3CHICSPOLITICO

Today’s selection is “Woman In Chains” Tears for Fears featuring Oleta Adams

Wiki: Tears for Fears are an English pop/rock band formed in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop, which led to international chart success.

Their platinum-selling debut album, The Hurting, reached number one on the UK Album Chart, while their second album, Songs from the Big Chair, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, achieving multi-platinum status in both the UK and the United States.[1] Following the release of their third platinum-selling album, The Seeds of Love (1989), Smith and Orzabal parted company in 1991, though Orzabal retained the Tears for Fears name throughout the remainder of the 1990s. The duo re-formed in 2000, and released an album of new material, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, in 2004. To date, Tears for Fears have sold over 40 million albums worldwide, including more than 8 million in the U.S.

Wiki:   Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953, Seattle, Washington) is an American soul, jazz, and gospel singer and pianist.  Adams was born the daughter of a preacher and was raised with gospel music. In her youth her family moved to Yakima, Washington, which is sometimes shown as her place of birth. Before gaining her opportunity to perform, Adams faced a great deal of rejection. In the 1970s, she moved to Los Angeles, California where she recorded a demo tape. However, many music executives were exclusively interested in disco music rather than Adams’ preferred style.

With the advice of her singing coach, Lee Farrell, Adams moved to Kansas City where she did a variety of local gigs. Adams started her career in the early 1980s with two self-financed albums which had limited success.

In 1985, Adams was discovered by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, founders of the English band Tears for Fears, while performing in a hotel bar in Kansas City, Missouri whilst they were on a US tour. They chatted with Adams after her performance, and two years later they contacted her to invite her to join their band as a singer on their next album, The Seeds of Love.^[1]

In 1989, the album was released and the single “Woman In Chains” — sung as a duet by Adams and Orzabal and with Phil Collins on drums — became her first hit. Adams embarked on a world tour with Tears For Fears in 1990, performing by herself as the supporting artist at the start of each show, and remaining onstage throughout the Tears For Fears set where she would provide piano and vocals.