At Last!

At Last! was originally issued as a 12-inch LP consisting of ten tracks, five songs on each side of the LP. Phil and Leonard Chess believed that James's voice had crossover pop potential, so with this debut album, they backed her with orchestral arrangements on many of the tracks.{{cite web |last=Dahl |first=Bill |title=Etta James > Biography |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p387/biography|pure_url=yes}} |website=AllMusic |language=en-US |access-date=July 24, 2009}} At Last! eventually spawned four singles: "All I Could Do Was Cry", "Trust in Me", "At Last", and "My Dearest Darling". The album also included covers of pop and jazz standards, such as "Stormy Weather", "A Sunday Kind of Love", and "I Just Want to Make Love to You".{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Stephen |title=At Last! > Overview |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r88822|pure_url=yes}} |website=AllMusic |language=en-US |access-date=July 24, 2009}} In 1987, the album was released for the first time by MCA/Chess, and then digitally remastered and reissued on compact disc in 1999 with four bonus duet tracks performed with Harvey Fuqua: "My Heart Cries," "Spoonful," "It's a Crying Shame," and "If I Can't Have You."

The album's title track has been covered by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Joni Mitchell, Leela James, Cyndi Lauper, Randy Crawford, Celine Dion, Connie Wilson and Christina Aguilera. "All I Could Do Was Cry" was covered by both Beyoncé and Gladys Knight & the Pips.

A Simlish version of the title track was made for the reveal trailer of The Sims 4{{'}}s eleventh game pack, "My Wedding Stories".{{cite web |author=The Sims |date=February 8, 2022 |title=The Sims 4 My Wedding Stories: Official Reveal Trailer |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr_5WU_nWrA |website=YouTube |language=en-US |access-date=November 14, 2022}}

At Last! has been praised by many music critics. Stephen Cook of AllMusic gave the album five out of five stars, and, about James, wrote, "one hears the singer at her peak in a swinging and varied program of blues, R&B, and jazz standards." Cook also praised the material that was recorded for the album, saying that At Last! had "strong material throughout." He went on to say that James's voice, "expertly handles jazz standards like 'Stormy Weather' and 'A Sunday Kind of Love,' as well as Willie Dixon's blues classic 'I Just Want to Make Love to You.' James demonstrates her keen facility on the title track in particular, as she easily moves from powerful blues shouting to more subtle, airy phrasing; her Ruth Brown-inspired, bad-girl growl only adds to the intensity."

The writer for Rolling Stone stated, "James bloomed into a fiery interpreter on this spellbinding LP."

At Last! rose to no. 12 on the Billboard Top Catalog Albums chart.{{When|date=August 2022}} Of the album's singles, "At Last," "All I Could Do Was Cry," "Trust in Me," and "My Dearest Darling" rose to nos. 2, 2, 4 and 5 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart respectively. As a single, "At Last" was certified gold by the RIAA.{{cite web |title=Etta James: RIAA Certification |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Etta+James+at+last#search_section |website=RIAA}}

Side one

{{Track listing

| title_width = 40%

| writing_width = 50%

| title1 = Anything to Say You're Mine

| writer1 = Sonny Thompson

| length1 = 2:37

| title2 = My Dearest Darling

| writer2 = {{hlist|Edwin "Eddie Bo" Bocage|Paul Gayten}}

| length2 = 3:05

| title3 = Trust in Me

| writer3 = {{hlist|Milton Ager|Jean Schwartz|Ned Wever}}

| length3 = 3:01

| title4 = A Sunday Kind of Love

| writer4 = {{hlist|Louis Prima|Barbara Belle|Anita Leonard|Stan Rhodes}}

| length4 = 3:18

| title5 = Tough Mary

| writer5 = {{hlist|Etta James|Joe Josea}}

| length5 = 2:27

}}

Side two

{{Track listing

| title_width = 40%

| writing_width = 50%

| title6 = I Just Want to Make Love to You

| writer6 = Willie Dixon

| length6 = 3:08

| title7 = At Last

| writer7 = {{hlist|Mack Gordon|Harry Warren}}

| length7 = 3:02

| title8 = All I Could Do Was Cry

| writer8 = {{hlist|Billy Davis|Gwen Fuqua|Berry Gordy}}

| length8 = 2:58

| title9 = Stormy Weather

| writer9 = {{hlist|Harold Arlen|Ted Koehler}}

| length9 = 3:10

| title10 = Girl of My Dreams

| writer10 = Charles "Sunny" Clapp

| length10 = 2:25

| total_length = 29:11

}}

Bonus tracks on 1999 CD reissue

{{Track listing

| title_width = 40%

| writing_width = 50%

| title11 = My Heart Cries

| note11 = with Harvey Fuqua

| writer11 = {{hlist|Harvey Fuqua|James}}

| length11 = 2:36

| title12 = Spoonful

| note12 = with Harvey Fuqua

| writer12 = Dixon

| length12 = 2:50

| title13 = It's a Crying Shame

| note13 = with Harvey Fuqua

| writer13 = {{hlist|Fuqua|James}}

| length13 = 2:54

| title14 = If I Can't Have You

| note14 = with Harvey Fuqua

| writer14 = {{hlist|Fuqua|James}}

| length14 = 2:50

|total_length = 40:21

}}

• Etta James – vocals
• Harvey Fuqua – vocals
• Leonard Chess – producer
• Phil Chess – producer
• Riley Hampton – arranger, conductor
• Don Kamerer – liner notes
• Don Bronstein – cover

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for At Last!}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|artist=Etta James|title=At Last!|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=1961|certyear=2024|id=14742|access-date=December 11, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|editor-last1=Larkin|editor-first1=Colin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|date=2006|publisher=Oxford Univ. Press|location=Oxford [u.a.]|isbn=978-0195313734|edition=4.}}

{{Etta James|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1960 debut albums

Category:Albums produced by Leonard Chess

Category:Albums produced by Phil Chess

Category:Argo Records albums

Category:Chess Records albums

Category:Etta James albums

Category:MCA Records albums