The Canary Flies: New Orleans' Johnny Adams Dies

Johnny Adams, one of the greatest practitioners of New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, died on Monday after a long battle with cancer. The singer, whose clear, trilling voice earned him the nickname "The Tan Canary," began his career in the gospel realm, moving into secular music in the late Fifties on the heels of close friend and Crescent City legend Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack.

Hugely popular in the deep south, Adams' first national hit came in 1969, when "Reconsider Me" -- still a staple on soul radio -- cracked the Billboard charts. He shifted gears in recent times, delving deeper and deeper into the blues on nearly a dozen albums recorded for Rounder Records in the past decade.

While he kept up a rigorous touring and recording schedule over the years, Adams was diagnosed with prostate cancer last fall, and after surgery, the disease was found to have spread. He was able to record one final album, the shimmeringly soulful Man of My Word, which was released just last month.

Adams was sixty-six years old.

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Song Stories

“Satisfied”

Tom Waits | 2011

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.

More Song Stories entries »

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