Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998),[1] was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto.

He began his career singing gospel with the Soul Revivers and Bessie Griffin's Consolators, but crossed over to secular music in 1959.

[3] His upstairs neighbor, the songwriter Dorothy LaBostrie, supposedly persuaded him to start performing secular music after hearing him sing in the bathtub.

[6] At the same time, he began performing regularly at Dorothy's Medallion Lounge in New Orleans and touring nightclubs in the south.

He also toured internationally, with frequent trips to Europe, and worked and recorded with such musicians as Aaron Neville, Harry Connick Jr., Lonnie Smith, and Dr.