As many of you know, here at Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy, we pride ourselves in taking on some of the most difficult songs to sing in all of pop, rock, and in this case, jazz-blues-gospel history.

Kayla and I were sitting around the studio asking ourselves who we felt were the greatest female singers and vocal influencers of all time.

To list a few, we came up with Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, Bessie Smith, Mary Wells, Janis Joplin, Etta James, and many more (and of course there are all the country greats too!).

Of this pack, we felt Etta James was at the forefront of that powerhouse distorted tone that became very desired by many blues singers over the past six decades.

Etta has been incredibly influential in the same way Janis Joplin has, particularly in her bluesy style and gritty tone which led to singers such as Ann Wilson, Pat Benatar, Susie Quatro, Grace Slick, Joan Jett, and others (even vocalists such as Christina Aguilera attribute one of their major influences as being Etta James).

So in typical Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy fashion, we felt that Etta James’ “At Last” would be a fun track to take on.

I present to you Kayla Reeves singing “At Last” by Etta James.

Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy – Where The PROOF is in The SINGING!