OLETA ADAMS

'Oleta Adams' (born 4 May 1962, Seattle, Washington) is an American soul, jazz, and gospel singer.

Contents

Biography

Discography

Albums

Singles and selected songs

DVDs

References

External links

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.
Adams started her career in the early 1980s with two self financed albums which had limited success. In 1985, she was discovered by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, founders of the English pop band, Tears for Fears, whilst performing in a Kansas City, Missouri bar. They invited her to join their band as a singer on their next album ''The Seeds of Love''.^[1]
In 1989, the LP was released and the single "Woman In Chains" - sung as a duet by Adams and Orzabal and with Phil Collins on drums - became her real first hit. Adams started her solo career in 1990 assisted by Orzabal who did the production. Her debut album ''Circle of One'' received much critical acclaim and she scored her biggest hit to date in 1991 with her Grammy nominated cover of Brenda Russell's "Get Here". 1991 also saw Adams contribute to the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute album, '', on which appeared her version of John's 1974 hit "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me".
Her next album ''Evolution'' was also a commercial success. Her 1995 release, ''Moving On'', saw Adams move more in the direction of R&B. Two years later she released the Christian themed ''Come Walk With Me''.
In 1998, she toured as a guest vocalist on Phil Collins's Big Band Jazz Tour.
Adams received some criticism in 2003 for a $15,000 fee she took for a performance at a Kansas City Missouri School District staff event.^[2]
Adams released her first Christmas album on 3 October 2006, entitled ''Christmas Time with Oleta''.^[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[4]

Singles and selected songs

Year	Song	UK	US HOT 100	US R&B	US AC
1989	"Woman In Chains" (w/Tears for Fears)	26	36	-	-
1990	"Rhythm Of Life"	52	-	9	21
1990	"Circle Of One"	95	-	-	-
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	-	-	-
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" (w/Brenda Russell)	-	-	-	-
1995	"Never Knew Love"	22	-	-	-
1995	"Rhythm Of Life (90s Version)"	38	-	-	-
1995	"Me And My Big Ideas" (w/Tears for Fears)	-	-	-	-
1996	"We Will Meet Again"	51	-	-	-
2001	"When You Walked Into My Life"	-	-	-	-
2002	"I Can't Live A Day Without You"	-	-	-	-

DVDs

★ ''Oleta Adams Live in Concert'' (2005)

References

1. VH1.com Biography Oleta Adams. (Retrieved: September 15, 2006)
2. Singer Performs At Teacher Convocation Despite Controversy Retrieved September 5, 2007
3. Official website News 9/10/2006. Retrieved September 15, 2006
4. Official site Inspiration for the Christmas album. Retrieved September 15, 2006

External links

★ Official website

★ Complete discography (including sideworks)

★ Artist bio at Soultracks.com

★

★ Oleta Adams at Tv.com