ETTA JAMES AFARIKI DUNIA AKIWA NA UMRI WA MIAKA 73

Soul singer Etta James has died at the age of 73 according to her longtime friend and manager, Lupe De Leon. Etta who also suffered from dementia and hepatitis C, died at a hospital in Riverside, California.  She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010.

Family members were told about two weeks ago that James had chronic leukemia. Since March 2010, James has received round-the-clock medical care at her home in Riverside, where she moved in the late 1980s after living in Los Angeles.

James, born Jan. 25, 1938 in Los Angeles, and a trio she formed in her mid-teens called "The Peaches" caught the attention of bandleader Johnny Otis, launching her career at an early age. The Grammy Award winner toured with Otis and other artists and recorded for Modern Records until the late 1950s before achieving her greatest success after signing with pre-eminent 1960s blues label Chess Records.

"All I Could Do Was Cry," "My Dearest Darling," "Trust in Me" and "Don’t Cry, Baby" were among the 60s hits recorded by James. The rise of Chess Records was the subject of the 2008 movie, "Cadillac Records," in which Beyonce Knowles played the role of James.