Artists & Bands

Oleta Adams tunes

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Oleta Adams joined Tears For Fears!

Seattle-born Oleta Adams began her career like many soul singers of her generation, singing Gospel in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Her self-financed and self-titled debut album was released in 1982 when she was in her early 30s, followed by Going On Record a year later.

Her second album, recorded live, predominantly featured her own compositions, with only two covers: If I Had A Hammer (Peter, Paul, and Mary) and The Greatest Love Of All (George Benson, later made famous by Whitney Houston).

These early albums didn’t achieve much success, leading Oleta to contribute background vocals for other artists.

In 1989, she contributed to Tears for Fears‘ most successful album, Seeds Of Love. The band discovered her performing in a Kansas City hotel in 1985.

Oleta joined the band on keyboards and vocals, singing a duet on Woman In Chains, which became her first hit. This track featured Phil Collins on drums, initiating a continued working relationship.

The subsequent world tour had Oleta opening as a solo artist and then performing with the band for the main show.

Roland Orzabal, one of the band members, went on to produce Oleta’s next album, the 1990 Circle of One.

On this album, her biggest hit emerged, a cover of Brenda Russell’s Get Here, which even received a Grammy nomination.

A side note involves the Gulf War, where the song’s success correlated with the large number of soldiers leaving the U.S. for Iraq. Wives back home purchased copies of Get Here and requested it on radio stations.

Post her peak solo career with Get Here, Adams continued working as a session singer for renowned artists.

Oleta Adams, post Get Here

Her next prominent appearance was on Elton John and George Michael’s rendition of Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me in 1991.

Her subsequent solo album, Evolution, released in 1993, featured notable tracks like New York State Of Mind (Billy Joel) and James Taylor’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.

In 1995, she ventured into modern R&B, blending her compositions with those written for her. However, this album didn’t achieve the success she had hoped for, despite including the Elton/George tune in its European edition.

This was followed by a Greatest Hits compilation, encompassing all her aforementioned hits: Get Here, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down, and Woman In Chains.

Although this album reached #46 in the Dutch charts, it didn’t surpass that mark.

The same year, she collaborated on Tears For Fears’ album, Raoul and the Kings of Spain.

She returned to her Christian roots with the album Come Walk with Me in 1997, which reached #4 in the Gospel charts.

During the following years, she collaborated with Tears For Fears again, released more solo albums (some featuring covers), including Nina Simone’s Feelin’ Good in 2009, and produced a Christmas album in 2006.

She released Moon River as a single in 2013, but her last album, Third Set, didn’t appear until 2017. This album included several covers, such as Joni Mitchel’s The River and Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind.