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Biography
Infobox musical artist|name = Oleta Adams|image = Oleta Adams Pure Jazz 2007.jpg|image size = 250px|caption =|background = solo_singer|birth_name = Oleta Angela Adams|birth_date = Birth date and age|1953|5|4|mf=y|birth_place = Seattle, Washington|Seattle , Washington (U.S. state)|Washington , United States |instrument = Singer , piano |genre = Gospel , Soul music|soul , jazz |occupation = Singer |years_active = 1980–present|label = Fontana Records|Fontana (1989-1993) Fontana Records|Fontana / Mercury Records|Mercury (1994-1996) Harmony Records|Harmony (1997-1999) Monarch Records|Monarch / Pioneer Entertainment|Pioneer (2001-2002) E1 Music (2006-2009)|associated_acts = Tears for Fears |website = http://www.oletaadams.com|current_members =|past_members = Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953, Seattle, Washington|Seattle , Washington (U.S. state)|Washington ) is an United States|American soul (music)|soul , jazz , and Gospel music|gospel singer and pianist .
Biography
Adams was born the daughter of a preacher and was raised with gospel music . In her adolescence|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|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 concert|gigs . Adams started her career in the early 1980s with two self-financed album s which had limited success.
Collaboration with Tears For Fears
In 1985, Adams was discovered by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith , founders of the English band Tears for Fears , while performing in a hotel bar in Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City , Missouri whilst they were on a US tour. They chatted with Adams after her performance, and two years later they contacted her to invite her to join their band as a singer on their next album, The Seeds of Love . http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/adams_oleta/bio.jhtml VH1.com Biography Oleta Adams. (Retrieved: September 15, 2006)
In 1989, the album was released and the single (music)|single "Woman In Chains" — sung as a duet (music)|duet by Adams and Orzabal and with Phil Collins on drum s — became her first Chart-topper|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 (music)|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 Award|Grammy nominated cover version|cover of Brenda Russell 's "Get Here". The song was popular during the 1991 Gulf War cite news |author = Norment, Lynn | title = Moving on and up with Oleta Adams: with new husband and renewed religious faith, soulful singer scores with new album | publisher = Ebony | date = August 1996 | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n10_v51/ai_18544356/ | quote = Circle of One spawned three Top-20 pop singles, including an impassioned take on Brenda Russell's "Get Here," which became a popular anthem during the Persian Gulf War. | accessdate = 2009-09-16 cite web |author = Schoenherr, Steven | title = Get Here by Oleta Adams, 1990 | publisher = Songs in American History | date = 2006-05-01 | url = http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/snd/gethere.html | quote = Get Here" became the unofficial anthem for the Gulf War (Desert Storm) in 1991. The lyrics express the longing for a loved one who's many miles away, and the different methods of transportation he can use to return. The song was sung to US troops in the Middle East whose loved ones were home in America, awaiting their return. | accessdate = 2009-09-16 as families of deployed troops in the region embraced the tune as a theme song.cite book | last = Mann | first = Brent | title = 99 Red Balloons and 100 Other All-Time Great One-Hit Wonders | publisher = Bristol Park Books, Inc | location = New York | year = 2003 | isbn = 9780884864356 | page = 275 1991 also saw Adams contribute to the Elton John / Bernie Taupin tribute album, Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin|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 (Oleta Adams album)|Evolution (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 (Oleta Adams album)|Moving On , saw Adams move more in the direction of Rhythm and blues|R& B , and she also reunited with Roland Orzabal for the duet (music)|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 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 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 . http://www.oletaadams.com/ Official website News 9/10/2006. Retrieved September 15, 2006
A new secular album entitled ''Let's Stay Here , was 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.cite news| url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n10_v51/ai_18544356 | work=Ebony | title=Moving on and up with Oleta Adams: with new husband and renewed religious faith, soulful singer scores with new album | first=Lynn | last=Norment | year=1996 Adams stated that she never had a passion to get married but on January 17, 1994 she and Cushon were involved in the 1994 Northridge earthquake|Los Angeles earthquake . Adams referred to this as a sign from God that she was ready to get married.
"& mdash;" denotes the album failed to chart and/ or was not released in that territory
Compilations
Year
Album
Chart positions
Record label
US
US R& B
UK
1996
The Very Best of Oleta Adams (European)
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Mercury
1998
The Very Best of Oleta Adams (USA)
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2004
The Ultimate Collection
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Universal
"& mdash;" denotes the album failed to chart and/ or was not released in that territory
Singles
Year
Song
UK cite book
U.S.
U.S. R& B
U.S. AC
1989
" Woman in Chains " (with Tears for Fears )
26
36
-
-
1990
"Rhythm of Life"
-
-
9
21
1990
"Circle of One"
-
-
-
-
1990
"Rhythm of Life" (reissue)
52
-
-
-
1991
" 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
-
-
-
1992
" Woman in Chains " (reissue) (with Tears for Fears )
57
-
-
-
1993
"I Just Had to Hear Your Voice"
42
-
97
-
1993
"Window of Hope"
-
-
-
-
1994
"Easier To Say Goodbye"
-
-
-
-
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
-
-
-
1995
"Life Keeps Moving On"
-
-
-
-
1996
"We Will Meet Again"
51
-
-
-
2001
"When You Walked Into My Life"
-
-
-
-
2002
"I Can't Live a Day Without You"
-
-
-
-
Videos/DVDs
Going To California (Tears For Fears video)|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)
Awards and nominations
Year
Result
Award
Category
Work
1994
Nominated
Soul Train Music Award http:/ / books.google.com/ books? id=xsADAAAAMBAJ& pg=PA34-IA1& dq=%22invites+you+to+climb+aboard+the+1994& lr=& cd=1#v=onepage& q=%22invites%20you%20to%20climb%20aboard%20the%201994& f=false Books.google.com
http://www.rnbhaven.com/90s-music/artists/Oleta-Adams/230 Oleta Adams Bio
imdb name|id=1453831|name=Oleta Adams
http://www.tv.com/oleta-adams/person/150942/summary.html? q=Oleta%20Adams& tag=search_results;title;0 Oleta Adams at Tv.com
Persondata|NAME=Adams, Oleta |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION=American singer |DATE OF BIRTH=May 4, 1953 |PLACE OF BIRTH= Yakima, Washington |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Oleta Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:People from Seattle, Washington Category:American female singers Category:American gospel singers Category:Urban contemporary gospel musicians Category:American jazz singers Category:American soul singers Category:E1 Music artists Category:Musicians from Washington (state) Category:Mercury Records artists
