Etta James was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003 [GALLO/GETTY]
Etta James, a pioneering US blues and soul singer who became a music legend with hits like “At Last” and “Tell Mama”, has died at the age of 73 from cancer. She would have turned 74 on Wednesday.
Lupe De Leon, the singer’s manager, announced James’ death on Friday, saying that she had passed away early in the morning at Riverside Community Hospital in Southern California, with her husband and sons at her side.
James had been suffering from dementia, kidney problems and diabetes, and in December 2011, her physician announced that her leukemia was terminal, and asked for prayers for the singer.
“It’s a tremendous loss for her fans around the world,” De Leon said. “She’ll be missed. A great American singer. Her music defied category.”
The singer was discovered at age 15, when she would sing on street corners in the Northern California city of San Francisco, by bandleader Johnny Otis.
James forged her mother’s signature in order to go to Los Angeles with Otis for a recording session,
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