Arthur Adams (singer)
Encyclopedia
Arthur Adams is an American
blues
musician
from Medon
, Tennessee
. Inspired by B.B. King and other 1950s artists, he played gospel music
before attending college. He moved to Los Angeles, and during the 1960s and 1970s he released solo albums and worked as a session musician
. In 1985 he was tapped to tour on bass guitar
with Nina Simone
, and he staged a comeback in the 1990s when he released "Back on Track", and became a respected Chicago blues
player and bandleader
in B.B. King's clubs.
A prolific songwriter, with a blues style that incorporated a variety of genres, and a vocalist with a funky, soul-driven sound, Adams is known for his collaboration with many of blues' elite and continues to perform to date.
, Tennessee
. At the age of six, he sang in the church choir, but did not begin playing the guitar until he was a teenager. In the mid-1950s, he learned the instrument from his mother, by copying her finger positions. He was inspired by artists such as B. B. King
, Howard Carroll of Dixie Hummingbirds, Elmore James
and Muddy Waters
, which he listened to on the radio.
Adams formed a group with his cousins, called the Gospel Travelers, who toured Tennessee and Arkansas. The group was disbanded when he moved to Tennessee to attend the State University
, where he studied music and played in the school's resident jazz
and blues band.
's band, as a backup singer. Allison had success in 1957 with "You Can Make It If You Try" on the Vee-Jay
label. At the end of an ill-fated tour, Adams was stranded by Allison in Dallas. He remained there from February 1959 until April 1964, working in local nightclubs including the Clubhouse and the Empire Room, playing with Lightnin' Hopkins
, Chuck Berry
, Elmore James
, and Lowell Fulson
. On one occasion, Adams supported Buddy Guy
, and picked up his showmanship habit of walking through the audience in mid-solo. Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Beck, who had a hit record, the instrumental "Pipe Dream" (on the Champion Records
label) hired Arthur in 1959. During his early career, he played gospel
and blues
.
In the early 1960s, he produced several singles, including "If It Ain't One Thing It's Another"/"Willin' To Die" on Philadelphia-based Jamie Records
), which was produced in Dallas by Al Klein, who went on to become a Motown
representative.
On the Dutchess record label, he released "I Had A Dream" in 1961. He also released "The Same Thing"/"Tend To Your Business" on the Valdot label, which was owned by Nashville songwriter Ted Jarrett
.
On some of Adams' records, up until the late 1960s, he was credited as Arthur K. Adams - the "K" being a marketing device, with no particular significance. It was the idea of promoter/singer Scotty McKay.
In 1964, Adams moved to Los Angeles, California
after a DJ
in Fort Worth
recommended Adams as a session player
to Vee-Jay Records
. Although he recorded a session, it was never released. That same year, he began working as a session musician full-time, working with Quincy Jones
, and recording singles for the notorious Bihari Brothers
(on the Kent Records
label), and for Hugh Masekela
on the Chisa label. The move was lucrative for Adams, who not only made a name for himself in the clubs, but also became a prolific studio musician, contributing to movies and soundtracks, playing on hundreds of sessions with artists ranging from Lou Rawls
to Henry Mancini
.
In 1967, he was performing he performed music on the television movie The Outsider, which starred Darren McGavin
. He then recorded a blues track, "She Drives Me Out Of My Mind", on the Bihari brothers
' Modern Records
label.
He produced
both blues and soul music
on the Modern label, and with Edna Wright (later lead singer of Honey Cone
), he sang a duet called "Let's Get Together", using the name Arthur & Mary. Upon recommendation from Bobby Womack
, Adams appeared in the house band
for a TV program hosted by NFL defensive tackle Rosey Grier, who was also a singer. This led to further studio work in Los Angeles; he played on recordings by the Jackson 5, Henry Mancini
, Lou Rawls
, Willie Hutch
, Sonny Bono
, Nancy Wilson, Kim Weston
, the Ballads (on their 1968 single "God Bless Our Love"), Sonny Charles
& the Checkmates, Ltd.
(on the 1969 single "Black Pearl
", produced by Phil Spector
), and others.
He contributed to TV and movie soundtracks including Cactus Flower
, Buck and the Preacher
, The Bill Cosby Show
, and Ironside
. His song "Love And Peace" was covered by Quincy Jones
on his Grammy Award
- winning 1969 album Walking In Space
.
