Singer and performer Adam Wade passed away on July 7 at the age of 87. According to his wife, he died at his home in Montclair, New Jersey, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Wade gained notoriety as the host of the CBS game shows Musical Chairs; he was the first black game show host in the United States. The arrangements for his funeral are still being arranged.
Age and Early Life of Adam Wade
Adam Wade was born on March 17, 1935, and his grandparents raised him. He graduated from Westinghouse High School and grew up in the East Liberty neighborhood.
After graduating from high school in 1952, he enrolled at Virginia State University but dropped out after his second year.
Wade began his work as a lab assistant on the polio research team of Dr. Jonas Salk. He joined Coed Records in 1959, and by early 1960, he had produced Ruby, a cover of a classic movie song from 1953.
In the early 1960s, three of Wade’s songs were at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He released two albums at the time: Adam and Evening and Adam Wade. The album One Is A Lovely Number was followed by the EP And Then Came Adam.
Adam’s singing style was compared to that of Johnny Mathis, but it was more like to that of Nat King Cole, a singer from a different era.
In addition to being the first African-American to anchor a television game show, he also hosted the discussion show Mid-Morning LA. Wade was in the 1978 and 1979 Broadway performances of Guys and Dolls and Same Time, Next Year, respectively.
Later, Wade appeared in a variety of daytime dramas, including The Guiding Light and Search for Tomorrow. He has appeared on Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, What’s Happening!!, and Good Times, among others.
Between the late 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, he began to focus entirely on acting, starring in various blaxploitation films such as Gordon’s War.
Eventually, he returned to recording and issued a self-titled album on the Kirschner label, which was distributed by Columbia Records. Although the album was only a moderate success, his fans enjoyed it.
In one episode of The Dukes of Hazzard, he appeared. 2008 marked the actor’s most recent stage appearance, in the play The Color Purple. Adam and his wife own the New Jersey-based music production company Songbird.
Twitter users commemorate
Adam Wade is well-known for his successful albums and television appearances. As news of Wade’s passing spread, Twitter was flooded with condolences.
Some of them commented on his accomplishments and how much he will be missed. Wade is survived by his wife, Jeree Wade, and their four children, Ramel, Patrice, Jamel, and Latoya, in addition to a large number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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