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Born Jamesetta Hawkins, the matriarch or R&B, who is most widely known as Etta James, is the woman responsible for bridging the gap between rock and roll, jazz, blues, soul and more. Her unique sound always made for heartfelt music–I mean the type you can literally feel rip your heart from your chest.

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With lyrics like, “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,” you can tell that James lived a tragic life that heavily inspired her music. Instead of focusing on the tragic star’s sordid past, let’s lift her up on her birthday with a list of her best songs (and not to worry, “At Last” is not on the list, even though it’s a classic).

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1. “I’d Rather Go Blind”

2. “All I Could Do Was Cry”

3. “I Just Want To Make Love To You”

4. “Misty Blue”

5. “Woman”

6. “Come Rain Or Come Shine”

7. “I’ll Drown In My Own Tears”

8. “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”

9. “Sunday Kind Of Love”

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.