One Day at a Time
That's how Yolanda Adams is approaching life since going through a difficult divorce, but she's hardly wallowing in self-pity. She's devoted to serving others more than ever.
by Andree Farias | posted 1/09/2006
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Life has been a blur for Yolanda Adams the past couple of years. After releasing the now gospel classic Mountain High … Valley Low, the gospel luminary shot to stardom in both the secular and sacred circuits. Her crossover gained some critics from conservative circles, but the former schoolteacher forged on, releasing a Christmas collection, a live anthology, and another gospel-pop album in 2001. But that was over four years ago. In August, she unveiled Day by Day, a record borne out of an intense period of turmoil, professionally and personally: her record label, Elektra, folded into its parent company, and her marriage to former NFL player Timothy Crawford fell apart. In this conversation with Christian Music Today, Adams discusses this season of change, how she takes everything one day at a time, and her desire to give back to the community not through music but through her very first passion—teaching.
You're a former schoolteacher. What made you pursue gospel music?
Yolanda Adams I was already involved in gospel music as a teen. This wasn't like a career change or anything. I was recording albums, and I already had two solo albums out my last year of teaching. I was so busy that I had to resign from teaching and go into ministry full-time. It was a hard decision. I love young kids. I love pouring knowledge and wisdom into them. I loved teaching them to respect their neighbors and to love one another. I was able to do that without beating them over the head. I did this with the parents knowing exactly who I was and what I did. They knew I wouldn't impress my views of salvation upon them, that I would take care of them, that I would respect them.
Mountain High … Valley Low came in 1999. Believe came two years later. Why did it take so long to make Day by Day?
Adams It didn't take that long to make. We were in the studio in 2003. Elektra Records was being folded into Atlantic Records and the Warner Music Group, and we had to wait until all the people working there were in their positions. That process took a long time. You don't really want to get caught with an album out with all of that [transitioning] going on. You want to make sure that your album is being played on the radio, that it's being marketed. And for that you want for everybody at the label to be in place.
Because of the corporate restructuring, many people you once worked with are no longer there. From a professional standpoint, was that a tough position to be in?
Adams The turnover rate in the music business is tremendous. You really can't get emotionally attached to people as you would in, say, education. In that field, people stay there for years. I found this out early on in my career. Previously, I had been a part of two buyouts, and that taught me that you can't get attached to people. It's business. The people at Elektra were wonderful, but the people at Atlantic are wonderful, too.
You were the first modern gospel artist to be officially affiliated with a mainstream label. As a result, more conservative gospel listeners tend to refer to you as being on the "secular" edge of gospel music. How do you feel about that? Does it bother you in any way?
Adams Well, no. I've never been a traditional singer. What's new to a lot of people seems odd. But what God has given me is my ministry—of reaching out to people who need hope and healing, people who need to know that the blood of Jesus can work for them. It's good to know that not only people in the church embrace my music, but that also people outside the church do. It reaches everyone, so I'm very, very grateful. Some say, "She's the only one that's doing so and so." But there are people like myself, Donnie McClurkin, and Mary Mary who are venturing out there. Just because we're doing something different doesn't mean it's not legitimate ministry.
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