Adam Wade
A natural singer, vocalist/actor/drummer Adam Wade was influenced by Jesse Belvin, Johnny Mathis (who bounced out of the gate a few years before Wade), and Nat King Cole. Wade grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and briefly worked as a lab assistant for the famed Dr. Jonas Salk (who invented the vaccine for polio). He moved to New York in 1960 and tasted success instantly. He signed with CoEd Records and sang at the city's most prestigious club, The Copacabana, within six months of setting foot in the Big Apple. Wade scored a modicum of recording success in 1960 with "Ruby" and "I Can't Help It." He fared better in 1961 with three Top Ten singles: "Take Good Care of Her," "The Writing on the Wall," and "As if I Didn't Know." After two albums in 1960 and 1961, he left CoEd to replace Johnny Mathis at Epic. The move all but killed his recording career. He only charted once at Epic with "Crying in the Chapel," which reached number 88. Subsequent efforts failed to make much of an impact, and by 1969, Wade had dropped recording for acting. He found work doing voice-overs, including Sweet Lou Dunbar and Gismo Man on The Harlem Globetrotters Show, and started acting with roles in Wanderlove (1970) and Shaft (1971), followed by roles as Benjy in Comeback Charleston Blues (1972), Gordon's War (1973) playing Hustler, and Crazy Joe in Phantom of the Paradise and Claudine, both released in 1974. In 1976, he became the first African-American to host a national television talk show, Musical Chairs. Wade resurrected his recording career somewhat on Kirshner Records in 1978; this time he went for a funkier sound. On Kirshner, he recorded "Alexander's Soul Time Band," among others. In 1978, he played in an all-Black cast of Guys and Dolls in Las Vegas for six months. He returned to acting in 1982 with Kiss Me Goodbye, in which he played Roscoe, and worked quietly behind the scenes thereafter. Several years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Adam Wade died in Montclair, New Jersey at the age of 87.
© Andrew Hamilton /TiVo
Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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The Coed Albums: And Then Came Adam / Adam and Evening
Pop - Released by Omnivore Recordings on 11 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Very Good Year for Girls
World - Released by TP4 Music on 6 Jan 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Golden Hits (Remastered)
Pop - Released by Master Tape Records on 17 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Live at the Magnet Theater
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Adam Wade on 1 May 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Hits
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Classic Music International on 17 May 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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One Is a Lonely Number
World - Released by TP4 Music on 1 Jan 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Human Comedy
Humour/Spoken Word - Released by Comedy Dynamics, A Nacelle Company on 11 Sep 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take Good Care of Her
Pop - Released by JB Production CH on 4 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take Good Care of Her (Remastered)
Pop - Released by Gold & Diamond on 16 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Adam Wade's Greatest Hits
Lounge - Released by Milestones Records on 26 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Take Good Care of Her
Pop - Released by CTS Digital on 6 Jun 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo