The story on Oleta Adams is that she was discovered playing piano in a Kansas City hotel bar by the guys from Tears For Fears, who then brought her in to sing on their 1989 album The Seeds of Love, thus launching her stellar solo career. As you'll find from our conversation, it wasn't exactly that simple. Oleta had been toiling away for over a decade on the hotel entertainment circuit before Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith followed through on the promises many before them had made and broken. She did break big duetting on their hit "Woman in Chains" before nailing her own solo hit "Get Here" in 1991. Since then Oleta has had a steady solo career, but despite her success she's never ventured far from her roots. At the end of the day, success has really just given her the freedom to be herself. She also put out a new album this year called Third Set which harkens back to her roots. She still sounds amazing!

http://oletaadams.com/