Today brings the sad news of the passing of Etta James. Ms. Etta was the songbird of a genre and she voiced some of the most memorable tracks in music. With such sad news I was reflecting at how much her music affected my life, even though I’m 50 years her junior.

Looking back, I simply cannot stop thinking about my senior prom where Etta’s “At Last” was the conclusion of the dance (I spent the majority of the song plotting ways to dropkick my best friend, who won prom king and I was left as the runner up (I was most likely crying)). As I look back on that night and how Etta’s music was the pinnacle of our time together, I stumbled upon a picture of our crew. I was shocked initially because I completely forgot how much of a douchebag I looked like that night. And now I’m scarred because I will forever relate the beautiful and amazing Etta James with how much a tool I was when her music was the soundtrack to the night.

So I’m fully disclosing that I looked like a complete skeezbag (new word) at my high school prom. Sadly, I will always connect the memory of Etta to this horrid outfit. I hope everyone is having a great day now that you get to see some of these gems below. I’m listening to Etta over on Spotify, so feel free to join.

I think I stole my tux from P. Diddy.

I'm surprised I have friends.

Uhm