Tell Mama is a 1968 album by Etta James, and the eighth LP release for the blues singer. Released through Chess Records, the album marked the continued deviation by James from her early mainstream R&B recordings toward traditional blues and soul. The album was recorded over several sessions in the famous FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, producing over two dozen tracks, of which twelve were selected for the album. The album marked an upsurge in James' career. The title track became her most successful single, reaching #23 on the Pop Singles chart. Though its B-side, "I'd Rather Go Blind", was never serviced to radio, it became one of James' signature songs.

The record was reissued on CD in 1990 through Chess Records. All of the recordings from the Tell Mama sessions at Muscle Shoals were released in 2001. That version included the hit non-album tracks "I Got You Babe" and "Almost Persuaded"

Track listing

1. "Tell Mama" (Clarence Carter/Marcus Daniel/Wilbur Terrell)
2. "I'd Rather Go Blind" (Bill Foster/Ellington Jordan)
3. "Watch Dog" (Don Covay)
4. "Love of My Man" (Ed Townsend)
5. "I'm Gonna Take What He's Got" (Covay)
6. "Same Rope" (Leonard Caston/Lloyd Webster)
7. "Security" (Otis Redding/Margaret Wessen)
8. "Steal Away" (Jimmy Hughes)
9. "My Mother in Law" (George David/Lee Diamond)
10. "Don't Lose Your Good Thing" (Rick Hall)
11. "It Hurts Me So Much" (Charles Chalmers)
12. "Just a Little Bit" (Ralph Bass/Buster Brown/John Thornton/Fats Washington)

Chart positions

Singles

See also

• Muscle Shoals, Alabama
• FAME Studios
• Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section