Music & Dance
ALBERTA ADAMS
Detroit, Michigan
Blues
It is unclear whether Roberta Louise Osborne was born in either 1917 or the early 1920s in Indianapolis, but what is well known is that Roberta, raised in Detroit by an aunt, is now Alberta Adams, the “Grand Dame of Detroit Blues.” It was in the thick of the hopping Hastings Street club scene, the center of African American culture in Detroit for several decades, that with the help of her husband, Billy Adams, she began as a dancer in show clubs. When a club’s headliner singer fell sick, Alberta was asked at the last-minute to fill-in as a vocalist. The club’s manager was pleased and encouraged her to expand her repertoire to include jazz standards and blues. Largely a self-taught vocalist, Alberta counts Big Joe Turner, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and LaVern Baker among her earliest influences.
It was not long before her performance and recording career took off. In Detroit, Dave Clark heard her at a performance and signed her with Chess Records. As Alberta’s reputation spread beyond Detroit, she was invited to perform with other touring bands, including those of Duke Ellington (who brought her to Europe after hearing her at Detroit’s Flame Show Bar), Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, James Moody, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and T-Bone Walker. She has recorded with Red Saunders' band and the T.J. Fowler Band, and recorded a single, backed by the Funk Brothers, for a Thelma (Gordy) label. As part of the Bluesettes, she toured as part of Tiny Bradshaw's big band.
Alberta has been awarded three Detroit Music Awards—Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording (2006, 2009) and Outstanding Blues/R&B Vocalist (2009)—and has been nominated for ten W.C. Handy/Blues Music Awards.
Links
http://www.blue-suit.com/html/hastings.html http://bluesboys.com/home/alberta-adams/
http://www.mnblues.com/profile/albertaadams2000.html
http://metrotimes.com/music/artistprofile.asp?id=2858 http://www.eastlawnrecords.com/artists.htm
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