Marie Adams (born Ollie Marie Givens, October 19, 1925 – February 23, 1998) was an American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and R&B singer, who became popular in the 1950s particularly for her work with

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...

Biography

She was born in

Linden, Texas Linden is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Texas, United States. At the 2020 United States census, its population was 1,825. Geography Linden is located south of the center of Cass County at (33.008026, –94.364328). U.S. Route 5 ...

, and sang in gospel groups in her youth. After marrying, she began performing in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

as Ollie Marie Adams, later dropping her first name. J. C. Marion, "My Search Is Over - Marie Adams", 2002, ''Jamm Up'' #26
. Retrieved 19 October 2016 She made her first recordings for

Don Robey Don Deadric Robey (November 1, 1903 – June 16, 1975) was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the caree ...

Peacock Records Peacock Records was an American record label, started in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United Stat ...

with Bill Harvey's band. Her single "I'm Gonna Play the Honky Tonks" coupled with "My Search Is Over", with the writing of both songs credited to Robey, reached number 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in mid-1952, becoming the most successful record on Peacock at that point. In all, she released seven singles on Peacock, including a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of her label-mate

Johnny Ace John Marshall Alexander Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid 1950s. Alexander died of an accidental self-inflicted gunsh ...

's "My Song". Biography, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 19 October 2016 Adams toured widely in the early 1950s on shows featuring Johnny Ace,

Jimmy Forrest James, Jim or Jimmy Forrest may refer to: Sports * James Forrest (rugby union) (born 1907), Scotland international rugby union player * James Forrest (baseball) (1897–1977), American baseball player * James Forrest (basketball) (born 1972), Ame ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, ''Alright Again!''. Early life Br ...

, and

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, record executive and bandleader, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a hit for Spe ...

. In 1953, she joined the

band as a featured singer, and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. After Johnny Ace's death, she recorded the tribute song, "In Memory", which was regularly played by radio DJ

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

but failed to chart. She toured with Johnny Otis through much of the 1950s, and became a popular live performer, being known as "TV Mama" in recognition of her "wide screen" girth. Dik de Heer, "Marie Adams", ''Black Cat Rockabilly''
Retrieved 19 October 2016 As a mainstay of the Johnny Otis Revue, she recruited sisters Sadie and Francine McKinley to form The Three Tons of Joy, considered "an appropriate name as the three women weighed around 800 pounds together." In 1957, Johnny Otis signed to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. The label released four singles in Otis' name simultaneously, including "

Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me "Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me", alternatively sung as "Ma, She's Making Eyes At Me", is a song published in 1921. The lyrics were by the American composer and comedian Sidney Clare, and the music was by the American songwriter and producer Con C ...

". This was overdubbed with audience reaction noises, and was credited to Johnny Otis and his Orchestra, with Marie Adams and The Three Tons of Joy. Although the record did not make the charts in the US, it was released in the UK and rose to number 2 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in early 1958. To follow up its success, Adams and Otis recorded a duet, "Bye Bye Baby", which reached number 20 in Britain. However, other recordings by Adams with Otis, including their version of "

What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For? "What Do You Want to Make Those Eyes at Me For?" is a song written by Joseph McCarthy, Howard Johnson and James V. Monaco in 1916 for the Broadway production ''Follow Me'', in which it was performed by Henry Lewis. Early recordings Lewis' version ...

" (covered in Britain by

Emile Ford Michael Emile Telford Miller (16 October 1937 – 11 April 2016), known professionally as Emile Ford, was a musician and singer born in Saint Lucia, British Windward Islands. He was popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s and early ...

and the Checkmates) were less commercially successful, and in early 1960 Adams and the Three Tons of Joy left the Johnny Otis Show. Marie Adams and the Three Tons of Joy continued to work in and around Los Angeles, and Adams recorded for several small labels in the early 1960s. In 1972, she returned to work with Johnny Otis, and toured in Britain for the first time. She continued performing with Johnny Otis for much of the 1970s before retiring. She died in Houston in 1998, aged 72.

References

External links

Marie Adams
performing with the Three Tons of Joy {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Marie 1925 births 1998 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers American rhythm and blues singers Musicians from Texas People from Linden, Texas Musicians from Houston