Top of Freegal: Adele, Etta James, and Hairstyles

Adele sings "Fool that I Am," the Etta James song that inspired her to become a singer.


Credit Etta James for Adele’s singing career.
 
Although the North Londoner always enjoyed singing (at the age of five, she stood on the table she and belted out the Gabrielle no. 1 hit “Dreams”), she didn’t even think about having a music career until she came across an Etta James CD in the bargain bin.

Get this—she didn’t buy the CD for the music. She bought it because she wanted to show the hairstyle of the front to her hairdresser.

Eventually she decided to actually listen to the music. “When I heard the son ‘Fool that I Am,’ everything changed for me. I never wanted to be a singer until I hear that.”

Serendipitously, James’ song is available to download on Freegal.

Right now, the songs that Adele has on the top 100 include “Skyfall,” Rumour Has It,” “Someone Like You,” and “Rolling in the Deep.”

"Adele." Newsmakers. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 1 Feb. 2013.