Derroll Adams (November 27, 1925 – February 6, 2000) was an American

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

ian.

Biography

He was born Derroll Lewis Thompson in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

, United States. At 16, he served in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, 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 usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

player with a deep voice. He was

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for 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 performance is pra ...

around the West Coast music scene in the 1950s when he met

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

in the

Topanga Canyon Topanga () (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow s ...

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 developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world musi ...

, 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 Gyp Mills (born David John Mills, 9 July 1946 – 18 June 2019),

, 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 Raymond Ronald Jones (born 25 April 1939), better-known as Wizz Jones, is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England and has been performing since the late 1950s and recording from 196 ...

, former members of Pentangle and

Happy Traum Happy Traum (born Harry Peter Traum, May 9, 1938, The Bronx, New York) is an American folk musician who started playing music in the 1950s and became a stalwart of the Greenwich Village music scene of the 1960s and the Woodstock music scene of t ...

, plus Adams former travelling partner Elliott, was recorded and released on album. Adams died in Antwerp, Belgium, in February 2000. His collaboration with Elliott left behind a body of influence that prevails today.

Topic Records Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...

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 A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording is ...

recorded in Germany with

Davey Arthur Davey Pat Arthur (born 24 September 1954 in County Donegal) is an Irish folk singer. Originally from Donegal, Arthur moved to Scotland at the age of two. He started to play music at the age of eight, and returned to Ireland aged 18. Known for ...

, Alex Campbell, Guy & Candie Carawan, Finbar Furey (

The Fureys The Fureys are an Irish folk band originally formed in 1974. The group consisted initially of four brothers who grew up in Ballyfermot, Dublin. Brothers Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George Furey are of Irish Traveller heritage. Two of the band's ...

Werner Lämmerhirt Werner Lämmerhirt (17 March 1949 – 14 October 2016) was one of the most important German singer-songwriters and guitarists in the contemporary folk music style. He sang and wrote in both German and English, in a recording career that spanned m ...

and

Hannes Wader Hannes Wader (born Hans Eckard Wader on 23 June 1942) is a German singer-songwriter ("Liedermacher"). He has been an important figure in German leftist circles since the 1970s, with his songs covering such themes as socialist and communist resist ...

. *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 ''The Rambling Boys'' is an album by American folk musicians Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Derroll Adams, released in 1958 in England. Background Elliott had been performing in England with some success. He and his wife June invited Adams to join the ...

'' *1963: ''Roll On Buddy'' *1969: ''Folkland Songs'' *1969: ''Riding in Folkland'' *1975: ''America''

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 '' Look Back'' is a 1967 American documentary film directed by D. A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in England. In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library o ...

'' *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