Beyoncé sang the song At Last at the inauguration ball while Barack & Michelle Obama danced.  It is a song which Etta James made famous and Etta James is not happy.  ”I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song, she gonna get her ass whupped. I can’t stand Beyoncé.  She had no business … singing my song that I been singing forever.” 

Etta wasn’t happy that President Obama chose Beyonce to sing that song. ”You know your President, right? You know the one with the big ears? He ain’t my President.”

You can’t blame her for being upset.  Would the President ask another singer to sing Stevie Wonder’s song I Just Called To Say I Love You or You Are the Sunshine of My Life?  I don’t think so.  Since Etta James is alive and well, still performing and At Last is her song, this was just a sad avoidable moment.  Maybe Etta and Beyonce could have sung At Last together or maybe some acknowledgement could have been made before Beyonce sang or Etta James could have been invited to watch the moment as a new generation takes up her legacy.  Meanwhile, Beyonce will be remembered for this beautiful moment at the inauguration and the song will make her more famous and richer.  And Etta James.  She will be a footnote in history.     

New York Daily News