In the late 1960s he recorded several Rhythm and blues
records with Gadson and several members of The Crusaders
, co-produced by Stewart Levine
. In 1969 he released the single "It's Private Tonight" on the Motown-distributed Chisa Records label. He then joined Bob Krasnow
's Blue Thumb Records
, and released his 1972 debut album, It's Private Tonight. It was co-produced by Bonnie Raitt
and Tommy LiPuma
. This featured artists such as The Crusaders' keyboardist Joe Sample
and saxist Wilton Felder. Conversely, Adams played on many of the Crusaders' 1970 jazz and funk LPs, includingThe Crusaders
, Second Coming, Unsung Heroes, Those Southern Knights, and Free As the Wind.
In 1967, Adams performed in a cameo appearance
for the made for television movie, The Outsiders, playing a rendition of "She Drives Me Out Of My Mind".
He released four more albums during the decade. Adams' style became progressively more funk-oriented, with the release of three further albums, Home Brew (1975, Fantasy Records
), Midnight Serenade (the follow-up, also Fantasy Records), and I Love Love Love My Lady on A&M
. He also co-wrote "Truckload Of Lovin'" with Jimmy Lewis, which was the eponymous track on Albert King
's 1976 Utopia Records
album.
During the latter 1970s, Adams changed style and played soul
. He recorded more solo albums, but in the 1980s he returned to his blues roots, occasionally working as a session guitarist for various groups. After tiring of session work, in 1985 Adams became the bassist for Nina Simone
on her 1995 European tour.
In 1986, he recorded a session for a Church's Fried Chicken
commercial, with harp
ist Chris Smith. By 1987, Adams was fronting his own blues band, and again performing live. He wrote two songs, which appeared on for B. B. King's 1992 album "There Is Always One More Time.
In 1994, B. B. King
opened a club in Universal City. Adams had previously played rhythm guitar for B. B. King, and had written two songs for King's 1991 "There Is Always One More Time" (MCA Records), and through this connection he became one of the primary attractions at the club; he also appeared at other L.A. blues clubs.
Adams recorded a version of Ann Peebles
soul classic "I Can't Stand the Rain
" for the movie Town And Country, starring Goldie Hawn
. He performed at the St. Louis Blues Heritage Festival in August 1997, and in November at the Utrecht Blues Estafette in The Netherlands.
In 1999, he released the album Back on Track, his first solo release in 20 years. B. B. King guested on the album on guitar, and the pair duetted on two tracks. This was his first release on the Blind Pig
record label. Adams wrote eight out of the eleven tracks, combining the three styles of gospel, blues and soul. Tracks include two duets ("Got You Next To Me" and "The Long Haul"), in which Adams sang with B. B. King - both composed by Adams and Will Jennings
.
In 2004, he released Soul of the Blues.
Adams was a bandleader
at B. B. King
's blues club in Los Angeles, often performing with drummer James Gadson
. His style has been described as "freight train guitar and soul-steeped vocals". He has also written with the award-winning composer Will Jennings
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
from Medon
Medon, Tennessee
Medon is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. It is included in the Jackson, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 191 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Medon is located at ....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Inspired by B.B. King and other 1950s artists, he played gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
before attending college. He moved to Los Angeles, and during the 1960s and 1970s he released solo albums and worked as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
. In 1985 he was tapped to tour on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
with Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, and he staged a comeback in the 1990s when he released "Back on Track", and became a respected Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
player and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
in B.B. King's clubs.
A prolific songwriter, with a blues style that incorporated a variety of genres, and a vocalist with a funky, soul-driven sound, Adams is known for his collaboration with many of blues' elite and continues to perform to date.
Early life
Arthur Adams was born on 25 December 1943 in MedonMedon, Tennessee
Medon is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. It is included in the Jackson, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 191 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Medon is located at ....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. At the age of six, he sang in the church choir, but did not begin playing the guitar until he was a teenager. In the mid-1950s, he learned the instrument from his mother, by copying her finger positions. He was inspired by artists such as B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
, Howard Carroll of Dixie Hummingbirds, Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
and Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, which he listened to on the radio.
Adams formed a group with his cousins, called the Gospel Travelers, who toured Tennessee and Arkansas. The group was disbanded when he moved to Tennessee to attend the State University
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...
