Unlike some contemporary Christian musicians—black and white—who consciously blurred the line between sacred and secular music and described the religious feeling with romantic terms such as love and commitment, Adams left no doubt in her songs as to the import of her religious message. Even "Gotta Have Love," her most radical piece, alludes directly to Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians: "Now abide in these: faith hope, and charity/ And the greatest of these three has set me free!" Taking an active hand in both songwriting and production, Adams created innovative fusions that added traditional elements to contemporary settings or convincingly attached religious lyrics to secular song forms. Her voice showed the influence of secular singers Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, and Nancy Wilson, yet still maintained overtones of the church. "Gospel," Adams told the Chicago Tribune, "is any song that speaks to the good news of God."
Adams has diversified her interests beyond touring and recording. In 2007 she inaugurated a morning radio show that is syndicated around the country. Aside from providing a religion-friendly alternative to more risqué morning radio programming, the Yolanda Adams Morning Show gave Adams a platform to promote causes and charities such as the 50 Million Pound Challenge, a health initiative geared toward African Americans, and the Houston-based Escape Center. She has also worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health to bring attention to the health challenges facing black children, including lack of proper vaccinations and juvenile diabetes. Her own charity, the Voice of an Angel Foundation, was founded in 2005, with a mission of establishing mentoring programs for underprivileged youths.
In addition to these ventures and charities, Adams has also pursued her own fashion line for taller women, called Yolanda's Clozet, and is a spokeswoman for the Columbia Card, a debit card marketed to churchgoing African Americans. Perhaps as a result of all these diverse financial dealings, in 2008 the Internal Revenue Service made Adams another person in a long list of gospel figures to be targeted with a tax investigation. Speaking to Jawn Murray on the Black Voices Web site, Adams said the investigation was probably the result of "bad accounting on the part of former representation" but was confident that any tax discrepancies would be resolved without much fuss. After all, she told Murray, "You know God would never let us deal with more than we can bear."
Her personal life has not been as smooth as her music career. She was in an abusive relationship with her husband Troy Mason from 1987 - 1990 which eventually led to the dissolution of their marriage. She again married former NFL athlete Tim Crawfordand they divorced after seven years. Yolanda and Crawford have a daughter Taylor Adams Crawford born in 2001. Taylor is Yolanda's only child
Return to the previous page| Birth Date: | 27 Aug, 1961 |
| Age: | 58 yrs |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Houston |
| Education: | Sterling High School Texas Southern University |
| Gender: | Female |
| Description: | American gospel singer and actress |
| Twitter Id: | Yolandaadams |
| Net Worth 2021: | 5 million |
