"I'd Rather Go Blind" Etta James | CME Full Band Fridays

In this week’s Full Band Friday, the CME House Band slows down with this 1967 Etta James classic, “I’d Rather Go Blind.”

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More About "I'd Rather Go Blind"
"I'd Rather Go Blind" is a blues song written by Ellington Jordan and co-credited to Billy Foster and Etta James. It was first recorded by Etta James in 1967, released in 1967, and has subsequently become regarded as a blues and soul classic. Etta James wrote in her autobiography Rage To Survive that she heard the song outlined by her friend Ellington "Fugi" Jordan when she visited him in prison. She then wrote the rest of the song with Jordan, but for tax reasons gave her songwriting credit to her partner at the time, Billy Foster, singer with doo-wop group The Medallions.

Etta James recorded the song at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It was included on the album Tell Mama and as the B-side of the single of the same name which made number 10 on the Billboard R&B charts, and number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is also on the 1978 Jerry Wexler-produced album Deep in the Night, but there it is titled "Blind Girl" (track 10). Some critics have regarded "I'd Rather Go Blind" as of such emotional and poetic quality as to make that release one of the great double-sided singles of the period. Critic Dave Marsh put the song in his book The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Noting that James had recorded the song during a break from heroin addiction, Marsh writes, "the song provides a great metaphor for her drug addiction and intensifies the story."

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Gear Used:
Fender 1959 Jazzmaster "Chicago Special" DCC Super Aged Shell Pink Sparkle
Fender Custom Shop Jazzmaster Chicago "Special"
Fender Custom Shop Time Machine 1961 Jazz Bass Heavy Relic Aged Shoreline Gold
Hammond XK-3C
Ludwig Classic Maple 3pc. Drum Kit Vintage Blue Oyster

Featuring:
Elizabeth Moen - Vocals
Nathaniel Murphy - Guitar
Zach Avery Guitar
John Paul Mosser - Drums
Mike Larsen - Bass
Phil Hunger - Keys

00:00 - 05:43 "I'd Rather Go Blind" Etta James

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Lyrics:
Something told me it was over
When I saw you and her talkin'
Something deep down in my soul said, 'Cry, girl'
When I saw you and that girl walkin' around
Whoo, I would rather, I would rather go blind, boy
Then to see you walk away from me, child, no
Whoo, so you see, I love you so much
That I don't wanna watch you leave me, baby
Most of all, I just don't, I just don't wanna be free, no
Whoo, whoo, I was just, I was just, I was just
Sittin here thinkin', of your kiss and your warm embrace, yeah
When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now, baby
Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah
Whoo and baby, baby, I'd rather, I'd rather be blind, boy
Then to see you walk away, see you walk away from me, yeah
Whoo, baby, baby, baby, I'd rather be blind...