Vitals: November 27th 1925-February 6th 2000 aged 75

Yin/Yang: ?/Sagittarius

Place of Birth: Portland, OR

Place of Death: unknown, probably somewhere in Belgium

Derroll Adams was a tall, lanky banjo player with a deep voice. He was bummin' around the West Coast music scene in the 50s when he met Ramblin' Jack Elliott in the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles, CA. The two travelled around and recorded albums, among them Cowboys and Ramblin's Boys (cf Pennebaker's Don't Look Back, or DLB).

According to legend, Derroll & Jack would go in the studio with whatever they had, which may have included whiskey and marijuana, and they recorded whatever they felt like recording on the spur of the moment. This style of recording was probably more prevalent in the 40s, 50s & 60s--the result of this particular style or recording process is that the recording is loose around the edges but preserves some of the spontaneity and vigor of a live performance. It is a performative style rather than a compositional style. (cf Paul Williams' Bob Dylan: Performing Artist series, particularly vol. 1, for a more in-depth discussion of the tension between the performative and the compositional.)

His recording career was somewhat uneven, and like his buddy Jack, he was better known for who he influenced--like Donovan, among others--than for his own art. With Jack, he had gone to England to play live and record. Jack went back, and Derroll stayed. He took Donovan, who had been playing around the U.K. with Gypsy Dave , under his wing--Donovan became a sort of protege--and as a result, the influence of American traditional music can be distinctly heard in Donovan's earlier work. (cf DLB)

According to legend, Derroll drifted to somewhere in Belgium--perhaps either Antwerp or Brussels--where he reputedly remained until his death in 2000. His collaboration with Jack left behind a body of influence that prevales today--Topic Records U.K. has made most of his and Jack's recordings available on CD.

Sources

• Williams, Paul--Bob Dylan Performing Artist vols. 1-3 (aka The Early Years, The Middle Years & Mind Out of Time, respectively)--book
• Pennebaker, D. A.--Don't Look Back--film
• Donovan--Troubadour: The Definitive Collection 1964-1976--music (dead recording)