WASHINGTON, D.C. - Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Oleta Adams will perform a musical tribute to Sir Elton John during the NAB Education Foundation's ninth annual Service to America Awards celebration June 11 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The celebration recognizes outstanding community service by local broadcasters and other leading citizens.
In 1991, Adams' interpretation of Sir Elton John's hit "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was released on the tribute album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin. Prior to her participation in Two Rooms, Adams released her debut album, Circle of One, in 1990. The album went platinum, with the hit single "Get Here" known to many as the unofficial anthem of the 1991 Gulf War. Since then, Adams has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe, impressing fans with her strong gospel roots and creative energy. Her versatility and diverse musical influences earned Adams a reputation as a marquis jazz entertainer.
Adams spent her formative years in Washington state, where she first demonstrated vocal talent in the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. After a brief stint in Los Angeles, Adams moved to Kansas City where she launched her professional career playing piano bars, hotel lounges and showrooms before Tears for Fears frontmen Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith asked her to appear on their 1989 album The Seeds of Love, video and European tour. Upon her return to the U.S. Adams signed a record deal for her first solo album.
About
the
Service to America Awards
The Service to America Awards are
presented by NABEF with major support from Bonneville
International
Corporation and the National Association of Broadcasters. This
year's
Leadership Award winner is legendary rock superstar Sir
Elton John, for his extraordinary humanitarian efforts in the
global
fight against HIV/AIDS. Deborah
Norville, host of Inside Edition, will emcee the event.
Awards will also be presented to local radio and television
broadcasters across the nation for outstanding service to their
communities. In recent years, NABEF has recognized former
President Bill
Clinton, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, First Lady Laura Bush,
former
President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn Carter, former First
Lady
Nancy Reagan, boxing legend Muhammad Ali and former New York Mayor
Rudy
Giuliani. Details about the Service to America Awards are
available at http://www.nabef.org/.
About Bonneville International Corp.
Founded in
1964,
Bonneville International Corporation owns and operates 32 radio
stations
in the Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Phoenix, St. Louis,
Cincinnati,
and Salt Lake City markets, as well as KSL-TV (NBC affiliate) in
Salt Lake
City. Bonneville's motto is "Do good, do well, make a difference,
and have
fun." In addition to competing aggressively in major-market
broadcasting
by structuring its business model on the three principles of
building its
people, making a difference in the community, and meeting
aggressive
financial goals, Bonneville has a tradition of award-winning
commitment to
the communities it serves.
About
NABEF
The NAB Education Foundation is a non-profit
organization
dedicated to serving the public interest in supporting and
advocating:
education and training programs, strategies to increase diversity,
initiatives stressing the importance of the First Amendment,
community
service, philanthropy and timely broadcasting
issues.
About
NAB
The
National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association that
advocates
on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television
stations and
also broadcast networks before Congress, the Federal
Communications
Commission and the Courts. Information about NAB can be found at
http://www.nab.org/.
