Art Adams (musician)
Arthur "Art" Adams (born February 12, 1935 in Carrollton , Kentucky ) is an American rockabilly musician . Adams became known to the European audience mainly during the rockabilly revival and is now popular for his songs Rock Crazy Baby and Dancing Doll .
Life
Childhood and youth
Art Adams grew up in rural Kentucky during the Depression. His family lived on a farm and lived in poor conditions. Even as a child, Adams dreamed of a future in show business. Musically he was influenced mainly by country music and the Grand Ole Opry , the country show from Nashville, in which the big stars appeared. As a teenager he learned to play the guitar from his brother-in-law .
Career
Adam's first band was a pure country group, which in addition to Adams (vocals / guitar) consisted of his brother-in-law Dave Logston (guitar), Danny Cole ( bass ) and Ray Pailey ( steel guitar ) and called themselves the Kentucky Drifters . With this formation he played at local events; Bars and pubs could not be visited yet because you were too young. In late 1954 he made two demo recordings ( Down in Tennessee and She's from Tennessee ) with the Kentucky Drifters , which he brought to Sun Records . Jack Clement declined, however, believing Adams would sound like Johnny Cash .
Around 1956 Adams was influenced more and more by musicians like Johnny Horton , Johnny Cash , Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins and their rockabilly. Adams dropped the Kentucky Drifters and formed the Rhythm Knights , which consisted of Eddie Weil and Roy Robinette (guitar), Harold Knight (bass) and Bennie Abbott ( drums ). At first the old members of the Kentucky Drifters played along, but they gradually left because they felt more connected to the country. With the Rhythm Knights, Adams played fast rockabilly in the bars and pubs in the area and quickly gained notoriety in the region.
Adams met Joe Dyson, owner of Cherry Records , through a friend . After the group recorded a demo tape, Dyson signed Adams and the Rhythm Knights. Their first single came out in the summer of 1959, followed by a second in September with Rock Crazy Baby / Indian Joe . Although Cherry was only a small label, Indian Joe was often played on the radio in Canada . The plate gave Adams further impetus in the region. Countless appearances followed, regular engagements in clubs and bars as well as TV appearances.
In May 1960, Cherry followed by another single with Dancing Doll on the A-side and She Don't Live Here No More on the B-side. Adams and the Rhythm Knights then played Jack Clement of Sun Records in Memphis , Tennessee , but were turned down because the label already had enough artists under contract.
Adams did not play any more records after that - apart from a few demos for Cherry - but appeared locally with a new band, the Epics , in the following years . In 2003, Collector Records released a CD with Adam's collected works on Cherry, and in 2004 a new album followed, on which Adams reinterpreted rockabilly classics. Since then he has performed regularly with the Art Adams Band at festivals in the United States and Europe.
Discography
Singles
| year | title | Record company | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | I'm Waling / If You See a Pretty Girl | Cherry 1000/1 | |||
| 1959 | Rock Crazy Baby / Indian Joe | Cherry 1004/5 | |||
| 1960 | Dancing Doll / She Don't Live Here No More | Cherry 1018/9 | |||
| Unpublished titles | |||||
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Albums
- 2003: Rock Crazy Baby (Collector)
- 2004: Rockin 'My Way Around (Collector)
- 2006: Dancing Doll
- 2009: The Truth
Web links
- official website
- Entry into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
- biography
- Discography with audio samples
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Adams, Art |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Adams, Arthur (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Carrollton , Kentucky, Kentucky, USA |