What was the birth name of soul singer Etta James?

The birth name of soul singer Etta James was Jamesetta Hawkins.

She was born on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles and began singing publicly as a child. Her early musical life included gospel training at St. Paul Baptist Church, where she developed the powerful vocal style that later crossed blues, R&B, jazz, rock and roll, and soul.

The name Etta James emerged when bandleader Johnny Otis helped the teenage Jamesetta Hawkins and her vocal group, the Creolettes. Otis reportedly reversed the syllables of “Jamesetta,” creating the stage name Etta James. The group later became the Peaches, and James began a professional recording career in the mid-1950s.

A common mix-up is confusing James with Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, or Anna Mae Bullock, Tina Turner’s birth name. James became especially associated with “At Last,” “Something’s Got a Hold on Me,” “Tell Mama,” and “I’d Rather Go Blind,” but those famous recordings were released under her professional name.