A two-hour "narrative concert" produced by Room 8 (the team behind The Man in Black – The Johnny Cash Story, starring Tex Perkins) and written by acclaimed UK author John Livings, At Last tells James's story and features performances of some of her best-loved songs.

Bull, who rose to national prominence in the late '80s , performing with her sister Linda in The Black Crowes and then as a duo, discovered James when she was 17.

"I was in a late '50s-early '60s girl group called Sophisticated Boom Boom," she says. "The bass player in the band gave me her records and said, 'You should check this out because she is really fantastic'. So I did and I fell in love with her voice immediately."

Bull was unfamiliar with James' life before she accepted the part in At Last. To help prepare for the role, she read James' autobiography, Rage To Survive, a number of times. "After reading the book, it made sense why she was such an honest singer," Bull says.

Indeed, Etta James' story is almost as essential as her music. Raised in Los Angeles by adoptive parents, her childhood was riddled with gangs, violence and drugs. Discovered by R&B star Johnny Otis, James released her first single, Roll With Me Henry, in 1955 when she was only 15. It reached number one on the American R&B charts and launched her career.

She signed with legendary Chicago blues label Chess Records in 1959 and it was here that she released her seminal debut album At Last! in 1960 and recorded some of her biggest hits, including Tell Mama and I'd Rather Go Blind, both from 1968.

However, it wasn't long before James' career spiralled out of control due to alcoholism and a heroin addiction.

While she continued to release music over the next few decades and achieved some (largely symbolic) mainstream success – six Grammy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – her career never fully recovered. She died in 2012 after suffering leukemia and dementia. Today, James is recognised as one of the great American singers and is credited as having influenced countless modern artists, including Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Adele and Amy Winehouse.

Bull says the idea of performing James' material so soon after her death was intimidating at first.

"My first thought was, 'She hasn't been dead for that long, maybe we should wait a while [she laughs]. I often think when I'm on stage, 'I hope she likes this'. I mean you don't want everyone to think she was a useless bloody drug addict, which she was for a while. But the thing about Etta was, she came back. She conquered her demons and kept singing right up until she died. That's what I love about her story; she survived."

Bull hopes At Last will help to keep James' memory alive.

"I've had a lot of die-hard fans come up to me to say how much they liked the show. But I know I've done my job when the people who fall in love with her are those who have never heard her music before and don't know anything about her life.

"I just don't want anyone to forget about her."

Vika Bull

When: July 4, 8pm

Where: Canberra Theatre Centre, Civic

Tickets: $69 + BF available from canberratheatrecentre.com.au