Alberta Adams

Alberta Adams (July 26, 1917 – December 25, 2014) was an American blues singer.

Raised in Detroit, Michigan, she began performing as a tap dancer and nightclub singer in the 1930s. In 1952, she signed a recording contract with Chess Records and recorded with Red Saunders for the label. She toured with Duke Ellington, Eddie Vinson, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton, and T-Bone Walker, among others.

In her solo career, she secured a recording contract with the now-defunct Cannonball Records and recorded two albums for them: Born with the Blues (1999) and Say Baby Say (2000). Her 2004 album, I'm on the Move, was released by Eastlawn Records. In 2006 she released the EP Detroit's Queen of the Blues, which was named Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording at the 2006 Detroit Music Awards. At age 91 she recorded Detroit Is My Home, with Ann Rabson and Thornetta Davis.

Birth and Death Data: Born (Indianapolis (capital city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County)), Died December 25, 2014 (Dearborn (city in Wayne County, Michigan, USA) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1953

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Chess U7535 10-in. 12/31/1953 Messin' around with the blues Alberta Adams vocalist  
Chess U7536 10-in. 12/31/1953 This morning Alberta Adams vocalist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Adams, Alberta," accessed January 5, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/376601.

Adams, Alberta. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 5, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/376601.

"Adams, Alberta." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 5 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/376601

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