Her debut solo album, "Born with the Blues", was released on February 16, 1999. She composed most of the songs and recorded them with a band featuring the guitarist Johnnie Bassett and the pianist Bill Heid. "Born with the Blues" made "Living Blues" magazine's Top 25 Albums for 1999. It received a positive review from Allmusic: "Adams runs through a batch of tunes ranging from jump blues, New Orleans R&B, smoky ballads and jazzy slow blues. A seasoned performer, Adams still has a sizable amount of honey in her voice...just solid singing by a true American music treasure."