Yolanda Adams - Biography
By J Poet
Yolanda Adams is an innovative contemporary Gospel singer and a four-time Grammy-winning songwriter and producer who combines jazz, R&B, pop, and traditional Gospel music into her innovative style. She uses secular music to bring her ministry to as many listeners as possible.
Adams was born in Houston, Texas in 1964, the oldest of the six children in a house filled with music. Her mother majored in music in college and exposed her children to symphonies, jazz, R&B, and modern gospel music. Adams attended Sterling High School in Houston and graduated from Texas Southern University in the early 1980s. She worked briefly as a model and elementary school teacher, singing weekends in Houston’s Southeast Inspirational Choir. She became the choir’s featured vocalist and was then signed as a solo artist by Sound of Gospel Records in 1986.
Adams’ first album, Just as I Am (1988 Sound of Gospel Records), was marked by her bluesy phrasing and powerful vocals. It immediately jumped into the Top 10 on Billboard’s Gospel charts. When Tribute Records offered her a contract, she quit her teaching job and made Through the Storm (1991 Tribute), which included four of her own compositions. The album was another hit and scored Adams a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. The album also won a Dove Award, an Excellence Award, and the Stellar Award for Best Female Contemporary Gospel Artist. 1993’s Save the World (1993 Tribute) won three more Stellar Awards: Album of the Year, Song of the Year (for “The Battle Is the Lord's”), and Best Solo Album by a Female Performer. For Yolanda Adams at Her Very Best (1993 Paula) she collaborated with the Southeast Inspirational Choir for another uplifting set.
More Than a Melody (1995 Tribute), released in 1995, extended her winning streak with "Gotta Have Love,” which became her first music video. The song won Adams a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award. The following year saw the release of Yolanda Live in Washington (1996 Verity), which showcased her talent at blending jazz, R&B, pop, and traditional Gospel. That same year she also headlined the 20th Annual Festival of Black Gospel Music and took home another Stella for Female Vocalist of the Year. After Songs From the Heart (1998 Verity), which included the hits "Only Believe" and "Still I Rise," Adams signed with Elektra in 1999 for the pop blockbuster Mountain High...Valley Low (1999 Elektra). Produced in part by star-makers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the album added hip-hop and electronic textures to the mix and picked up a Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album Grammy. The album went multi-platinum behind singles like “Yeah,” "Fragile Heart,” and "Open My Heart.”
In 2000, Christmas with Yolanda Adams (2000 Elektra) delivered favorite hymns and contemporary songs with a warm, winning soulful vibe and The Experience (2001 Elektra), a live album, won her another Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album Grammy. Believe (2001 Elektra), her next studio effort, went gold. 2005’s Day by Day (2005 Atlantic) was another pop hit with the crossover singles “Someone Watching Over You,” “This Too Shall Pass,” “Victory,” and “Be Blessed,” which won that year’s Grammy for Best Gospel Song. In 2006, the single “Victory” also earned her a Best Gospel Performance Grammy.
She made her second Christmas album, What a Wonderful Time (2007 Columbia) for Columbia in 2007. That same year, she launched The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, a weekly lifestyle and music show that is syndicated over 28 stations on the Radio One network.
