Inspired by Richard Williams' article in The Guardian's Music Blog, Etta James: 10 classic performances, I went and had a listen to some of Etta's songs.
I'd heard of Etta's music via the northern soul angle and wasn't familiar with her work that is more in the style of country, Memphis or southern soul. So, Richard's selection was refreshing and brought some new sounds to my ears, which is always welcome. Good for the soul you might say.
I made this Spotify playlist of Richard's 10 selected tracks:
Go and have a listen. Superb, real r&b with depth.