In 1985 he was tapped to tour on bass guitar with Nina Simone,[1] and he staged a comeback in the 1990s when he released Back on Track, and became a respected Chicago blues player and bandleader in B.B.

King, Howard Carroll of Dixie Hummingbirds,[1][4] Elmore James and Muddy Waters, which he listened to on the radio.

[2] The group was disbanded when he moved to Tennessee to attend the State University,[3] where he studied music and played in the school's resident jazz and blues band.

[4] Adams began playing the blues professionally at a local student bar called the Club Baron.

[1] He remained there from February 1959 until April 1964, working in local nightclubs including the Clubhouse and the Empire Room, playing with Lightnin' Hopkins, Chuck Berry, Elmore James, and Lowell Fulson.

[4] The move was lucrative for Adams, who not only made a name for himself in the clubs, but also became a prolific studio musician, contributing to movies and soundtracks, playing on hundreds of sessions with artists ranging from Lou Rawls to Henry Mancini.

[6] He produced both blues and soul music on the Modern label,[3] and with Edna Wright (later lead singer of Honey Cone), he sang a duet called "Let's Get Together", using the name Arthur & Mary.

[3] Upon recommendation from Bobby Womack, Adams appeared in the house band for a TV program hosted by NFL defensive tackle Rosey Grier, who was also a singer.

This led to further studio work in Los Angeles; he played on recordings by the Jackson 5, Henry Mancini, Lou Rawls, Willie Hutch, Sonny Bono, Nancy Wilson, Kim Weston, the Ballads (on their 1968 single "God Bless Our Love"), Sonny Charles & the Checkmates, Ltd. (on the 1969 single "Black Pearl", produced by Phil Spector), and others.

[3] In 1967, Adams performed in a cameo appearance for the made-for-television movie, The Outsider, which starred Darren McGavin, playing a rendition of "She Drives Me Out of My Mind",[1] later released on the Bihari brothers' Modern Records label.

[3] He also co-wrote "Truckload of Lovin'" with Jimmy Lewis, which was the eponymous track on Albert King's 1976 Utopia Records album.

[7] He also recorded more solo albums, but in the 1980s he returned to his blues roots,[3] occasionally working as a session guitarist for various groups.

[9] Adams recorded a version of Ann Peebles soul classic "I Can't Stand the Rain" for the movie Town And Country.