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Alberta Adams

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Alberta Adams
Adams performing at Sushi Blues in December 2006
Adams performing at Sushi Blues in December 2006
Background information
Birth nameRoberta Louise Osborn
Also known asThe Queen of the Blues
Born(1917-07-26)July 26, 1917
Indianapolis, Indiana,U.S.
DiedDecember 25, 2014(2014-12-25)(aged 97)
Dearborn, Michigan,U.S.
GenresDetroit blues,jump blues,Chicago blues
OccupationMusician
InstrumentVocals
Years active1930s-2014
LabelsChess Records,Savoy Records,Cannonball Records,Eastlawn Records
Formerly ofThe Bluesettes

Alberta Adams(July 26, 1917 – December 25, 2014) was an American blues singer.

Raised inDetroit,Michigan,she began performing as atap dancerandnightclub singerin the 1930s. In 1952, she signed arecording contractwithChess Recordsand recorded withRed Saundersfor thelabel.She toured withDuke Ellington,Eddie Vinson,Louis Jordan,Lionel Hampton,andT-Bone Walker,among others.

In her solo career, she secured a recording contract with the now-defunct Cannonball Records and recorded two albums for them:Born with the Blues(1999) andSay Baby Say(2000). Her 2004 album,I'm on the Move,was released byEastlawn Records.In 2006 she released the EPDetroit's Queen of the Blues,which was named Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording at the 2006Detroit Music Awards.[1]At age 91 she recordedDetroit Is My Home,withAnn RabsonandThornetta Davis.[2][3]

Early life

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Adams was born asRoberta Louise Osbornon July 26, 1917,[4]inIndianapolis, Indiana.She was raised in Detroit by family members, initially an aunt.[2]From an early age she wanted to be an entertainer.[5]Escaping a difficult home life at age fourteen, she began living on her own, getting a small apartment nearWoodward,where she stayed for five or six years.[6]

She began performing as atap dancerin Detroit'sHastings Streetclubs in Detroit and began singing shortly after.[2]In the 1940s, she appeared at the B&Cclubas a tap dancer, among artists such asJohn Lee Hooker.When headliner Kitty Stevenson was too ill to perform one night, Adams gave an impromptu two-song performance, as a result of which the club hired her as a vocalist for a five-year stint.[6]Among her contemporaries and musical teachers on Hastings Street were Hooker,Big Maceo Merriweather,Eddie "Guitar" Burns,andEddie Kirkland.[2]

Music career

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Early years

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PhilandLeonard Chess,ofChess Records,heard Adams performing on Hastings Street and signed her as a vocalist in the 1950s.[7]With Chess she recorded withRed Saunders's band, among other artists. Several of her recordings were included on Chess compilations in the 1990s. For a time she was a member of the Bluesettes, a vocal group that toured as part ofTiny Bradshaw's big band. She also recorded forSavoy RecordsinNewark, New Jersey,releasing the single "Say Baby Say", with theT.J. FowlerBand.[2]

Adams toured withLouis Jordan,T-Bone Walker,Duke Ellington,Eddie Vinson,andLionel Hampton,among others.[2]After a hiatus from heavy performing and recording, she began touring with the guitaristJohnnie Bassettin the 1990s.[8]

In 1997 she contributed to the Detroit edition ofBlues Across America.AllMusic stated that, "Chanteuse Alberta Adams, a long time fixture on the scene, closes things out with four wonderful sides using a core band that revolves around Johnnie Bassett. With this entry in this important series, it's obvious that Detroit blues is alive, well and thriving."[9]According to AllMusic, the album gave her career a boost[10]and led to a recording contract for her upcoming solo albums.[2]

Solo albums

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Cannonball Records

In her solo career, Adams secured arecording contractwith the now-defunct Cannonball Records and recorded two albums for them:Born with the Blues(1999) andSay Baby Say(2000). According to AllMusic, "Both albums were well received by blues critics and blues DJs, and they helped relaunch her touring career, as she frequented festivals around the U.S. and Canada in the late '90s and in 2000."[2]

Her debut solo album,Born with the Blues,was released on February 16, 1999.[10]She composed most of the songs and recorded them with a band featuring the guitaristJohnnie Bassett[10]and the pianistBill Heid.[10]Born with the BluesmadeLiving Bluesmagazine's Top 25 Albums for 1999.[2]It received a positive review from AllMusic: "Adams runs through a batch of tunes ranging fromjump blues,New Orleans R&B,smoky ballads and jazzy slow blues. A seasoned performer, Adams still has a sizable amount of honey in her voice...just solid singing by a true American music treasure. "[10]

