Johnny Adams
| Johnny Adams | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Laten John Adams, Jr. |
| Born | January 5, 1932 |
| Origin | New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
| Died | September 14, 1998 (aged 66) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States |
| Genres | Gospel, R&B, soul, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | c.1950–1998 |
| Labels | Ric, Gone, Modern, Watch, SSS International, Atlantic, Ariola, Rounder |
Laten John Adams, Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), known as Johnny Adams, was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest hits were his versions of "Release Me" and "Reconsider Me" in the late 1960s.
Adams was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the oldest of 10 children. He became a professional musician on leaving school. He began his career singing gospel with the Soul Revivers and Bessie Griffin's Consolators, but crossed over to secular music in 1959. His neighbor, the songwriter Dorothy LaBostrie, supposedly persuaded him to start performing secular music after hearing him sing in the bathtub. He recorded LaBostrie's ballad "I Won't Cry" for Joe Ruffino's Ric label. Produced by the teenaged Mac Rebennack (later known as Dr. John), the record became a local hit. Adams recorded several more singles for the label over the next three years, most of them produced by Rebennack or Eddie Bo. His first national hit came in 1962, when "A Losing Battle", written by Rebennack, reached number 27 on the Billboard R&B chart.
After Ruffino's death in 1963, Adams left Ric and recorded for a succession of labels, including Eddie Bo's Gone Records, the Los Angeles–based Modern Records, and Wardell Quezergue's Watch label. His records had little success until he signed with Shelby Singleton's Nashville-based SSS International Records in 1968. A reissue of "Release Me", originally released by Watch, reached number 34 on the R&B chart and number 82 on the pop chart. Its follow-up, "Reconsider Me", a country song produced by Singleton, became his biggest hit, reaching number 8 on the R&B chart and number 28 on the pop chart in 1969. Two more singles, "I Can't Be All Bad" and "I Won't Cry" (a reissue of the Ric recording), were lesser hits later the same year, and the label released an album, Heart and Soul.
...
Wikipedia