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

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, she began performing as a

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

r and

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

in the 1930s. In 1952, she signed a recording contract with Chess Records and recorded with Red Saunders for the

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

. She toured with Duke Ellington,

Eddie Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...

, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton, and

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''R ...

, 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) and ''Say Baby Say'' (2000). Her 2004 album, ''I'm on the Move'', was released by Eastlawn Records. In 2006 she released the EP ''Detroit's Queen of the Blues'', which was named Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording at the 2006

Detroit Music Awards The Detroit Music Awards Foundation is a Michigan 501(c)(3) organization, whose mission is to recognize Detroit area musicians working on a national, regional, and local level. The Foundation supports and nurtures the musical community in Detroi ...

. At age 91 she recorded ''Detroit Is My Home'', with Ann Rabson and

Thornetta Davis Thornetta Davis (born August 11, 1963) is an American Detroit blues and rhythm and blues singer. She has opened for Bonnie Raitt, Gladys Knight, and Etta James, and sang backing vocals on Bob Seger's 1991 album, ''The Fire Inside''. She also worke ...

Early life

Adams was born as Roberta Louise Osborn on July 26, 1917, in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. She was raised in Detroit by family members, initially an aunt. From an early age she wanted to be an entertainer. Escaping a difficult home life at age fourteen, she began living on her own, getting a small apartment near Woodward, where she stayed for five or six years. She began performing as a

tap dancer Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

in Detroit's Hastings Street clubs in Detroit and began singing shortly after. In the 1940s, she appeared at the B&C

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

as a tap dancer, among artists such as John 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. Among her contemporaries and musical teachers on Hastings Street were Hooker,

Big Maceo Merriweather Major Merriweather (March 31, 1905 – February 23, 1953), better known as Big Maceo Merriweather, was an American pianist and blues singer. He was mainly active in Chicago through the 1940s. Career Born in Newnan, Georgia, he was a self-tau ...

Eddie "Guitar" Burns Eddie "Guitar" Burns (February 8, 1928 – December 12, 2012) was an American Detroit blues guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter. His career spanned seven decades. Among Detroit bluesmen, Burns was deemed to have been exceeded in ...

, and

Eddie Kirkland Eddie Kirkland (August 16, 1923 – February 27, 2011) was an American electric blues guitarist, harmonicist, singer, and songwriter. Kirkland, known as the "Gypsy of the Blues" for his rigorous touring schedules, played and toured with John ...

Music career

Early years

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root ter ...

and

Leonard Chess Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago bl ...

, of Chess Records, heard Adams performing on Hastings Street and signed her as a vocalist in the 1950s. With Chess she recorded with Red 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 of

Tiny Bradshaw Myron Carlton "Tiny" Bradshaw (September 23, 1907 – November 26, 1958)
- accessed July 2010 was an American

's big band. She also recorded for Savoy Records in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.T.J. Fowler Band. Adams toured with Louis Jordan,

, Duke Ellington,

, and Lionel Hampton, among others. After a hiatus from heavy performing and recording, she began touring with the guitarist Johnnie Bassett in the 1990s. In 1997 she contributed to the Detroit edition of ''Blues 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." According to Allmusic, the album gave her career a boost and led to a recording contract for her upcoming solo albums.

Solo albums

;Cannonball Records In her solo career, Adams secured a recording contract with the now-defunct Cannonball Records and recorded two albums for them: ''Born with the Blues'' (1999) and ''Say 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." Her debut solo album, ''Born with the Blues'', was released on February 16, 1999. She composed most of the songs and recorded them with a band featuring the guitarist Johnnie Bassett and the pianist Bill Heid. ''Born with the Blues'' made ''Living Blues'' magazine's Top 25 Albums for 1999. It received a positive review from Allmusic: "Adams runs through a batch of tunes ranging from jump blues,

New Orleans R&B New Orleans rhythm and blues is a style of rhythm and blues that originated in New Orleans. It was a direct precursor to rock and roll and strongly influenced ska. Instrumentation typically includes drums, bass, piano, horns, electric guitar, and ...

, 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." 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. MTV praised 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." According to MTV, Adams "stared down considerable challenges and wastes no time with pity or tact on her new album ''Say Baby Say: Life’s Trials and Tribulations According to Miss Alberta Adams.''" The album received four out of five stars from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, 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." ;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 f Eastlawn Records" Her 2004 album, ''I'm on the Move'', was released by Eastlawn 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. 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." 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." In 2006 her EP ''Detroit's Queen of the Blues'' with the Rhythm Rockers was released by Eastlawn. It was named Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording at the 2006

. At age 91, Adams recorded ''Detroit Is My Home'', released by Eastlawn in 2008. She composed many of the songs. Background vocals were contributed by CeeCee Collins and

. Among the band members were

Shawn McDonald Shawn Michael McDonald (born September 4, 1977) is a Contemporary Christian music (CCM) singer, songwriter and guitarist. Childhood As a child, McDonald lived with his grandparents because his parents could not take care of him. Not really un ...

(organ), Ann Rabson (piano and composition), and Spangler (drums and production).

Final years and death

Adams was active as a performer and recording artist in her final years. In 2009 she contributed vocals and composition to the album ''Local Boys'', by the Motor City Horns, and in 2010 she was a composer and guest artist on ''Blowin' Away the Blues'', by Planet D Nonet. The following year she was a primary artist on the compilation album ''The 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 album ''Definitive Detroit Blues'', released by Not Now Music. In February 2014, the singers

and Tosha Owens were featured in the concert "To Alberta with Love", a tribute to Adams, who was then 96 years old. Adams died on December 25, 2014, at the age of 97, in Dearborn, Michigan."Alberta Adams, Detroit's 'Queen of the Blues,' Dies at 97"
/ref> A tribute concert was given by her niece, singer Lily Delois Adams, in Detroit in July 2016.

Style

Allmusic has called her "the personification of the

Detroit blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narra ...

scene," stating that "the undisputed, unrivaled, peerless Detroit Queen of the Blues is Alberta Adams." Mostly a self-taught vocalist, Adams mentioned the

blues shouter A blues shouter is a blues singer, often male, capable of singing unamplified with a band. Notable blues shouters include: *Piney Brown * Walter Brown, of the Jay McShann orchestra *H-Bomb Ferguson *Wynonie Harris *Screamin' Jay Hawkins *Duke Hende ...

Big Joe Turner and the singer-songwriters

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

, Sarah Vaughan, and

LaVern Baker Delores LaVern Baker (November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American R&B singer who had several hit records on the pop chart in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were " Tweedle Dee" (1955), " Jim Dandy" (1956), and " ...

as some of her earliest musical influences.

Discography

Solo recordings

Studio albums

EPs

Singles (incomplete list)

Composition and performance credits

References

External links

Alberta Adams profile
EastlawnRecords.com; accessed December 25, 2014. * *
Alberta Adams
at

Alberta Adams
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Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Alberta 1917 births 2014 deaths Detroit blues musicians Jump blues musicians Chicago blues musicians American blues singers American women singers Chess Records artists Eastlawn Records artists 21st-century American women