Her second solo album,Say Baby Say,released on June 6, 2000, was recorded in October 1999. She again composed many of the songs.Bill Heid,the pianist from her previous release, produced the album and contributed to the composition of some songs. The drummer R.J. Spangler was a co-producer.MTVpraised the backing band, saying they offered "tasteful support" and stating that "the main attraction here is the forcefully husky-voiced Adams. Emphasizing her candid attitude and masterful timing helps overcome the occasional moments where her expressive voice has been thinned by age."[7]According to MTV, Adams "stared down considerable challenges and wastes no time with pity or tact on her new albumSay Baby Say: Life’s Trials and Tribulations According to Miss Alberta Adams."[7]The album received four out of five stars fromAllMusic,which stated that in the album "Adams looked back on a life raising three children and three stepchildren, four marriages, and decades of blues performance. Such a life has its contrasts of ups and downs reflected in the album."[11]

Eastlawn Records

According to JP Blues, "her solo career enjoyed a resurgence starting in the 1990s with her association with manager and musician R.J. Spangler [of Eastlawn Records]."[12]

"[InI'm on the Move] her voice oozes with a seasoned blues singer's gruffness, but never falters on pitch, and she knows exactly how to phrase a line. Despite some of her darker days, Adams also brings a wicked sense of humor to the proceedings. "[8]
— Matt Collar of AllMusic[8]

Her 2004 album,I'm on the Move,was released byEastlawn Records,a Detroit label operated by Spangler. Backing musicians on the album, billed as the Rhythm Rockers, included Paul Carey (guitarist and co-producer) and Spangler (bandleader, drummer, and co-producer). The album was recorded in July 2003 and released in 2004.[8]AllMusic gave it a glowing review and 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating the album "finds Adams at the top of her game and seeming to enjoy herself."[8]The review also praised the production team, stating that Carey and Spangler "add an electric R&B aesthetic to the proceedings riding nicely between gutbucket shouters, mid-tempo swing and funky urban blues."[8]

In 2006 her EPDetroit's Queen of the Blueswith the Rhythm Rockers was released by Eastlawn. It was named Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording at the 2006Detroit Music Awards.[1]

At age 91, Adams recordedDetroit Is My Home,released by Eastlawn in 2008.[3][13]She composed many of the songs. Background vocals were contributed by CeeCee Collins andThornetta Davis.Among the band members wereShawn McDonald(organ),Ann Rabson(piano and composition), and Spangler (drums and production).[13]

Final years and death

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Adams was active as a performer and recording artist in her final years. In 2009 she contributed vocals and composition to the albumLocal Boys,by the Motor City Horns, and in 2010 she was a composer and guest artist onBlowin' Away the Blues,by Planet D Nonet. The following year she was a primary artist on the compilation albumThe Eternal Myth Revealed Vol. 1,featuring her older tracks with Red Saunders on Chess Records, and in 2013 she was a primary artist on the compilation albumDefinitive Detroit Blues,released by Not Now Music.[2]

In February 2014, the singersThornetta Davisand Tosha Owens were featured in the concert "To Alberta with Love", a tribute to Adams, who was then 96 years old.[12]

Adams died on December 25, 2014, at the age of 97, inDearborn, Michigan.[14][15][16]

A tribute concert was given by her niece, singer Lily Delois Adams, in Detroit in July 2016.[17]

Style

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AllMusic has called her "the personification of theDetroit bluesscene, "stating that" the undisputed, unrivaled, peerless Detroit Queen of the Blues is Alberta Adams. "[11]Mostly a self-taught vocalist,[2]Adams mentioned theblues shouterBig Joe Turnerand the singer-songwritersDinah Washington,Sarah Vaughan,andLaVern Bakeras some of her earliest musical influences.[2]

Discography

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Solo recordings

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Studio albums

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Year Album title Release details
1999 Born with the Blues
  • Released Feb 16, 1999
  • Label: Cannonball Records
  • Format:cassette,CD[10]
2000 Say Baby Say
  • Released June 6, 2000
  • Label: Cannonball Records
  • Format: CD[11]
2004 I'm on the Move
(with the Rhythm Rockers)
2008 Detroit Is My Home
  • Released 2008
  • Label: Eastlawn Records
  • Format: CD[13]

