Etta James to coach Beyoncé for film

Etta James is to coach Beyoncé Knowles for her role in forthcoming movie Cadillac Records.

Knowles will play the blues legend in the film, which tells the story of Chicago-based record company Chess Records and the activities of its major stars, which included Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Chuck Berry.

James, 70, said she was unsure about the singer's abilities until she watched her duet with Tina Turner at the Grammy Awards.

She told PageSix: "I have my own way of putting those songs over, and I was just wondering if Beyoncé could, and my son said, 'They're thinking about how she looks, but mama, she can really sing!'

"It's a privilege and an honour to have somebody like that girl. I don't think she looks like me, but that's all right. They can fix that up. I kinda have a man's voice. It's a contralto, more bluesy, religious. I would really like to work with her on that."

However, she added that Knowles had an uphill struggle portraying her turbulent life, which has included a long battle with heroin addiction.

She said: "Oh my god, she's going to have a hill to climb, because Etta James ain't been no angel! I can tell Beyoncé some things; some of the things I might not tell her.

"I wasn't as bourgie as she is, she's bourgeois. She knows how to be a lady, she's like a model. I wasn't like that... I smoked in the bathroom in school, I was kinda arrogant, so those are some of the things I would want to tell her."