American blues singer from New Orle… Read Full Bio ↴January 5, 1932 - September 14, 1998
American blues singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was known as "The Tan Canary" for the amazing range of his singing voice and his gospel influenced style. He began his career singing gospel, but crossed over to secular music in 1959 and scored a national hit with the single "I Won't Cry." That was followed by a string of regional hits in the 1960s which included "Release Me" and "Reconsider Me."
In the 1980s and 1990s Adams recorded several award-winning albums for Rounder Records. He died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1998 after a long battle with cancer
(2) Renowned around his Crescent City home base as "the Tan Canary" for his extraordinary set of soulfully soaring pipes, veteran R&B vocalist Johnny Adams tackled an exceptionally wide variety of material for Rounder in his later years; elegantly rendered tribute albums to legendary songwriters Doc Pomus and Percy Mayfield preceded forays into mellow, jazzier pastures. But then, Adams was never particularly into the parade-beat grooves that traditionally define the New Orleans R&B sound, preferring to deliver sophisticated soul ballads draped in strings.
Adams sang gospel professionally before crossing over to the secular world in 1959. Songwriter Dorothy LaBostrie -- the woman responsible for cleaning up the bawdy lyrics of Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" enough for worldwide consumption -- convinced her neighbor, Adams, to sing her tasty ballad "I Won't Cry." The track, produced by a teenaged Mac Rebennack, was released on Joe Ruffino's Ric logo, and Adams was on his way. He waxed some outstanding follow-ups for Ric, notably "A Losing Battle" (the Rebennack-penned gem proved Adams' first national R&B hit in 1962) and "Life Is a Struggle."
After a prolonged dry spell, Adams resurfaced in 1968 with an impassioned R&B revival of Jimmy Heap's country standard "Release Me" for Shelby Singleton's SSS imprint that blossomed into a national hit. Even more arresting was Adams' magnificent 1969 country-soul classic "Reconsider Me," his lone leap into the R&B Top Ten; in it, he swoops effortlessly up to a death-defying falsetto range to drive his anguished message home with fervor.
Despite several worthy SSS follow-ups ("I Can't Be All Bad" was another sizable seller), Adams never traversed those lofty commercial heights again (particularly disappointing was a short stay at Atlantic). But he found a new extended recording life at Rounder; his 1984 set, From the Heart, proved to the world that this Tan Canary could still chirp like a champ. With producer Scott Billington, he recorded some nine albums for the label prior to his cancer-related death on September 14, 1998. ~ Bill Dahl, Rovi
Release Me
Johnny Adams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, let me go, oh, yes
You see I, I don't
Love you anymore, no, no
To live
To never lie is a sin
If you don't need me
If you don't want me
Oh, baby, why don't you
Just let me love again
Oh, let me love again
I, I said I found
A new love, dear
Oh, let me tell you
About her right now
I'll always, said I'll always
I'll always want that
Girl right near
Oh, let me tell you how
Sweet she is, oh, yeah
Oh, yeah, her lips
You get that
Her lips are warm
While yours are cold
They're so doggone cold
I wonder what's
The matter, baby
But, girl, girl
Release me
If you don't want me
If you're just trying
To use me
Why don't you just
Why don't you just
Why don't you just
Let me go
Maybe you didn't hear what
I said that time, baby
Wanna say it one more time
Her lips are warm
While yours are cold
Please, release me, baby
Release me, baby
Girl, why don't you, oh
Just let me go
(Let me go)
The lyrics of the song "Release Me" by Johnny Adams depict a man pleading to his lover to let him go because he doesn't love her anymore. He tells her that living and not being truthful about his feelings is a sin and asks her to release him. The man confesses that he has found a new love and tells his former lover that he wants to love again. He compares the warmth of his new love's lips to the coldness of his former lover's lips and wonders what's the matter with her.
Throughout the song, the man asks his former lover to release him and let him go free. He believes that if she doesn't need or want him, then there's no use in holding onto their relationship. The song is a plea for freedom, to be able to move on and find love elsewhere. The lyrics express the turmoil someone goes through when trying to end a relationship but not knowing how to let go.
The emotions conveyed in this song are raw and relatable, with the lyrics touching on themes of love, loss, and the struggle to move on. Johnny Adams's soulful delivery of these lyrics elevates the song to a heartfelt ballad that resonates with listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
Please release me
I am requesting you to let me go
Oh, let me go, oh, yes
I want to be freed from this relationship
You see I, I don't love you anymore, no, no
I have fallen out of love and I am not interested in being with you anymore
To live
Living is important
To never lie is a sin
Lying is a sin and should be avoided
Oh, release me
I am pleading with you to let me go
If you don't need me
If I am no longer useful to you
If you don't want me
If you are not interested in me
Oh, baby, why don't you
I am questioning your motives for keeping me around
Just let me love again
I want to be free to love someone else
I, I said I found
I have discovered
A new love, dear
I have found a new love interest
Oh, let me tell you
I want to share with you
About her right now
I want to tell you about her immediately
I'll always, said I'll always
I will always
I'll always want that
I will always desire that
Girl right near
The new girl I have found
Oh, let me tell you how
I want to describe to you
Sweet she is, oh, yeah
She is very kind and lovely
Oh, yeah, her lips
Her lips are particularly significant
You get that
You understand
Her lips are warm
Her lips are warm to the touch
While yours are cold
Your lips are cold and unappealing
They're so doggone cold
They are particularly cold and uninviting
I wonder what's
I am curious
The matter, baby
Asking what the problem is with your behavior
But, girl, girl
However, my affection is still directed towards you
If you don't want me
If you are not interested in me
If you're just trying
If you are simply using me
To use me
To take advantage of me
Why don't you just
I am once again questioning your motives
Let me go
Please release me from this relationship
Maybe you didn't hear what
Perhaps you did not understand what I was saying
I said that time, baby
I previously made this clear to you
Wanna say it one more time
I want to repeat myself
Please, release me, baby
Once again, I am begging to be set free
Release me, baby
I am asking to be released from this relationship
Girl, why don't you, oh
I am once again questioning your motives
Just let me go
Please release me from this relationship
(Let me go)
I am reiterating my plea to be released
Contributed by Nicholas K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Timothy Ramlogan
“Wtf are these iguanas doing on my coffee table”
Ray Damoiseau
They're performing a good show !
Darío Lopez
Vine precisamente por esas líneas que pronuncia Nicolás Cage en la película!!! 😂😂😂😂😂
Salxero
there no aint no iguanas
4thQuarter2ndDwn H.P. Playincrazy
😂💀 Fucking Hilarious...
Nate Turpin
I love bad lieutenant.
Quiettime
Deserves wider recognition
Marion Brooks
Fantastic voice, what energy and power.....
Jimmy Richoux
Insane high and low notes......the one and only Johnny Adams...saw him and Aaron Neville perfform once at Jazz Fest....they sang Amazing Grace acapala....that memory never fades.
VJ JO , joop de Klein
The Best performend ever The Voice is perfect