EPs

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Year Album title Release details Certifications
2006 Detroit's Queen of the Blues
(with the Rhythm Rockers)
  • Released 2006
  • Label:Eastlawn(ELD-016)
  • Format: CD
 2006Detroit Music Awards:Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording

Singles (incomplete list)

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Year Title Album Certifications,Notes
1962 "I Got a Feeling" 7 "single Thelma Records
1992 "Remember" Chess Blues Chess Recordscompilation
1999 "Say Baby Say" Single only Cannonball Records

[18]

Composition and performance credits

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Yr Release title Primary artist(s) Label Notes, role
1989 Traffic Mania Joe Hunter,Baby Pepper Meda Records Vocals
1991 The Blues, Vol. 6: 50s Rarities Various Chess/MCA Vocals
1992 Chess Blues Various Chess Track "Remember" (composer, primary artist, vocals)
1997 Blues Across America: The Detroit Scene Adams,The Butler Twins,Johnnie Bassett Cannonball Composer, primary artist, vocals[9]
1999 Men Are Like Street Cars: Women Blues Singers 1928–1969 Various Geffen/MCA Primary artist, vocals
2004 1948–1953 T.J. Fowler Classics Vocals
2004 I'm A Bad, Bad Girl: Seven Dozen Dusky Divas 1939–195 Various Track "Messin' Around with the Blues"
2005 Best of Motor City Music Conference 2005 Various Detroit Fr Primary artist, vocals
2006 Blues from the Heart, Vol. 3(live album) Various The Soup Kitchen Saloon Primary artist, vocals
2006 Golden Greats of Blues Various Weton-Wesgram Vocals
2008 Uncut Detroit, Vol. II Various Venture Primary artist
2009 Local Boys The Motor City Horns Brassjar Composer, vocals
2010 Blowin' Away the Blues Planet D Nonet Eastlawn Composer, guest artist, vocals
2011 The Eternal Myth Revealed Vol.1 Adams,Red Saunders Transparency Primary artist (compilation of Chess singles)
2013 Definitive Detroit Blues Various Not Now Music Primary artist

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Eastlawn Discography".Eastlawn Records.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-26.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  2. ^abcdefghijklSkelly, Richard J."Alberta Adams Biography".AllMusic.Retrieved2007-08-04.
  3. ^ab"Alberta Adams".Spangler Blues Productions. Archived fromthe originalon 28 August 2007.Retrieved2007-08-04.
  4. ^Komara, Edward (ed.) (2006),Encyclopedia of the Blues,Routledge
  5. ^Maddix Johnson, Jacquie (June 24, 2000)."Interview with Alberta Adams - Apple River Blues Festival".Minnesota Blues.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  6. ^abMurphy, Michael (August 17, 2005)."Ladies sing the blues".Metro Times.Archived fromthe originalon June 17, 2014.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  7. ^abcBowen, Bliss (June 6, 2000)."Alberta Adams: No Handouts".MTV.Archived fromthe originalon August 3, 2021.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  8. ^abcdefgCollar, Matt (2004)."I'm on the Move".AllMusic.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  9. ^abKoda, Cub (1997)."Blues Across America: The Detroit Scene".AllMusic.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  10. ^abcdefKoda, Cub (February 16, 1999)."Born with the Blues".AllMusic.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  11. ^abcSchulte, Tom (June 6, 2000)."Say Baby Say".AllMusic.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  12. ^ab"Alberta Adams tribute honors 'Detroit's Queen of the Blues'".JB Blues. February 28, 2014.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  13. ^abc"Detroit is My Home".AllMusic.2008.Retrieved2014-06-10.
  14. ^Graff, Gary (December 25, 2014)."Alberta Adams, the Queen of Detroit blues, dies at 97".Macomb Daily.Archived fromthe originalon 2014-12-25.Retrieved2014-12-25.
  15. ^Detroit Free Press,"Detroit blues legend Alberta Adams dies at 97",December 25, 2014
  16. ^Graff, Gary (26 December 2014)."Alberta Adams, Detroit's 'Queen of the Blues', Dies at 97".Billboard.Retrieved12 October2023.
  17. ^"Lily Adams Performs Live In Studio".Wdet.org.13 July 2016.Retrieved12 October2023.
  18. ^"45 Discography for Thelma Records".Globaldogproductions.info.Retrieved26 December2014.
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