At a very young age, singer/songwriter Winifred Adams, knew that if you put your mind to something it could really happen! Born in Auburn NY, a tiny town in upstate NY, home to 35,000, Adams began her pursuit of the impossible at a young age. Never one to step down from an opportunity to break the mould, Winifred was the first female ice hockey player on an all boys team in NY state. Tired of standing in
the cold watching her brothers play she declared that she wanted to play too! Only, little girls at age 6-7 weren’t allowed to play. “Why not?” she asked her father. Silence… why not?
Growing up the youngest of five, Winifred, was a quiet child with a big voice. And even bigger dreams. “I always loved music and loved to sing and dance. I would sing and sing all sorts of albums. I dreamed of singing or expressing myself but I never ever thought I would be someone doing this now. I never ever thought this could or would happen,” Adams says of her early years.
However, at a young age, the singing would be replaced for a time with lots of athletics as tragedy struck the family. Her second oldest brother committed suicide after an arduous struggle with depression
and a failing body. He was 26. Winifred was 11. “He was my buddy. My big buddy. We laughed and hugged and played! We shared some kind of odd common bond. We even shared the same dream, up until the night before he passed. I miss him.”
Though the family took it as well as anyone could, the healing would take years and singing took a back seat to athletics. “I swam, I ran, I played tennis. I did just about anything I could physically which
helped to diffuse the energy in me and the pain in watching my parents suffer.” But time would heal the pain and singing would again take the forefront of Winifred’s expression.
“I sang everywhere, all the time, just, not in front of people unless it was in a show or a play. In fact, most people I grew up with had no idea I sang that much until just recently. Music of all kinds has always moved me, deeply.”
Out of highschool Winifred was offered a modeling contract in Europe but schooling would move that focus west—far west to the University of Colorado at Boulder. However, instead of using her French degree to
teach or translate, she gravitated toward the world of healing and health, something that apparently was a natural fit.
“Becoming a personal trainer and herbalist was really not what I planned, but in hindsight, it was the best thing that ever happened to me! I love athletics; I was always into fitness and health; and I had this weird nerdy fascination with body system health. So, for me, it was perfect. I loved it and still do today, to whatever degree I can help people or share information.”
It was while running her own corporation for wellness that Winifred began her music career. She was up in Toronto, Canada shooting an exercise video when she was introduced to a music producer, Jack
Lenz. Jack has worked with the likes of Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Boyz To Men, among many other people. He heard Winifred sing three songs and told her on the spot that she “needed to do this as a career.”
As fate would have it, the audio for the exercise video was ruined! However, what was left was the audio tape from the singing session. Soon she landed her first sponsor and went on to complete her first
demo. Singing in front of 50,000 people at the Rockies baseball game
was her opening gig!
Winifred went on to sing on the WB2Today program statewide and had a series of shows. She was quickly picked up by Best Buy and her “demo” cd sold in Barnes and Noble, Borders, and a variety of online stores as well. She managed to do it all herself. She even dared to shoot her first cd cover with live tigers—no photoshop there!
A move soon landed her in CA where she began to pursue her music with a new focus and new tunes. Given the advent of Itunes, her second “demo,” turned out to be good enough for radio play worldwide and is now sold on every online digital download media venue. Her version of Santa Baby plays on radio around the world each holiday season.
Winner of the Ascaplus Award and nominated for best country song, folk song, and pop honorable mention, Winifred is not only crossing genres, but covering ground with her insightful pop/country sound.
With the release of new music and the first in a series of music videos, Winifred is poised to make a mark. Leaning toward music with consciousness, this tiger-loving alternative singer/songwriter with a flavor for country/pop is sure to bring inspiration and sweet songs for time to come.