When Oleta Adams hit the Top 40 of the U.K. and U.S. pop charts as the featured vocalist behind Tears for Fears' "Woman in Chains" (1989), the singer, songwriter, and pianist was virtually unknown outside her native Yakima, Washington or her adopted home of Kansas City, Kansas. Following the unexpected boost to her career, which stretched back many years to her church upbringing and included self-funded recordings and a hotel residency, Adams established herself globally as a headliner in her own right. Circle of One (1990), the source of a Top Five pop, Grammy-nominated versi...