The oldest of six siblings, Adams was raised in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Sterling High School in Houston in 1979. After graduating from University of California Berkeley, she began a career as a schoolteacher and part-time model in Houston, Texas. Eventually she gave up teaching to perform full-time as a lead singer.
Musical career;
Beginnings;
Adams attracted the attention of Thomas Whitfield and Sound of Gospel Records as a lead singer in the Southeast Inspirational Choir. She signed a recording contract with Sound of Gospel which yielded her first album Just As I Am in 1987.[4] In 1990, she signed to Ben Tankard's independent label Tribute Records and released Through The Storm.
Two years later, Adams followed with Save the World, which included her first signature song "The Battle Is The Lord's". Her next release was 1995's More Than A Melody, which featured production work from Ben Tankard, O'Landa Draper, and BeBe Winans. The single "Gotta Have Love," from that album featuring Tony Terry on background vocals, gained mainstream notoriety and was her first single and music video. Yolanda... Live In Washington, released the following year, featured versions of material from her first two albums. The footage from this recording was released as a collection of two videos on VHS initially, and later as a single set on DVD.
Songs from the Heart was her final release for Verity Records and included "Only Believe" which was popular songs on contemporary radio. The album also included "Still I Rise," a dedication to Rosa Parks which was inspired by the Maya Angelou poem of the same name.
"Fragile Heart", was dedicated to the memory of Yolanda's long time road manager who died in 1998. Adams' first significant attention outside the urban contemporary gospel arena came with the release of Mountain High... Valley Low in 1999 on Elektra Records. Several mainstream artists and producers helped in the production of this album including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men), James "Big Jim" Wright (Mariah Carey, Nicole C. Mullen), Warryn Campbell (Mary Mary, Brandy), and Keith Thomas (BeBe & CeCe Winans). The album went Platinum in 2000 and won her a Grammy Award. Notable singles from the album include Yeah", "Fragile Heart", and "Open My Heart".
In 2000, Adams released a Christmas album, and in 2001 she released a live album (The Experience). The Experience netted Adams a second Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. Believe, which included the hit "Never Give Up" was released in 2001. She would later go on to perform this song at "The Salute to Gospel Music" at the White House during President George W. Bush's administration. Believe was certified Gold in 2002. The Divas Of Gospel, with Albertina Walker (queen of gospel), was also released in 2001.
Yolanda recorded a song for the 2003 film, Honey titled "I Believe" that played during the last scene in the final dance.
Adams was also a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.
Back after break;
After nearly four years without releasing an album, Adams returned in 2005 with Day By Day. Although charting higher than Mountain High...Valley Low on the Billboard 100, and Billboard R&B Albums Chart, It didn't get a RIAA certification. The album featured the singles "Be Blessed," "Someone Watching Over You," "This Too Shall Pass", and "Victory" which was prominently featured in the movie The Gospel. After ending her long association with Atlantic Records, They released a greatest hits collection entitled The Best of Me in May 2007. Adams signed with Columbia Records in 2007. Columbia released What a Wonderful Time, her second holiday collection in October 2007. "Hold On" was released as the lead single.
2008-Present;
In 2007 after releasing her holiday album with Columbia, She stated in different interviews that she was currently in the planning stages for a new album. Her official website states that it will be a duets project including possible collaborations with Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Natalie Cole, Trin-i-Tee 5:7, and Mary Mary. In a interview with Commercial Appeal. Adams stated that Chaka Khan, and Shirley Caesar might be on the new project also. In March 2009, she was interview by a FOX station in Houston, where she stated that her women's clothing line and new album is still in progress. The new album is currently untitled, and will be out in the last quarter of the year. She stated that the new album will be full of dance tracks. Adams' may do a secular album in the future.
Adams' song "Hold On" is included in a compilation in support of Barack Obama's campaign entitled 'Yes We Can: Voices of a Grass Roots Movement'.
Adams performed the National Anthem at the 2009 BCS National Championship game between the #1 University of Florida and #2 University of Oklahoma in Dolphin Stadium (Miami, Florida).
Personal life;
In 1997, Yolanda Adams married former NFL player Tim Crawford. The couple divorced in August 2004. They had one daughter, Taylor Ayanna, in 2001. Yolanda served as a spokesperson for the FILA Corporation's Operation Rebound, a program that addressed the concern of inner city schoolchildren. On October 15, 2008, Yolanda Adams' mother Carolyn Jean Adams died.
