Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953) is an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. She found limited success during the early 1980s, before gaining fame via her contributions to

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wav ...

's international chart-topping album ''

The Seeds of Love ''The Seeds of Love'' is the third studio album by British pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 25 September 1989 by Fontana Records. It retained the band's epic sound while incorporating influences ranging from jazz and soul to Beatlesque ...

'' (1989). Her albums ''

Circle of One ''Circle of One'' is the third album by American vocalist, pianist, and songwriter Oleta Adams and was released in 1990. ''Circle of One'' was Adams' first album to receive wide distribution; her two earlier albums (an untitled album in 1982 an ...

'' (1991) and ''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'' (1993) were top 10 hits in the UK; the former yielded a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated

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Brenda Russell Brenda Russell (née Gordon; born April 8, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist. Russell has a diverse musical range which encompasses R&B, pop, soul, dance, and jazz. She has received five Grammy nominations. Li ...

's " Get Here", which was a top 5 hit in both the UK and the US. Adams has been nominated for four total Grammy Awards, as well as two

Soul Train Music Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of ''Soul Train'', the pro ...

Biography

Adams was born the daughter of a preacher and was raised listening to

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. In her

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

, her family moved to

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

, which is sometimes shown as her place of birth. She got her musical start in the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

. Before gaining her opportunity to perform, Adams faced a great deal of rejection. In the 1970s, she 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' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where she recorded a

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

. However, many music executives were exclusively interested in

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

music rather than Adams' preferred style. With the advice of her singing coach, Lee Farrell, Adams moved to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, where she did a variety of local gigs. She started her career in the early 1980s with two self-financed

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s, which had limited success. Oleta Adams sang the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

prior to Game Two of the

1984 American League Championship Series The 1984 American League Championship Series matched the East Division champion Detroit Tigers against the West Division champion Kansas City Royals. The Tigers took the series in a three-game sweep to advance to the 1984 World Series against th ...

Collaboration with Tears for Fears

In 1985, Adams was discovered by

Roland Orzabal Roland Orzabal (born Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana; 22 August 1961) is a British musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and author. He is best known as a co-founder of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint v ...

and

Curt Smith Curt Smith (born 24 June 1961) is a British singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and co-founding member of the pop rock band Tears for Fears along with childhood friend Roland Orzabal. Smith plays bass guitar, has co-written several ...

, founders of the English band

, while she was performing in the Peppercorn Duck Club at the

Hyatt Hotel Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

in Kansas City, while they were on a US tour. Soon after, Adams stopped performing in hotels and had started to look for alternative employment. In 1987, Orzabal and Smith contacted her to invite her to join their band as a singer and pianist on their next album, ''

''.VH1.com
Biography Oleta Adams. (Retrieved: September 15, 2006) A year later she participated in two sessions while she toured the Nordic countries. In 1989, the

was released and the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"Woman in Chains", sung as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

by Adams and Orzabal and with

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s, became her first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. 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 Fontana Records is a record label that was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records. The independent label distributor Fontana Distribution takes its name from the label. History Fontana started in the 1950s as a subs ...

, and restarted her

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

career in 1990. After meeting a number of producers, she worked with Orzabal, who co-produced her new album, ''

''. The album received acclaim, and eventually peaked at No. 1 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

in 1991, after she scored her biggest hit to date with a

nominated

's " Get Here". The song reached the UK and US top 5 and became popular during the 1991

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

conflict, as families of deployed troops in the region embraced the tune as a theme song. 1991 also saw Adams sign to independent music publisher Fairwood Music, and contribute to the

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

tribute album ''

Two Rooms ''Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin'' is a 1991 tribute album consisting of interpretations of sixteen songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The title refers to a song on John's album '' 21 at 33'', "Two Roo ...

'', on which appeared her version of John's 1974 hit "

Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song written by English musician Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. It was originally recorded by John for his eighth studio album, '' Caribou'' (1974), and was released as a single that peaked a ...

". Adams' version became another top 40 hit in the UK. Her next album, ''

'' (1993), was also a commercial success, making the UK top 10. It also featured her self-penned adult contemporary single "Window of Hope". Her 1995 release, '' Moving On'', saw Adams move more in the direction of R&B, and she also reunited with Roland Orzabal for the

"Me and My Big Ideas", on the Tears For Fears album, ''

Raoul and the Kings of Spain ''Raoul and the Kings of Spain'' is the fifth studio album by British pop rock band Tears for Fears, released on 10 October 1995 by Epic Records. Like the band's previous album, ''Elemental'' (1993), it is essentially a solo effort by Roland Or ...

'', the same year. Two years later, she released the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

themed album '' Come Walk with Me'', where she received a nomination for a Grammy Award for "Holy Is the Lamb" in 1997. In 1998, she toured as a guest vocalist on

's Big Band Jazz Tour.

2000s

In 2001, Adams released her sixth album, '' All the Love'', a return to an R&B/Adult contemporary sound. The album was re-released in 2004 in Germany with a different title ''I Can't Live a Day without You''. In 2004, Adams reunited with

once again as she made a surprise guest appearance onstage at their Kansas City concert, performing "

Woman in Chains "Woman in Chains" is a song by English band Tears for Fears, released as the second single from their third studio album, ''The Seeds of Love'' (1989). It has been described as a "feminist anthem". It was an international success, reaching the t ...

". On October 3, 2006, Adams released her first

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

album, entitled ''

Christmas Time with Oleta ''Christmas Time with Oleta'' is a holiday album by the American vocalist, pianist and songwriter Oleta Adams and was released in 2006. Track listing Personnel * Oleta Adams – lead vocals, vocal arrangements, backing vocals (1, 2, 4), ar ...

''. On April 21, 2009, Adams released her eighth album entitled '' Let's Stay Here''.

2010s

On February 10, 2017, Adams released her ninth album, her first album in eight years, entitled '' Third Set''.

Personal life

In 1994, Adams married drummer John Cushon at a United Methodist church in Kansas City, where they both taught Sunday School. They met in 1980 while working on a demo tape for Adams. Adams stated that she never had a passion to get married but on January 17, 1994 she and Cushon were involved in the Los Angeles earthquake. Adams referred to this as a sign from God that she was ready to get married.

Discography

Studio albums *1982: ''Untitled'' *1983: '' Going on Record'' *1990: ''

'' *1993: ''

'' *1995: '' Moving On'' *1997: '' Come Walk with Me'' *2001: '' All the Love'' *2006: ''

'' *2009: '' Let's Stay Here'' *2017: '' Third Set'' Compilations *1996: '' The Very Best of Oleta Adams'' *2004: '' The Ultimate Collection''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd. WebsiteOleta Adams 2016 Podcast Interview at Soulinterviews.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Oleta 1953 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century Methodists 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century Methodists American contraltos American gospel singers American soul singers MNRK Music Group artists Fontana Records artists Mercury Records artists Musicians from Seattle People from Yakima, Washington Singers from Washington (state) Performers of Christian contemporary R&B music Urban contemporary gospel musicians African-American Methodists American United Methodists Ballad musicians