, where he studied music and played in the school's resident jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and blues band.
Professional career
Adams began playing the blues professionally at a local student bar called the Club Baron. He toured with Gene AllisonGene Allison
Gene Allison was an American R&B singer.Born Versie Eugene Allison in Pegram, Tennessee, he grew up in Nashville, Tennessee singing in the church choir with his brother Leevert. As a teenager, Allison was offered a chance to sing with The Fairfield Four and, later, The Skylarks...
's band, as a backup singer. Allison had success in 1957 with "You Can Make It If You Try" on the Vee-Jay
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
label. At the end of an ill-fated tour, Adams was stranded by Allison in Dallas. He remained there from February 1959 until April 1964, working in local nightclubs including the Clubhouse and the Empire Room, playing with Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
, and Lowell Fulson
Lowell Fulson
Lowell Fulson was a big-voiced blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. Fulson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also recorded for business reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom...
. On one occasion, Adams supported Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, and picked up his showmanship habit of walking through the audience in mid-solo. Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Beck, who had a hit record, the instrumental "Pipe Dream" (on the Champion Records
Champion Records
The name Champion Records has been used by at least four record labels.An early Champion label was produced by Gennett Records as an inexpensive label that featured country or "hillbilly" artists, as well as popular bands, hot jazz and blues...
label) hired Arthur in 1959. During his early career, he played gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
.
In the early 1960s, he produced several singles, including "If It Ain't One Thing It's Another"/"Willin' To Die" on Philadelphia-based Jamie Records
Jamie Records
Jamie Records was a record label founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1957 by Harold Lipsius.Their first 45rpm single, "It's Great To Fall In Love"/"Truly" by Marian Caruso , was issued in 1957. However, they really hit the big-time in 1958 with the release of Duane Eddy's "Rebel...
), which was produced in Dallas by Al Klein, who went on to become a Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
representative.
On the Dutchess record label, he released "I Had A Dream" in 1961. He also released "The Same Thing"/"Tend To Your Business" on the Valdot label, which was owned by Nashville songwriter Ted Jarrett
Ted Jarrett
Theodore R. "Ted" Jarrett was an American singer-songwriter and producer of country, gospel, and soul music.-Early life:...
.
On some of Adams' records, up until the late 1960s, he was credited as Arthur K. Adams - the "K" being a marketing device, with no particular significance. It was the idea of promoter/singer Scotty McKay.
In 1964, Adams moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
after a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
recommended Adams as a session player
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
to Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
. Although he recorded a session, it was never released. That same year, he began working as a session musician full-time, working with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, and recording singles for the notorious Bihari Brothers
Bihari brothers
The Bihari Brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American music entrepreneurs and the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries such as Meteor Records based in Memphis.-Origins:...
(on the Kent Records
Kent Records
Kent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...
label), and for Hugh Masekela
Hugh Masekela
Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...
on the Chisa label. The move was lucrative for Adams, who not only made a name for himself in the clubs, but also became a prolific studio musician, contributing to movies and soundtracks, playing on hundreds of sessions with artists ranging from Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
to Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
.
In 1967, he was performing he performed music on the television movie The Outsider, which starred Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
. He then recorded a blues track, "She Drives Me Out Of My Mind", on the Bihari brothers
Bihari brothers
The Bihari Brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American music entrepreneurs and the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries such as Meteor Records based in Memphis.-Origins:...
' Modern Records
Modern Records
Modern Records was an American record label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. In the 1960s, Modern Records went bankrupt and ceased operations, but the catalogue went with the management into what became Kent Records. This back catalogue was eventually licensed to the UK label...
label.
He produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
both blues and soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
on the Modern label, and with Edna Wright (later lead singer of Honey Cone
Honey Cone
Honey Cone was an American R&B and soul all girl vocal group, who are best remembered for their Billboard #1 hit single, "Want Ads". They were the premier female group for Hot Wax Records, operated by Holland–Dozier–Holland after they had departed from Motown Records.-Career:Honey Cone comprised...
), he sang a duet called "Let's Get Together", using the name Arthur & Mary. Upon recommendation from Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
, Adams appeared in the house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
for a TV program hosted by NFL defensive tackle Rosey Grier, who was also a singer. This led to further studio work in Los Angeles; he played on recordings by the Jackson 5, Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
, Willie Hutch
Willie Hutch
Willie McKinley Hutchison, known professionally as Willie Hutch was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s....
