Born in Indianapolis and raised in Detroit Alberta Adams is a deserving choice as our first female artist to be inducted to the Canada South Blues museum. By age 14 she was on her own and got her big break when she sang for a to ill to perform Kitty Stevenson. Her two song impromptu set led to a 5 year stint at Detroit's Hastings street clubs.
She has recorded with several records labels including Chess Records, Savoy Records, Cannonball and Eastlawn. The Blues Across America CD features four of her songs and began an association with guitarist Johnnie Bassett and pianist Bill Heid. Two solo albums resulted from this collaboration. The review from Allmusic states "Adams runs through a batch of tunes ranging from jump blues, New Orleans R&B, smoky ballads and jazzy slow blues. A seasoned performer, Adams still has a sizable amount of honey in her voice...just solid singing by a true American music treasure
Allmusic has called her "the personification of the Detroit blues scene," stating that "the undisputed, unrivaled, peerless Detroit Queen of the Blues is Alberta Adams." Mostly a self-taught vocalist, Adams mentioned the blues shouter Big Joe Turner and the singer-songwriters Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, and LaVern Baker as some of her earliest musical influences. An honorable addition to the Canada South Blues Museum. Alberta Adams passed away December 25, 2014