Etta James (Born Jamesetta Hawkins)
January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012
Etta James was an American singer whose songbook included forays into jazz, blues, soul, gospel and rock ‘n roll. Born in Los Angeles, California, James had what many would consider a rough childhood and spent many years in the charge of caregivers. Singing from a young age, James was just 14 when she caught the ear of music impresario, Johnny Otis. Otis helped her land her first recording contract with Modern Records and before she knew it, she and her group, the Peaches were touring with Little Richard. In 1960, now signed to Chess, James released her debut album, At Last!, which included the smash hit single of the same name. The album, which also included hits like “A Sunday Kind Of Love” and “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” peaked at #68 on the album charts but is nonetheless considered one of the great albums of the era. She went on to have several more hits over the next two decades. After parting ways with Chess in 1978, James struggled with personal issues before launching a well-received come-back during the late ’80s. Over the course of her career, James was awarded six Grammys, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an NAACP Image Award, and permanent homes in the Rock and Roll, Grammy, Blues, and Rockabilly Halls of Fame. Rolling Stone magazine ranks her at #22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, and #62 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists. In 2010, Etta James was diagnosed with leukemia and ultimately died of the disease on January 20, 2012. She was 73.
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Living up to his motto, “Have Percussion, Will Travel,” Phil Kraus is one of the most recorded percussionists in history. Kraus was just 8 years old when he began playing the xylophone, and upon graduation from high school, he was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Julliard School of Music. After graduating, he was hired by WNEW to play in the studio band. After serving during WWII, Kraus became one of the industry’s most in-demand session players, and he would continue to be as such through the 1970s. He also played in the studio band for numerous television programs. Over the years, he graced recordings by and/or shared the stage with such luminaries as 
Sam Rivers is best remembered as the influential jazz saxophonist and composer who helped define the Free Jazz movement of the mid to late ’60s. Born into a musical family, Rivers began playing at an early age. After studying at the Boston Conservatory, Rivers went on to be an in-demand sideman, playing with the likes of 
Ralph MacDonald was an in-demand percussionist and hit songwriter who could count two of the biggest R&B songs of the ’70s as his own. Growing up in a musical family in Harlem, New York, MacDonald first picked up the steelpan as a youngster. By the time he was 17, he had already played his first big gig at a local Harry Belafonte show. He continued on with Belafonte for the next ten years until parting ways in 1971. MacDonald soon became one of contemporary music’s most in-demand session players, performing on countless R&B, jazz and disco records. The list of those he recorded with includes George Benson, Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett, Carole King, Average White Band, the Brothers Johnson,