Derroll Adams (November 27, 1925 – February 6, 2000)
was an American
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
ian.
Biography
He was born Derroll Lewis Thompson in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, United States.
At 16, he served in the
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
, but was discharged when his true age of 16 was discovered, and later in the
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...
.
He was a tall, lanky
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
player with a deep voice. He was
busking
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...
around the
West Coast music scene in the 1950s when he met
Ramblin' Jack Elliott in the
Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles.
The two traveled around and recorded albums, among them ''Cowboys'' and ''The Rambling Boys''.
His recording career was somewhat uneven, and like Elliott he was better known for whom he influenced—
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...
, among others—than for his own art. With Elliott, he had gone to England to play live and record.
Elliott went back, but Adams stayed.
He took Donovan, who had been playing around the UK with
Gypsy Dave, under his wing as a sort of protégé; as a result, the influence of American traditional music can be distinctly heard in Donovan's earlier work, including the song "
Epistle To Derroll".
In celebration of Adams 65th birthday, a concert featuring
Allan Taylor,
Wizz Jones, former members of
Pentangle and
Happy Traum, plus Adams former travelling partner Elliott, was recorded and released on album.
Adams died in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, Belgium, in February 2000.
His collaboration with Elliott left behind a body of influence that prevails today.
Topic Records has made most of his and Elliott's recordings available on CD.
Discography
Solo projects
*1967: ''Portland Town''
*1972: ''Feelin' Fine''
*1974: ''Movin' On''
*1977: ''Along the Way''
*1978: ''Folk Friends'',
double LP recorded in Germany with
Davey Arthur,
Alex Campbell,
Guy & Candie Carawan, Finbar Furey (
The Fureys),
Wizz Jones,
Werner Lämmerhirt and
Hannes Wader.
*1994: ''Derroll Adams LIVE''
*1997: ''Songs of the Banjoman''
*2002: ''Banjoman – a tribute to Derroll Adams'', Blue Groove BG-1420
*2016: ''Live in Haarlem 1977'', SCR-78 StrictlyCountryRecords.com.
With Ramblin' Jack Elliott
*1957: ''
The Rambling Boys''
*1963: ''Roll On Buddy''
*1969: ''Folkland Songs''
*1969: ''Riding in Folkland''
*1975: ''America''
*2025: ''Folkland Songs remastered CD only - StrictlyCountryRecords.com''
*2025: ''Riding in Folkland remastered CD only - StrictlyCountryRecords.com''
References
Sources
*Williams, Paul: ''Bob Dylan Performing Artist vols. 1–3'' (a.k.a. ''The Early Years'', ''The Middle Years'' and ''Mind Out of Time'', respectively)
*
Pennebaker, D. A.: ''
Dont Look Back''
*Donovan: ''Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964–1976''
*Folk Freak Plattenproduktion ''Folk Friends 1978''
External links
Banjoman: A Tribute to Derroll Adams (2002 album)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Derroll
American folk singers
American street performers
Musicians from Portland, Oregon
1925 births
2000 deaths
20th-century American singers
Singers from Oregon