, Sonny Bono
Sonny Bono
Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono was an American recording artist, record producer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades.-Early life:...
, Nancy Wilson, Kim Weston
Kim Weston
Kim Weston is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms ".-Career:...
, the Ballads (on their 1968 single "God Bless Our Love"), Sonny Charles
Sonny Charles
Sonny Charles is an American soul singer from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was the lead singer of Checkmates, Ltd...
& the Checkmates, Ltd.
Checkmates, Ltd.
Checkmates, Ltd. were an American R&B group from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The group, discovered by Nancy Wilson, included both black and white members; their one major hit was 1969's "Black Pearl", produced by Phil Spector. The song peaked at #13 on the U.S. pop chart...
(on the 1969 single "Black Pearl
Black Pearl
The Black Pearl, originally Wicked Wench, is a fictional ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. In the screenplay, the Black Pearl is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord Beckett...
", produced by Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
), and others.
He contributed to TV and movie soundtracks including Cactus Flower
Cactus Flower (film)
Cactus Flower is a 1969 comedic film directed by Gene Saks and starring Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, and Goldie Hawn, who won an Oscar for her performance. The screenplay was adapted by I. A. L. Diamond from a Broadway stage play written by Abe Burrows, which in turn was based upon the French...
, Buck and the Preacher
Buck and the Preacher
Buck and the Preacher is a 1972 American Western film starring Sidney Poitier as Buck and Harry Belafonte as the Preacher. Buck is a trail guide leading groups of former slaves trying to homestead in the West, immediately after the American Civil War. The Preacher is a swindling minister of the...
, The Bill Cosby Show
The Bill Cosby Show
The Bill Cosby Show is an American situation comedy that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday night schedule from 1969 until 1971, under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble. There were 52 episodes made in the series. It marked Cosby's first solo foray in television, after his co-starring role with...
, and Ironside
Ironside
-Entertainment and literature:*Ironside , an American television series starring Raymond Burr*Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale, an urban fantasy novel by Holly Black-People:...
. His song "Love And Peace" was covered by Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
on his Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
- winning 1969 album Walking In Space
Walking in Space
Walking in Space is a 1969 studio album by Quincy Jones.. The album was recorded for A&M, and features an iconic photo of Quincy designed by Pete Turner who made some of the most famous A&M album covers. The album features Valerie Simpson on vocals of 'Walking In Space', and a recording based on a...
.
In the late 1960s he recorded several Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
records with Gadson and several members of The Crusaders
The Crusaders
The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group , 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" .-History:In 1960, following the demise of a...
, co-produced by Stewart Levine
Stewart Levine
Stewart Levine is an American record producer. He has worked with such artists as The Crusaders, Minnie Riperton, Lionel Richie, Simply Red, Boy George, Peter Blakeley, Joe Cocker, Oleta Adams, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Jamie Cullum, Aaron Neville, Sly Stone, Hugh Masekela and Killing Joke.Stewart...
. In 1969 he released the single "It's Private Tonight" on the Motown-distributed Chisa Records label. He then joined Bob Krasnow
Bob Krasnow
Bob Krasnow is a leading music industry entrepreneur. His early career included working as a promotions man for James Brown and sales representative for Decca Records. In the early 1960s, Krasnow founded MK Records, which released the novelty record "," a parody of the 1960 presidential campaign...
's Blue Thumb Records
Blue Thumb Records
Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow, along with former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Krasnow had been in the record business for a number of years, working as a promotion man for King Records and also working for Buddah/Kama Sutra...
, and released his 1972 debut album, It's Private Tonight. It was co-produced by Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
and Tommy LiPuma
Tommy LiPuma
Tommy LiPuma is an American music producer. In his long career, he has worked with many musicians, including Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Claudine Longet, Dave Mason, the Yellowjackets, Michael Franks, Diana Krall, and The Story...
. This featured artists such as The Crusaders' keyboardist Joe Sample
Joe Sample
Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer.He is one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 .- Biography :Sample began playing the piano...
and saxist Wilton Felder. Conversely, Adams played on many of the Crusaders' 1970 jazz and funk LPs, includingThe Crusaders
The Crusaders
The Crusaders are an American music group popular in the early 1970s known for their amalgamated jazz, pop and soul sound. Since 1961, more than forty albums have been credited to the group , 19 of which were recorded under the name "The Jazz Crusaders" .-History:In 1960, following the demise of a...
