, not necessarily for the better.

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Professor James Earle Hines

As a child James attended St. Paul Baptist Church. By age five she was singing in the church's Echoes if Eden choir. Under choirmaster Professor James Earle Hines that she was taught how to sing. She moved to San Francisco to live with relatives in 1950. At the age of twelve she met two sisters from New Orleans Jean and Abbysinia Mitchell and would later from a group named the Creolettes with them. They began singing at at the recreation center at Army and Third Streets in the San Francisco's housing projects.

The Creolettes began playing the record hops around town. At one they met Hank Ballard and the Midnighters who then had an R&B hit "Work With Me Annie" on the charts. With a bit of encouragement from the Midnighters, James  wrote an answer song called "Roll With Me Henry."

Though Jamesetta and Jean were minors, Abbysinia was twenty-three and attended the area clubs and ballrooms. It was while at the Primaline Ballroom that she met Johnny Otis. This led to an audition in Otis' Room at the Manor Plaza Hotel. Against her mother's wishes, the young singer embarked for L.A. to record.  On Thanksgiving Eve 1954, with the Otis band and vocalist Richard Berry the Creolettes recorded "Roll with Me Henry" for Modern Records. By Thanksgiving night Otis was playing it from his record store. Otis inverted her first name to devise her stage handle and dubbed her vocal group the Peaches (also Etta's nickname).

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To appease the radio censures "Roll With Me Henry" was re-named "The Wallflower." It spent four weeks at #1 on Billboards R&B charts and was nearly as popular as "Work With Me Annie" the song which it answered.

James continued to record with Modern, but latter split with Otis over personal and financial issues. Later Peaches would disappear too. James and Berry would later record "Hey Henry" with backing vocal by Gloria Jones (The Dreamers which later became the Blossoms) and Alma Jones and Arcelle Anderson. Though the record bombed the group would later back James on her third release "Good Rocking" Daddy" which reached #6 on the R&B charts.

James later went on to have a successful solo career recording on Chess Records.

Etta James died leukemia on January 20, 2012, at the age of 73.

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