Oleta Adams
(born 4 May 1953, Seattle, Washington) is an American soul, jazz, and gospel singer and pianist.
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OLETA ADAMS TICKETS
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Biography
Adams was born the daughter of a preacher and was raised with
gospel music. In her
youth her family moved to
Yakima, Washington, which is sometimes shown as her place of birth.
Before gaining her opportunity to perform, Adams faced a great deal of rejection. In the 1970s, she moved to
Los Angeles,
California where she recorded a demo tape. However, many music executives were exclusively interested in
disco music rather than Adams' preferred style.
With the advice of her singing coach, Lee Farrell, Adams moved to Kansas City where she did a variety of local
gigs. Adams started her career in the early 1980s with two self-financed
albums which had limited success.
Collaboration with Tears For Fears
In 1985, she was discovered by
Roland Orzabal and
Curt Smith, founders of the
English pop band,
Tears for Fears, while performing in a
bar in
Kansas City,
Missouri. They invited her to join their band as a singer on their next album
The Seeds of Love
.
[1]
In 1989, the
album was released and the
single "Woman In Chains" - sung as a
duet by Adams and Orzabal and with
Phil Collins on
drums - became her first
hit. Adams embarked on a world tour with Tears For Fears in 1990, performing by herself as the supporting artist at the start of each show, and remaining onstage throughout the Tears For Fears set where she would provide piano and vocals.
1990s
Following her work with Tears For Fears, Adams was offered a recording contract by their label
Fontana Records and restarted her
solo career in 1990, assisted by Orzabal who co-produced her new album,
Circle of One
. The album received much critical acclaim and (after a slow start) eventually peaked at no.1 in the UK in 1991 when she scored her biggest hit to date with her
Grammy nominated
cover of
Brenda Russell's "Get Here". 1991 also saw Adams contribute to the
Elton John/
Bernie Taupin tribute album,
Two Rooms
, on which appeared her version of John's 1974 hit "
Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me". Adams' version became another top 40 hit in the UK.
Her next album,
Evolution
(1993), was also a commercial success, making the UK top 10. Her 1995 release,
Moving On
, saw Adams move more in the direction of
R&B, and she also reunited with Roland Orzabal for the
duet "Me And My Big Ideas" on the Tears For Fears album
Raoul and the Kings of Spain
the same year. Two years later she released the
Christian themed album
Come Walk With Me
.
In 1998, she toured as a guest vocalist on
Phil Collins's Big Band Jazz Tour.
2000s
In 2004, Adams reunited with
Tears for Fears once again as she made a surprise guest appearance onstage at their Kansas City concert, performing
Woman in Chains
.
Adams released her first
Christmas album on
3 October 2006, entitled
Christmas Time with Oleta
.
[2]
A new secular album entitled "Let's Stay Here" will be released on April 21, 2009 by E1 Music.
Personal life
In 1994, Adams married drummer John Cushon at a United Methodist church in Kansas City, where they both teach Sunday School. They met in 1980 while working on a demo tape for Adams.
[3] Adams stated that she never had a passion to get married but on January 17, 1994 she and Cushon were involved in the
LA earthquake. Adams referred to this as a sign from God that she was ready to get married.
[3]
Discography
Albums
Date
| Title
| Comments
|
1983
| Going on Record
| Self financed and released
|
1990
| Circle of One
|
|
1993
| Evolution
|
|
1995
| Moving On
|
|
1996
| The Very Best of Oleta Adams
|
|
1997
| Come Walk With Me
|
|
2001
| All the Love
|
|
2004
| Ultimate Collection
|
|
October 3 2006
| Christmas Time with Oleta
| United States, Canada, and The Netherlands only [5]
|
April 21, 2009
| Let's Stay Here
|
|
Singles
Year
| Song
| UK
| U.S.
| U.S. R&B
| U.S. AC
|
1990
| "Circle of One"
| 95
| -
| -
| -
|
1990
| "Get Here"
| 4
| 5
| 8
| 3
|
1991
| "You've Got to Give Me Room"
| 49
| -
| -
| -
|
1991
| "Circle of One" (reissue)
| 73
| -
| 27
| 17
|
1991
| "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"
| 33
| -
| -
| -
|
1993
| "I Just Had to Hear Your Voice"
| 42
| -
| 97
| -
|
1993
| "Window of Hope"
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1994
| "My Heart Won't Lie"
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1994
| "We Will Find a Way" (with Brenda Russell)
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1995
| "Never Knew Love"
| 22
| -
| -
| -
|
1995
| "Rhythm of Life (remix)"
| 38
| -
| -
| -
|
1996
| "We Will Meet Again"
| 51
| -
| -
| -
|
2001
| "When You Walked Into My Life"
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
2002
| "I Can't Live a Day Without You"
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
Videos/DVDs
- ''Tears For Fears - Going To California (1990) (released on DVD in 2005 as part of Scenes from the Big Chair)
- Oleta Adams - Live in Concert
(2005)
References
- VH1.com Biography Oleta Adams. (Retrieved: September 15, 2006)
- Official website News 9/10/2006. Retrieved September 15, 2006
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n10_v51/ai_18544356
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n10_v51/ai_18544356
- Official site Inspiration for the Christmas album. Retrieved September 15, 2006