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Faye Adams (born Faye Tuell, circa
Circa

Circa means "in approximately", generally referring to a year. It is widely used in genealogy and historical writing, when the dates of events are approximately known....
 1923/1925, Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest City in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it not only List of Municipalities in New Jersey but also the 65th List of United States cities by population Newark is also home to major corporations, such as Prudential Financial....
) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 vocalist.

was the daughter of David Tuell, a gospel
Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
 singer and a key figure in the Church of God in Christ
Church of God in Christ

The Church of God in Christ, Incorporated is a Christian church in the Pentecostal tradition. The church has congregations in nearly 60 countries around the world....
 (COGIC). At the age of five she joined her sisters to sing spirituals, regularly appearing on Newark radio shows.

aye Scruggs (her married name), she became a regular performer in New York City nightclubs in the late 1940s and early 1950s.






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Faye Adams (born Faye Tuell, circa
Circa

Circa means "in approximately", generally referring to a year. It is widely used in genealogy and historical writing, when the dates of events are approximately known....
 1923/1925, Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest City in New Jersey, and the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey. Newark has a population of 281,402, making it not only List of Municipalities in New Jersey but also the 65th List of United States cities by population Newark is also home to major corporations, such as Prudential Financial....
) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 vocalist.

Biography


Early years

She was the daughter of David Tuell, a gospel
Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
 singer and a key figure in the Church of God in Christ
Church of God in Christ

The Church of God in Christ, Incorporated is a Christian church in the Pentecostal tradition. The church has congregations in nearly 60 countries around the world....
 (COGIC). At the age of five she joined her sisters to sing spirituals, regularly appearing on Newark radio shows.

Musical career

As Faye Scruggs (her married name), she became a regular performer in New York City nightclubs in the late 1940s and early 1950s. While performing in Atlanta, she was discovered by singer Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown

Ruth Brown was an United States Rhythm and blues singer, and actress noted for bringing a popular music style to rhythm and blues in a series of hit songs for fledgling Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and " He Treats Your Daughter Mean." For these contributions, Atlantic became known as "The house t...
, who won her an audition with bandleader Joe Morris
Joe Morris (trumpeter)

Joe Morris was an United States jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter and bandleader.He began his career as a jazz trumpeter, working and recording with Earl Bostic, Milt Buckner, Arnett Cobb, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin, Buddy Rich and Lionel Hampton....
 of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an United States record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm & blues, rock and roll, and jazz. Long one of the most important American independent labels, Atlantic now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group, which consolidated Atlantic Records and the Elektra Entertainment Group into one...
. Changing her name to Faye Adams, Morris recruited her as a singer in 1952, and signed her to Herald Records. Her first release was Morris' song "Shake A Hand", which topped the R&B charts for ten weeks in 1953 and also made # 22 on the pop charts. The song was later covered by many others including Little Richard
Little Richard

Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman , better known by the stage name Little Richard, is anAmerican singer, songwriter and pianist. He is considered a key figure in the transition from Rhythm and blues to Rock and roll in the 1950s....
, LaVern Baker
LaVern Baker

LaVern Baker was an United States rhythm and blues singer....
, Ruth Brown, and Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson

Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an United States singer. Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul music. Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group, The Dominoes, after going solo in 1957 he went on to record over fifty hit singles over a repertoire that included R&B, pop music, soul mu...
.

In 1954, Faye had two more R&B chart toppers with "I'll Be True" (covered by Bill Haley
Bill Haley

Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the mid-1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock"....
) and "Hurts Me To My Heart". During this period, she left the Morris band and was billed as "Atomic Adams", a tribute to her showmanship on stage. In 1955 she appeared in the movie Rhythm & Blues Revue, and in 1957 moved to Imperial Records
Imperial Records

Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 in music by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 in music by label owner EMI....
, but her commercial success diminished. By the late 1950s she was seen as an older recording artist whose time had come and gone, although she continued to record for various smaller labels until the early 1960s.

By 1963 she had retired from the popular music scene. She returned to her gospel roots and family life in New Jersey, and was reportedly unwilling to discuss her classic secular R&B recordings.

Musical influence

Alan Freed
Alan Freed

Alan Freed , also known as Moondog, was an United States disc-jockey who became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll....
 called Adams the "little gal with the big voice". Adams was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation
Rhythm and Blues Foundation

The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent United States nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music....
 in 1998.

Discography

  • July, 1953 -Shake A Hand - Herald
  • November, 1953 - I'll Be True - Herald
  • August, 1954 - Hurts Me To My Heart - Herald


External links

  • Marion JC (2000).
  • via rockabilly.nl