The song's royalties were divided between Hank Ballard, Etta James, and Johnny Otis, and its huge success attracted the attention of the R&B world.
James' 1963 album Etta James Rocks the House, cut at Nashville's "New Era" club, also sold well.
Etta James (January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012) was an American blues, soul, R&B, and jazz singer and songwriter, who had her biggest success in the 1950s and 1960s.