Peggy Scott-Adams obit

Blues and R&B star Peggy Scott-Adams dies at age 74

 

She was not on the list.

Our friends at The Boogie Report have informed us of the passing of legendary blues and R&B singer Peggy Scott-Adams at age 74, a star who had not one, but two enviable music careers.

The Florida native had a string of hits in the late 60s, including “Soulshake,” “Lover’s Holiday,” and the duet “Picking Wild Mountain Strawberries” with Jo Jo Benson. Starting her career as a backup singer for Ben E. King, the then Peggy Stoutmeyer showed off her expressive, rich voice, which won her a contract with the SSS label, where she recorded her biggest hits.

Unfortunately, the hits seemed to end as soon as the came, and Scott-Adams moved to California, where she lived a life largely out of the public spotlight. But, in an unexpected turn of events, Scott-Adams went back into the studio in 1996 with producer Jimmy Lewis and issued the controversial single “Bill,” which became her first major chart hit in more than two decades and led to the success of the associated album, Help Yourself. It began a second string of hit songs and albums that extended through the first decade of the 21st century.

The story of Peggy Scott-Adams is one of the fickle nature of the music business, but also of the redemption of talent unexpectedly finding its way back to the top. Rest in Peace, Ms. Scott-Adams.

Scott was persuaded to return to the studio by singer-songwriter and producer Jimmy Lewis. With his guidance, they recorded her solo debut album, Help Yourself, released on October 22, 1996.

One of the Jimmy Lewis songs was a track about a woman complaining that her husband had romantic and sexual desires for another man. Released as a single initially just to blues radio stations, the song, "Bill", also began getting airplay on Urban contemporary radio and soon gained most-requested status at several larger stations. It peaked at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video to "Bill" also became popular. The album, Help Yourself began selling well, making the Billboard 200 albums chart, peaking at number 72, number 9 on the R&B chart and number 1 on the Top Blues Albums chart.

The release of Contagious later in 1997 also featured the hit single "Spousal Abuse", which tackled the issue of domestic abuse in relationships. Her third album, Undisputed Queen, was released in 1999.[3] She continued in 2000 with Live in Alabama & More, which featured the ballad, "When I'm With You" and the dance track "Sweaty Men". Both singles became hits. The next album was Hot and Sassy.