Viewing for Etta James draws many fans

INGLEWOOD, Calif., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Mourners called the late singer Etta James a wonderful person and a wonderful talent at her public viewing in the Los Angeles area.

James was remembered Friday at the Inglewood Cemetery Mortuary by dozens of friends, family and longtime fans.

"She was as beautiful as she sang," said Yoshann Rush, who told the Los Angeles Times he was close to James for many years.

James' classic blues voice provided the soundtrack for the public viewing, which went into the night and drew a large contingent of fans who had never met her but considered her a fixture in their lives.

James died Jan. 20 in Riverside of complications from leukemia. Her career, which put her in the pop music forefront in the 1960s and 1970s, was topped by the hit "At Last."

"Whenever I hear that song, I freeze," Donald Hicks, 67, of Inglewood, told the Times. "I even pull over when it comes on."