(Feb. 28, 2003) Long Beach, CA - At last, after struggling with a life-long weight problem, obesity no longer has a hold on blues legend Etta James. The 65-year-old performer has found a blues free way to slim down and keep it off - surgery. Since undergoing the Fobi Pouch procedure for obesity two years ago, James, who had tipped the scales at 400 pounds, has shed more than 160 pounds and feels healthier than she has in years.

Dr. Mal Fobi, one of the nation's top obesity surgeons who has helped other entertainers including Roseanne Barr lose weight, essentially reduced James' stomach creating a pouch which limits her food intake and gives her the sensation of being full much more quickly. "I thought I was going to die," recalls James, who currently weighs around 235 pounds. "I was constantly worried I was going to have a heart attack. Dr. Fobi saved my life." In fact, it was Roseanne who convinced James to seek Dr. Fobi's help when she sang on her show a few years ago.

"She pulled me aside in the dressing room before the show and said, 'Girl, you need to see Dr. Fobi.' Later she came on stage and sang and danced the Hoochie Coochie with me. I saw what a difference losing the weight had done for her life. She looked good."

James' life has been a study in the blues as she also battled and overcame drug addiction. Despite tough personal traumas and the fickleness of the music business, James had proved a survivor distinguishing herself as an R&B, soul and blues pioneer for more than five decades. Whether she's growled with womanly desire on her earliest hit "Roll With Me Henry" (a feminist anthem well before the term feminism was common), soared like a swooning angel over the billowing clouds of strings in her timeless ballad "At Last," cried the blues with shattering eloquence in "I'd Rather Go Blind" or taken possession of the songs of Billie Holiday for her GRAMMY-winning 1994 album Mystery Lady, Etta has won our hearts by putting her own into every captivating syllable.

James recently received the 2003 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an accolade that is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. James was also nominated for a Grammy for her latest album "Burnin' Down the House: Live at the House of Blues" and will release a new recording later this year entitled, "Let's Roll." In April she will recieve her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April.

"I have so much more energy now. I am so happy that I am alive and that I can walk," says James. Prior to her surgery, James suffered from a number of illnesses because of her excess weight -- high blood pressure, heart problems and knee and joint pain. She had difficulty walking and needed a motorized wheelchair to get to the stage during her concerts. As a result of losing the extra pounds, James was finally able to get her ailing right knee replaced which has only enabled her become much more active on and off stage.

"Recently, I walked on stage at the House of Blues in L.A. and I looked back at my band (The Roots Band) and saw tears in their eyes. These guys care about me. We've been through a lot together. When I sang that night, we all had tears in our eyes."

James is still losing weight and her goal is to eventually get down to 200 pounds. "Dr. Fobi thinks I can do it. I've gone through so much in my life. I should have been dead a long time ago, but I am still here and I am the happiest I've ever been," she adds.

Her song Stop the wedding
has the most heartbreaking,desperate
& passionate performance in my opinion.
/peace manki

manki said:

Damn,,do you always KNOW how to pick??

This song neva fails 2 make me

I remember a radio interview with her
on the swedish show "soul corner".
Stop the wedding was released just
before her ex husband Harvey Fuqua(Marvin Gaye´s
collaborate) who she was madly in love with
left her 2 marry Berry Gordy´s sister Gwen.
Marvin married his other sister Anna(listen 2 "hear my dear")
After he´d left her Etta James fell into a serious
drug habit that took her many years 2 get away from.
/manki

got a picture?

manki said:

Yes and who was born??

Nona...

Why do all these overweight celeberties go the easy route and do surgery? Al Roker, Carnie Wilson, Rosanne Barr , and now Etta James. What ever happened to a sensible diet and regular exercise?I heard that your eating habits are screwed for the rest of your life, since you could only eat so much since your stomach is stapled...