Song · Etta James
“I'd Rather Go Blind” by Etta James
Released 1990
“I'd Rather Go Blind” by Etta James appears on 6 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2001 and 2026. It was first released in 1990. Its best result is #261 on the WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,201 indie & aaa song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Etta James - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Etta James cut "I'd Rather Go Blind" at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and it came out in 1967 with a backstory as raw as the record. In her autobiography, Rage to Survive, James says her friend Ellington "Fugi" Jordan sketched the song out for her when she visited him in prison, and the two of them finished it together. For tax reasons she signed her share of the credit over to Billy Foster, the man in her life then and a singer with the doo-wop group the Medallions.
It first appeared on the album Tell Mama and on the flip of the "Tell Mama" single, and some critics rate it highly enough to call that release one of the great two-sided singles of its time. It has long since been counted a blues and soul classic.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1690 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2020 | 558 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 848 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2022 | 952 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 | 603 |
| 2023 | 670 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2026 | 261 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta James.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.