American Songwriter looks back at Etta James's 1968 cover of "I Got You Babe", the Sonny & Cher classic that gave the duo their only US number one when Sonny Bono wrote and released it in 1965. James recorded her own version three years later, and although it never appeared on an album, it became a minor hit and helped extend a recording career already known for hits such as "At Last" and "The Wallflower (Dance With Me, Henry)".

James's rendition reached the Top 35 in the US charts, following her Top 15 hit "Security" and preceding 1969's "Almost Persuaded", and was later revived by Walmart for a 2015 holiday advert. The piece also recounts how Bono wrote the original late at night, waking Cher to hear it, and touches on James's early career, including how, aged 16, she talked her way into travelling to Los Angeles with musician Johnny Otis to make her first record.