Faye Adams

Another day, another Adams, another artist I've only one song by.  I'm glad to say that Faye Adams is a bit of a change from what I've had on the blog before - a 1950s gospel and blues singer, I have her first hit, Shake A Hand, which spent nine weeks at the top of the US R&B charts back in 1953 and is utterly fantastic.

The song's been covered many times over the years, and by such luminaries as Little Richard, Jackie Wilson (as a duet with Linda Hopkins), Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney, but no other version I've heard comes remotely close to the existential pain and sheer bluesiness of Adams' original.  Elvis's version is pretty good though, to be fair.

I have this song from volume three of Ace Records' excellent Early Girls series.  I can't recommend Ace highly enough if you have any interest in music from the 50s or early 60s.