Vocal range
Etta James
Contralto · Soul · Blues · R&B · USA · prominent since 1955
Cited range
G#2 — B5
Octaves
3.3
Semitones
39
Voice type
Contralto
What is Etta James’s vocal range?
Etta James's vocal range is commonly cited as G#2 (Ab2) to B5 — about 3.3 octaves, or 39 semitones, and is usually classified as contralto.
Blues-weighted contralto: thick chest tone, growled note entries, wide and slow vibrato. That cited span is wider than 76% of the 357 voices in this library.
- Signature song
- At Last
Reading the numbers
- It is the 2nd widest cited span of the 30 contraltos here.
- The top note beats 90% of the 30 contraltos in this library.
- That floor is a full 9 semitones beneath where a contralto's range conventionally starts (F3).
- No separate full-voice ceiling is cited, so the figures describe a range worked largely in full voice across its 39 semitones.
- The closest range in the library belongs to Billie Eilish (A2–B5), within 1 semitone at both ends.
Commonly cited figures, not lab measurements — extreme notes are one-off recorded moments, not the singer’s everyday range.
You vs Etta James
Take the free 2-minute range test — your mic finds your lowest and highest notes, then this page shows exactly how your voice lines up with Etta James’s.
Same notes, other voices
Also topping out on B5
8 other voices here reach the same ceiling.