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Alberta Adams
Detroit's Legendary Blues Singer

Dee Dee McNeil
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DETROIT'S LEGENDARY BLUES SINGER,
ALBERTA ADAMS
By Dee Dee McNeil
Although she was born in Indianapolis , Indiana in the 1920's,
Alberta Adams calls Detroit home. She arrived in Motown as a
child and planted strong roots in the Motor City . Fascinated
by the bright lights of show business, Alberta got her start in
the 1940's as a dancer during Detroit 's Paradise Valley days.
Back in those days, Hastings street reigned supreme. When it
came to quality African-American entertainment, Hastings Street
was where the night spots were packed with some of the best
performers in the world; especially featuring the Blues.
Detroit clubs embraced such internationally respected blues
talent as their own John Lee Hooker, Big Maceo, Eddie Burns and
Eddie Kirkland. Alberta was right there, in the middle of the
scene, taking it all in and enjoying every moment.
One unexpected night, when the regular vocalist didn't show up
at the club where Alberta was dancing, she picked up the
microphone and added a new dimension to her act. It was on
Detroit 's historic Hastings Street that Phil and Leonard Chess
first heard Alberta sing her blues. This led to a contract with
their now famous Chess label in Chicago . She recorded a number
of tunes with the Red Saunders' band. Several of these
recordings have become legendary, and in later years, Alberta
's music was reissued on the Savoy Jazz label.
Ms. Adams has continued to "wow" audiences and pull the
deep-down emotions out of the blues for the past fifty years.
She recorded for Savoy with the T. J.Fowler Band, releasing
"Say Baby Say", a jumpin' swing blues that is still in her
repertoire today. For a while, Alberta Adams was part of a
vocal group called the Bluesettes with her partner, Chubby
Newsome. The Bluesettes toured as part of Tiny Bradshaw's Big
Band. On her own, Alberta Adams has toured extensively with
such historic company as Louis Jordan, Eddie "Cleanhead"
Vinson, T-Bone Walker, James Moody and even Duke Ellington.
Alberta took part in the Cannonball Record label's "Blues
Across America" series. She laid down four gritty urban blues
tracks with Johnnie Bassett's band, that featured Bill Heid on
piano. The success of these recordings landed Alberta another
record contract. She recorded "Born With the Blues" for the
Cannonball label, which received rave reviews and was listed in
Living Blues magazine as one of their top 25 album picks for
1999.
Although Alberta is constantly playing blues festivals all
across the United States and Canada , she is never too busy to
donate her time and talent to support a worthwhile cause. Most
recently, Alberta Adams participated as part of the Detroit
Diva's and Don Juan's of Song and Poetry Blues Review in
Detroit to assist the Detroit Links and Linkage Abstinence
Program.
When she isn't performing or supporting worthy causes, Alberta
can be found writing her own songs. She draws from a deep
resource of experiences taken from her full and colorful
lifetime. Ms. Adam's blues are full of wisdom, wit and
down-home truth as only she can express it. Like the blues
itself, Alberta Adams is a treasured and legendary piece of
Detroit 's important history!
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