1961 Adam Wade – As If I Didn’t Know
Pittsburgh native Adam Wade finished college and worked for a time as a lab assistant for Jonas Salk (the inventor of the polio vaccine). He decided to switch careers and signed with Coed Records in 1959. He moved to New York City in 1960 and began singing in clubs, including the Copacabana.
Adam released his first two singles in 1960 and appeared as himself on To Tell The Truth.
Coed released six singles for Adam in 1960. None of them reached the top forty on the Hot 100, but four of them peaked between #58 and #74. He sounded quite a bit like Johnny Mathis.
Adam’s breakthrough hit came in early 1961 with the release of Take Good Care Of Her. The single peaked at #7 on the Hot 100 and #20 on the R&B chart.
Hit best showing on the charts came with his next single, The Writing On The Wall.
The record reached #5 on both the Hot 100 and the Adult Contemporary (AC) chart. The B-side of the single, Point Of No Return, peaked at #85. It was not the same song as the Gene McDaniels hit from 1962.
Adam’s third single in 1961 became his last big hit. As If I Didn’t Know spent two weeks at #10 on the Hot 100 that Summer but left the top forty just two weeks later. It peaked at #4 on the AC chart and #16 on the R&B chart.
Epic Records signed Adam to a recording contract in 1962, but the move to that label all but ended his singing career. One of his singles reached #88 in 1965, but none of his other records for the label even reached the Hot 100.
Adam switched careers again in 1969, becoming an actor. He did voice-overs for cartoons and appeared in a few movies (including Shaft). In 1975, he became the first African-American to host a television game show (Musical Chairs). He appeared in several soap operas and a series of television sitcoms.
He recorded a new album in 1975 and another single in 1989, but nothing charted. He and his wife have been running a music production company (Songbird) in New Jersey.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/adam-wade-mn0000600075/biography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Wade_(singer)
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