Joy Adams - Just One Little Thing (2023)

New Zealand music artist Joy Adams has released her brand-new highly-anticipated 12-track album ‘Just One Little Thing’.

Joy Adams, has had a long and eventful career. She has recorded over 20 successful albums, traveled the world performing, won numerous awards, had her songs recorded by other artists, been a DJ, a philanthropist with the StarBuddy Charitable Trust which she founded, and the list goes on and on. She has had the type of career today’s country music artists dream of. The laurels of her successes would be something to retire upon. And Joy had fully intended to do exactly that. Covid restrictions caused the elimination of public performance and it seemed the perfect jumping off point to complete her career on a high note having just received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Zealand Country Music Association – but there was another plan in the stars.

Joy has been working with Gary R. Farmer in Flintstone, Georgia on what started as a simple demo and a “I wonder if…” jump into recording long distance over the internet. She had started doing a weekly radio show for the New Zealand Country Music Radio network… something to fill the idle time during COVID isolation. The show began with one per week, then two, then three to promote other artists but not necessarily herself. Farmer was able to give her the encouragement to try recording a raw vocal and send it to him to complete a song she had written for which he had completed a backing recording. She completed ‘Love Is’ and released it for digital distribution. Little did she know a new album was in her future. All the while she continued to say, “I am not going to do another album.”

Gary R. Farmer has been quietly producing albums for artists worldwide for the last 30-years. He started working with Joy and kept proding her to try new things. They started co-writing together, which is something he always steers clear of. “Things can get messy with co-writes.” says Farmer “Publishing, percentage of ownership, song direction, production, just lots of variables to take into account. We have a good working arrangement. I do a music background and an idea. She runs with the lyrics and melody….it just works!”

One song soon became enough for a new album with a few cover songs thrown into the mix. Just One Little Thing, is the title of the latest album. The title cut and accompanying video approaches the subject of it only taking one small thing to make a huge difference in someone’s life. There are 12 cuts that while having country music leanings also appeal to an adult contemporary market. Traditional, strong harmonies, excellent subjects, and positive reinforcement of values in a time that the world struggles. For an album that wasn’t supposed to happen it’s a pleasant reminder that the world can survive with, Just One Little Thing.