I'm Free
Yolanda Adams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Things i would do to be happy, would always break my heart,
But then one day I decided to give all my troubles to the lord,
He loosed the shackles that were holding me, and Satan had to flee and now
I am free, no more chains are binding me,
I am free,
I got a new way of living, no time for slipping,
Now that I can see above water,
I only have heaven in my view,
Lord I wanna thank you for the love you gave,
Cause it was your love that brought me through,
Oh no, no, no i can turn around and i wont look back,
For Lord you've set my spirit free
And now I am happy
I am free, no more chains are binding me,
I am free, I gotta brand new walk and a brand new talk,
I am free, no more chains are binding me, oh,
I'm free, gotta new way of living, no time for slipping...
I am free, I'm free,
Things I used to do I don't want to do no more,
Because I'm free, places I used to go,
I don't want to go no more because I'm free,
Satan no longer has authority over me,
Because He set me free,
Jesus set me free,
I love to call the name of Jesus because he set my soul free
I wanna walk in newness of life,
I wanna walk upright because I'm free...
The lyrics to Yolanda Adams's I'm Free reflect the theme of spiritual freedom achieved through the power of faith. The singer starts by reminiscing about a time when she was unhappy, trying to find happiness in things that were only breaking her heart. She then explains how one day she decided to surrender her problems to the Lord and he freed her from the shackles that were holding her. This new-found freedom allowed her to live a brand new way of life without slipping back into her old ways.
The chorus repeats the phrase "I am free" to reinforce the singer's message of feeling unbound from the chains that once held her down. The lyrics mention that the singer can now see above water with heaven in her view. She is grateful to the Lord for the love that brought her through the tough times. She acknowledges that Satan has no power over her anymore since Jesus set her free.
The final lines of the song express the singer’s desire to live a life of purity and righteousness, to walk upright because she is free. This song offers a message of hope and inspires the listener to have faith that they too can break free from the chains of life and follow a renewed path towards a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember when, my life was torn apart,
There was a time when my life was in pieces and I didn't know how to find happiness.
Things i would do to be happy, would always break my heart,
I tried various things to be happy, but they always ended up hurting me instead.
But then one day I decided to give all my troubles to the lord,
One day I decided to give my troubles to God.
He loosed the shackles that were holding me, and Satan had to flee and now
God freed me from the things that were holding me back, and Satan had to leave me alone.
I am free, no more chains are binding me,
I am now free from whatever was holding me back or causing me pain.
I got a new way of living, no time for slipping,
I have a new approach to life and I am no longer allowing myself to fall back into old habits.
Now that I can see above water,
Now that I can see more clearly and understand things better.
I only have heaven in my view,
All I can think about now is heaven and pleasing God.
Lord I wanna thank you for the love you gave,
God, I want to express my gratitude for the love you have shown me.
Cause it was your love that brought me through,
It was God's love that helped me overcome my struggles.
Oh no, no, no i can turn around and i wont look back,
I can now turn away from my old life and not look back.
For Lord you've set my spirit free
I am free spiritually because of God.
And now I am happy
As a result of being free, I now feel happy.
I gotta brand new walk and a brand new talk,
I have a new way of behaving and speaking that reflects my newfound freedom.
I'm free, gotta new way of living, no time for slipping...
I am truly free and I have a new way of living that doesn't allow me to fall back into bad habits.
Things I used to do I don't want to do no more,
I no longer have any desire to engage in the things that used to bring me pain.
Because I'm free, places I used to go,
Now that I am free, I don't have any desire to go to the places I used to go.
I don't want to go no more because I'm free,
I choose not to go back to those places because I am now free from them.
Satan no longer has authority over me,
Because I am free and have given myself to God, Satan has no control over me any longer.
Because He set me free,
The reason why Satan no longer has control over me is because God set me free.
Jesus set me free,
My freedom is a result of what Jesus did for me on the cross.
I love to call the name of Jesus because he set my soul free
I have a deep love for Jesus because he has set me free on a spiritual level.
I wanna walk in newness of life,
My desire now is to live a new and improved life as a free person.
I wanna walk upright because I'm free...
I want to live a life of integrity and righteousness because I am now free to do so.
Writer(s): Gregory Gerard Curtis
Contributed by Aaron A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.