Arthur Adams (born December 25, 1943) is an American blues guitarist from Medon, Tennessee. Inspired by B.B. King and other 1950s artists, he played gospel music before attending college. He moved to Los Angeles, and during the 1960s and 1970s he released solo albums and worked as a session musician. In 1985 he was tapped to tour on bass guitar with Nina Simone, and he staged a comeback in the 1990s when he released Back on Track, and became a respected Chicago blues player and bandleader in B.B. King's clubs.
A prolific songwriter, with a blues style that incorporated a variety of genres, and a vocalist with a funky, soul-driven sound, Adams is known for his collaboration with many of blues' elite and continues to perform to date.
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Early life
Arthur Adams was born on December 25, 1943, in Medon, Tennessee. At the age of six, he sang in the church choir, but did not begin playing the guitar until he was a teenager. In the mid-1950s, he learned the instrument from his mother, by copying her finger positions. He was inspired by artists such as B.B. King, Howard Carroll of Dixie Hummingbirds, Elmore James and Muddy Waters, which he listened to on the radio.
Adams formed a group with his cousins, called the Gospel Travelers, who toured Tennessee and Arkansas. The group was disbanded when he moved to Tennessee to attend the State University, where he studied music and played in the school's resident jazz and blues band.
Professional career
Adams began playing the blues professionally at a local student bar called the Club Baron. He toured with Gene Allison's band as a backup singer. Allison had success in 1957 with "You Can Make It If You Try" on the Vee-Jay label. Adams was stranded by Allison in Dallas after a tour. He remained there from February 1959 until April 1964, working in local nightclubs including the Clubhouse and the Empire Room, playing with Lightnin' Hopkins, Chuck Berry, Elmore James, and Lowell Fulson. On one occasion, Adams supported Buddy Guy. Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Beck, who had a hit record, the instrumental "Pipe Dream" (on the Champion Records label), hired Arthur in 1959. During his early career, he played gospel and blues.
In the early 1960s, he produced several singles, including "If It Ain't One Thing It's Another"/"Willin' To Die" on Philadelphia-based Jamie Records, which was produced in Dallas by Al Klein, who went on to become a Motown representative.
On the Dutchess record label, he released "I Had A Dream" in 1961. He also released "The Same Thing"/"Tend To Your Business" on the Valdot label, which was owned by Nashville songwriter Ted Jarrett.
On some of Adams' records, up until the late 1960s, he was credited as Arthur K. Adams – the "K" being a marketing device, with no particular significance. It was the idea of promoter/singer Scotty McKay (Max Karl Lipscomb).
In 1964, Adams moved to Los Angeles, California, after a DJ in Fort Worth recommended Adams as a session player to Vee-Jay Records. Although he recorded a session, it was never released. That same year, he began working as a session musician full-time, working with Quincy Jones, and recording singles for the notorious Bihari Brothers (on the Kent Records label), and for Hugh Masekela on the Chisa label. The move was lucrative for Adams, who not only made a name for himself in the clubs, but also became a prolific studio musician, contributing to movies and soundtracks, playing on hundreds of sessions with artists ranging from Lou Rawls to Henry Mancini.
He produced both blues and soul music on the Modern label, and with Edna Wright (later lead singer of Honey Cone), he sang a duet called "Let's Get Together", using the name Arthur & Mary. Upon recommendation from Bobby Womack, Adams appeared in the house band for a TV program hosted by NFL defensive tackle Rosey Grier, who was also a singer. This led to further studio work in Los Angeles; he played on recordings by the Jackson 5, Henry Mancini, Lou Rawls, Willie Hutch, Sonny Bono, Nancy Wilson, Kim Weston, the Ballads (on their 1968 single "God Bless Our Love"), Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, Ltd. (on the 1969 single "Black Pearl", produced by Phil Spector), and others.
Discography
Charted singles
"You Got the Floor" (1981) – UK #38