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US soul singer Etta James, best known for the tracks At Last and for I'd Rather Go Blind, has died aged 73.
It was announced last year that the singer had been diagnosed with leukaemia and was undergoing treatment.
The star began singing in a group aged 14, before she embarked upon a solo career where she signed to the legendary Chess Records label.
She went on to win six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Legendary producer Jerry Wexler once called her "the greatest of all modern blues singers".
James' manager said she had died in California from complications of leukaemia.
Born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938, her mother was only 14-years-old, and she never knew her father.
Raised mainly by friends and relatives, she began singing when her grandparents took her to a Baptist Church, where she joined the choir as a soloist.
Later, in San Francisco, she formed a singing group called the Creolettes, who were discovered by bandleader Johnny Otis, who coincidentally also died this week.
The band recorded together for a number of years but it was not until 1960, when James signed to the legendary Chess Records as a solo artist, that she began to achieve musical recognition.
It was for this label that she released her two most acclaimed albums, At Last! and The Second Time Around.
However an addiction to heroin began to hinder her success and she was forced to rebuild her career after quitting the drug in 1974.
Although she was popular on the R&B and blues scene throughout her career, mainstream success eluded her for many years.
She did not receive her first Grammy Award until 1994, for the album Mystery Lady, which consisted of covers of Billie Holiday songs. In 2003, she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
James died at Riverside Community Hospital, with her husband and sons at her side, manager Lupe De Leon said.
"It's a tremendous loss for her fans around the world," he said. "She'll be missed. A great American singer. Her music defied category."
Singers have paid tribute to the star on Twitter. Bryan Adams wrote "Etta James... one of the best voices of all time... RIP".
Songwiter Nile Rodgers added: "When I was a kid, I remember walking all the way to Flash Record Shop in LA to buy a 45 rpm single by Etta James. RIP."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16288509
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