, Second Coming, Unsung Heroes, Those Southern Knights, and Free As the Wind.
In 1967, Adams performed in a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
for the made for television movie, The Outsiders, playing a rendition of "She Drives Me Out Of My Mind".
He released four more albums during the decade. Adams' style became progressively more funk-oriented, with the release of three further albums, Home Brew (1975, Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records is a United States-based record label that was founded by Max and Sol Weiss in 1949 in San Francisco, California. They had previously operated a record-pressing plant called Circle Record Company before forming the Fantasy label...
), Midnight Serenade (the follow-up, also Fantasy Records), and I Love Love Love My Lady on A&M
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
. He also co-wrote "Truckload Of Lovin'" with Jimmy Lewis, which was the eponymous track on Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
's 1976 Utopia Records
Utopia Records
Utopia Records is an Israeli independent record label that specializes in producing and releasing melodic psytrance music. Utopia Records was established in 2003 by the Israeli DJ Ido Yaron. Most of the musicians signed in Utopia Records are from southern Israel...
album.
During the latter 1970s, Adams changed style and played soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
. He recorded more solo albums, but in the 1980s he returned to his blues roots, occasionally working as a session guitarist for various groups. After tiring of session work, in 1985 Adams became the bassist for Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
on her 1995 European tour.
In 1986, he recorded a session for a Church's Fried Chicken
Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken is a US-based chain of fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken, also trading outside North America as Texas Chicken. The chain was founded as Church's Fried Chicken To Go by George W. Church, Sr., on April 17, 1952, in San Antonio, across the street from The Alamo...
commercial, with harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
ist Chris Smith. By 1987, Adams was fronting his own blues band, and again performing live. He wrote two songs, which appeared on for B. B. King's 1992 album "There Is Always One More Time.
In 1994, B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
opened a club in Universal City. Adams had previously played rhythm guitar for B. B. King, and had written two songs for King's 1991 "There Is Always One More Time" (MCA Records), and through this connection he became one of the primary attractions at the club; he also appeared at other L.A. blues clubs.
Adams recorded a version of Ann Peebles
Ann Peebles
Ann Peebles is an African American singer-songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s on the Hi Records label...
soul classic "I Can't Stand the Rain
I Can't Stand the Rain (song)
"I Can't Stand the Rain" is a song originally recorded by Ann Peebles, and written by Don Bryant, Bernard "Bernie" Miller & Ann Peebles. The song became Peebles' biggest hit when in 1973 it reached #38 on the US Pop Chart and #6 on the R&B/Black Chart. The single also reached #41 on the UK Pop...
" for the movie Town And Country, starring Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
. He performed at the St. Louis Blues Heritage Festival in August 1997, and in November at the Utrecht Blues Estafette in The Netherlands.
In 1999, he released the album Back on Track, his first solo release in 20 years. B. B. King guested on the album on guitar, and the pair duetted on two tracks. This was his first release on the Blind Pig
Blind Pig Records
Blind Pig Records is an American blues record label.Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco...
record label. Adams wrote eight out of the eleven tracks, combining the three styles of gospel, blues and soul. Tracks include two duets ("Got You Next To Me" and "The Long Haul"), in which Adams sang with B. B. King - both composed by Adams and Will Jennings
Will Jennings
Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings is an American songwriter who is popularly known for writing the lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On", the theme for the film Titanic .-Life and education:...
.
In 2004, he released Soul of the Blues.
Adams was a bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
at B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
's blues club in Los Angeles, often performing with drummer James Gadson
James Gadson
James Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
. His style has been described as "freight train guitar and soul-steeped vocals". He has also written with the award-winning composer Will Jennings
Will Jennings
Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings is an American songwriter who is popularly known for writing the lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On", the theme for the film Titanic .-Life and education:...
.
Albums
| Title | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|
| It's Private Tonight | 1972 | Blue Thumb |
| Home Brew | 1975 | Fantasy |
| Midnight Serenade | 1977 | Fantasy |
| I Love Love Love My Lady | 1979 | A&M |
| Back on Track | 1999 | Blind Pig |
| Soul of the Blues | 2004 | PM |
| Stomp The Floor | 2009 | Delta Groove |