Oleta Adams

This fine soul singer had a typical gospel upbringing in Yakima, Washington, USA. Adams formed her own trio in the 80s and recorded two self-funded albums for a Kansas label that sold poorly. She was singing cabaret in a hotel bar in Kansas when she was discovered by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears For Fears in 1985. In 1987, they invited her to sing on two tracks, "Woman In Chains" and "Badman's Song', on their much vaunted The Seeds Of Love. She went on to join the band as a semi-permanent third member, both live and in the studio. This led to her own contract with Tears For Fears" Phonogram label, and Orzabal was on hand to produce her solo Circle Of One, which topped the UK chart and reached the US Top 20. Her first single from it, "Rhythm Of Life", was originally written by Orzabal for The Seeds Of Love, but was eventually omitted. Her biggest hit to date came with the Brenda Russell song, "Get Here", which broke into both the UK and US Top 5 in early 1991. The follow-up Evolution was less successful. Her third album, Moving On, reversed the trend of smooth balladry to funky, up-tempo, dance-orientated numbers, including a powerful cover version of Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me'. Adams moved into the gospel market with 1997"s Come Walk With Me, and returned to her familiar smooth R&B in 2002 with All The Love. Whatever style of music she attempts, her voice is consistently outstanding, she needs consistently good songs to feed this talent.

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