Johnny Adams, 66, 'Transcendent' Singer Submitted by N.O.V.A. July 2005 Times Picayune 09-15-1998 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ If a voice can give Aaron Neville chills, it must be something special. Johnny Adams, who died Monday of cancer in Baton Rouge at 66, had such a voice. During a 40-year career, Mr. Adams sang earthy rhythm and blues, elegant jazz, soul- stirring gospel and even country and western, all with a technical ability and inherent emotion unrivaled in the annals of New Orleans music. "Johnny has been one of my heroes since I can remember," Neville said Monday. "As far as I'm concerned, between Johnny Adams and my brother Cyril, they're the best singers in the world." "It was one of the most beautiful and expressive voices I ever heard," said Scott Billington, who produced Mr. Adams' nine most recent albums for Rounder Records. "Add to that his musicianship and a certain spirituality, it's an unbeatable combination. What Johnny was really about was not just the beauty of his voice and not just his musicianship, but his ability to deliver an absolutely transcendent performance. When Johnny connected with a song, you could feel it." "He had a voice like an angel," said Cosimo Matassa, who owned the studio where Mr. Adams cut many of his early singles. "He was dedicated to his art, and worked hard at it. The two greatest New Orleans singers are he and Aaron Neville. And they stand shoulder-to-shoulder. He was a great natural singer." Mr. Adams, whose musical skills earned him the nickname "the Tan Canary," was born in the Hollygrove section of New Orleans. As a child, he sang in a church choir, then in gospel quartets. When songwriter Dorothy Labostrie first approached him about attempting an R&B song, he was hesitant. "I've always been the type of guy who, when he does something, does it all the way," Mr. Adams told Jeff Hannusch, author of "I Hear You Knockin'," a history of New Orleans R&B. "I wasn't going to record a blues song and then go and sing gospel the rest of the time. I didn't think that was right. It took me a long time to make up my mind to cut R&B." Mr. Adams eventually agreed to record "I Won't Cry" for the local Ric Records label in 1959. Produced by Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack, the blues ballad became a regional hit and influenced a generation of up-and-coming singers, including Aaron Neville, who recalls trying to imitate Adams' swooping vocal style on the song. In the early 1960s, Mr. Adams and several other New Orleans singers auditioned for Motown Records in Detroit. Motown could have propelled him to national fame, but the company decided not to sign Mr. Adams because of Ric Records owner Joe Ruffino's threat of legal action, Hannusch said in his book. Mr. Adams went on to score a minor national hit with "Release Me" in 1968, followed by a country-tinged ballad, "Reconsider Me," that hit No.28 on the national charts in 1969. Throughout the 1970s, his recording career was haphazard as he cut singles for several regional labels. He performed in small local nightclubs such as Dorothy's Medallion Lounge, often with a band led by guitarist Walter "Wolfman" Washington. In the mid-1980s, however, Mr. Adams signed with Rounder Records, a Massachusetts label that is home to many Louisiana artists, and his career blossomed. Nine albums for Rounder established him once again as a world-class vocalist. He settled in Baton Rouge, toured Europe in the summer and was featured at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Attired in his trademark brightly colored suits, he performed R&B at the Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl and jazz at Snug Harbor. Harry Connick Jr. recorded with him. Bonnie Raitt paid tribute to him from the stage at this year's Jazzfest. Mr. Adams was diagnosed with cancer last fall. Legions of his fellow musicians turned out for benefits to help with his medical expenses. During one benefit at Tipitina's, Neville wanted to sing "Amazing Grace" with Mr. Adams, but knew he wasn't feeling well. "I was going to call him up, but I didn't want him to come up there feeling bad," Neville said. "The next thing I knew, I felt his presence. I turned around, and that was a moment that I wanted to cry. I heard his voice, and it went through me like gold and silver. That was special." Mr. Adams was scheduled to record a new album in Nashville, Tenn., this spring, but the sessions were moved to New Orleans because of his illness. He was determined to finish what became his final album, the soul collection "Man of My Word," which was released in August. "It wasn't easy for him to make the record," Billington said. "It's a miracle it was finished. I'm still moved to tears when I listen to his vocal performances on that record." On "Man of My Word," Mr. Adams and Neville sing duet on the gospel standard "Never Alone," realizing a longtime dream of recording together. "It was a labor of love," Neville said. "I'd get choked up when I was singing with him. It was special for everybody involved." Neville said Mr. Adams' voice was much more versatile than his own. "Johnny would be hitting notes that there was no way in the world I would try," he said. "He had that gospel background, and he had a powerful natural voice, a powerful falsetto. I could hear him singing anything. He could have sung opera, classical ... any kind of music there was, Johnny Adams could sing it. "I can sit down and listen to anything he sings. I can put his tapes on and just listen. Now I'm going to cry every time I listen to them." Survivors include his wife, Judy, and several children. Funeral arrangements are incomplete. D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home is in charge.