THE LAST NOTE, A LASTING LEGACY:

Oleta Adams Retires After Over 50 Years in the Music Industry 

After gracing the world with her beautiful voice for over a half century, Oleta Adams, at age 72, has taken her final bow. She has given audiences unforgettable performances, timeless recordings, and a legacy that reaches far beyond the stage. Her retirement marks the end of an era, but the echoes of her music will continue to inspire those of us who have traveled with her through the years. We will continue to carry not just the songs, but the stories and emotions they awaken in us.

I fondly recall receiving Oleta Adams debut CD, Circle of One, as a gift when it was first released in 1990. Because of my known love of music, a teacher at the school where I was employed at the time thought I would truly appreciate what he described as, “…a singer with a magnificent voice.” I had not yet heard of Oleta Adams at the time. Well, when I played the CD, I could not stop listening to this beautiful voice. The teacher was right! It didn’t take long for me to learn every song on the CD! This wonderful piece of work became a platinum-selling success that included her unforgettable hit single, “Get Here.” I believe I bought nearly every Oleta Adams CD, thereafter. 

Although Oleta had released several self-financed albums, Circle of One, that was recorded in the UK, was her first widely distributed project. How was Oleta Adams actually discovered? In 1985, Oleta Adams was performing at the Hyatt Regency Hotel bar in Kansas City, Missouri. Another band Tears for Fears, was also performing in Kansas City at the same time. When their show was over, a few of the band members went over to the Hyatt where Oleta was performing just to relax in the bar area. Her performance with her trio was so impactful that the band’s founders, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, contacted her two years later to sing on their album, The Seeds of Love, which led to her own recording deal and solo career. 

What will Oleta Adams do now? As a singer who has toured Europe, South America, and America, her goals are simple. According to Oleta, as reported, her desire is to perfect the art of doing nothing!! My goals, she said: “…spend time with my husband; travel a little; straighten out things at my home in Kansas City; and enjoy my church community.”

Oleta’s journey has been more than a career—it has been a soundtrack to countless lives—carrying joy, healing, and hope through the power of her voice. As she retires, we are reminded that while seasons change, the spirit of her music remains forever etched into the heart of all who have listened along the way. Even as the stages grew larger, she never lost the heart that first drew us to her music.

For those of us who have walked with Oleta’s music through the years, we carry not just the songs, but the stories and emotions they awakened in us. Her voice may no longer rise from the stage, but retirement does not silence a legacy; it simply gives us space to treasure it more deeply. That is the true gift she leaves behind. Her music will forever linger.