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The Gospel Soul Of Yolanda Adams
Ebony, August, 2000 by Lynn Norment
AT home with gospel diva Yolanda Adams and husband Timothy Crawford Jr., it is clear that love rules and that God is in the house. Also evident are the warmth and affection that bind this couple, who clearly enjoy each other's company. Their charisma and Southern hospitality make their spacious Houston home very inviting.
"Our house is very homey," says Adams, as she relaxes on one of the few days she's not traveling for a performance or to promote her Grammy Award-winning Mountain High ... Valley Low CD. "It's not so gigantic that it's overwhelming, but it's nice enough that we have enough space for everything. When people walk into my house, I want them to feel comfortable. I want them to feel that it's a home, not just a place where some folk live for six hours a day, where they sleep. I want my home to be welcoming. I want people to feel, `Wow, I could really hang out here.'"
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That certainly is the ambience that resides at the Adams-Crawford abode, which consists of a dozen rooms, not counting the six or so bathrooms. As one steps into the marbled foyer at the front entrance atrium, earth tones convey the warmth that Adams exudes. Beautiful hardwood floors are interspersed with marble and carpeting. In the dining room, a huge, wood-framed mirror overlooks an elegant, Italian-laminated blond-wood table trimmed in black. Through a pantry-hallway off the dining room is the kitchen, done in tan earth tones, with satillo stone floor and countertops. The spacious kitchen opens into a breakfast area and the family room. There, among family mementos, is a framed wedding photograph and album of Adams and Crawford, who were married in 1997.
Also on the first floor are Crawford's office, a bathroom, and the suite occupied by Adams' maternal grandmother, Frances Means.
A winding staircase leads upstairs to the master bedroom suite. On this level, there is a game room, which is dominated by a billiards table, where the couple spends a lot of time perfecting their game. There is also exercise equipment. Adams and Crawford work out daily, either at home or at a health club nearby. The walls of this large room display mementos and photographs from Crawford's career in professional football. Two guest bedrooms and a bath are in a suite off the game room; up a flight of stairs is a screening room.
The couple moved into their home two years ago, and they say they have more decorating to do. There are plans to landscape the two-and-a-half-acre spread and outfit it with a swimming pool. That would come in handy on those hot sticky days for which Houston is notorious.
Adams and Crawford don't mind the heat. They are native Houstonians who have known each other since they were teens. They love their city and they love being near their families, which they describe as "close-knit." But what is evident when in the company of these two is that they love each other. Crawford, a financial advisor, demonstrates his lighter side by constantly keeping his wife laughing as she admonishes him to "stop clowning."
Crawford says what he likes most about Yolanda is that she is his friend. "She's beautiful, she's silly, she's goofy. I can really be me," he explains. "In reality, she is the other side of me, everything I want in a woman."
Says Adams: "I believe Tim has my best interest at heart, and you can't say that these days about a lot of people. I believe that he would do anything that it takes to make my life easy and to make sure that I don't hurt. I'm always in the public eye, and there are so many people out there grabbing and pulling. To know that there is somebody right there at stage left or stage right that I can turn to and say, `Man, I love you,' who means a lot to me. I know that we'll grow old together, and we'll still be exercising and clowning together."
When she's not on the road, or exercising and clowning, Adams enjoys puzzles and solitaire. Crawford says he is still amazed how his "quiet and reserved" spouse who does jigsaw puzzles "turns into a fireball" when she takes the stage with mike in hand and brings crowds to their feet.
But the transformation is clear to Adams. "I have a higher power operating at times when it comes to singing," she says.
That higher power inspired her in the late '80s to quit her job teaching elementary students after seven years to pursue singing full time. After releasing five successful albums on gospel labels, Yolanda was performing at the Beacon Theater in New York when Elektra Entertainment President/CEO Sylvia Rhone was so moved she signed Adams to a five-record contract. Adams is the only gospel artist on Elektra. "There are people who God puts in your life for a reason," she says of Rhone. "It is a true blessing.
With a gospel style that is influenced by pop, hip-hop and R&B, Yolanda Adams, over 10 years, has built a solid career with a strong following. Her music is played on gospel stations, but she also is a favorite with urban radio formats. "I need to be in a place where my message can be heard by everyone," she says.
