Tom Adams is a banjo player from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, known for deep, traditional Scruggs-style playing. He won IBMA Banjo Player of the Year three times, in 1992, 1993, and 2002. He played with Jimmy Martin, the Johnson Mountain Boys, the Lynn Morris Band, Blue Highway, and Rhonda Vincent. His duet album with fiddler Michael Cleveland, Live at the Ragged Edge, won IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year in 2004.
Why Adams matters
Adams is a keeper of the Scruggs sound. He plays the tunes and the tone of the 1950s Foggy Mountain Boys records with a modern player’s command. That made him the banjo player traditional bands wanted, and it made his solo albums, like Right Hand Man, a model for players who want to learn classic bluegrass banjo the right way.
Life and career
Adams grew up in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. As a teen he played mandolin in a family band, the Adams Brothers and Dad. Around 1980 he led Tom Adams and the Double Eagle Band with Chris Warner, where he also played guitar. From 1983 to 1985 he played banjo with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys.
In 1986 he joined the Johnson Mountain Boys, the Washington, D.C. area band led by Dudley Connell. From 1988 to 1991 he also played with the Lynn Morris Band. He released Right Hand Man on Rounder in 1992 and won IBMA Banjo Player of the Year that year and the next. In 1993 he toured with Tony Trischka and Tony Furtado as the Rounder Banjo Extravaganza.
He joined Blue Highway in 1998, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage in 2000, and Dale Ann Bradley and Coon Creek in 2001. Adams County Banjo came out on Rounder in 2001, and he won Banjo Player of the Year again in 2002. That March he and Michael Cleveland recorded Live at the Ragged Edge. Later he played guitar and sang lead with Seneca Rocks, Bill Emerson’s Sweet Dixie, and Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper. In 2013 his Foggy Mountain Rock won IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year. He now teaches banjo online to students around the world.
Playing style
Adams plays classic Scruggs style and favors the tunes and licks of the 1950s Flatt and Scruggs records. His album titles say it: Right Hand Man is about the right hand, and Foggy Mountain Rock comes straight from the Scruggs book. He also plays guitar and sings lead, so he knows how a banjo should sit behind a singer.
Influences and legacy
Adams built his sound on Earl Scruggs. He played beside Jimmy Martin, Dudley Connell, Lynn Morris, Michael Cleveland, and Bill Emerson. He appeared on Tony Trischka’s Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular. Through his online lessons, he passes the Scruggs style on to players around the world.
Signature tunes and songs
Foggy Mountain Special Foggy Mountain Rock Nine Pound Hammer Little Maggie.
Essential recordings
Right Hand Man (Rounder, 1992) Adams County Banjo (Rounder, 2001) Live at the Ragged Edge, with Michael Cleveland (Rounder, recorded 2002)
Awards and honors
IBMA Banjo Player of the Year (1992) IBMA Banjo Player of the Year (1993) IBMA Banjo Player of the Year (2002) IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year, Live at the Ragged Edge, with Michael Cleveland (2004) IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year, Foggy Mountain Rock (2013)
Watch and listen
Adams plays Foggy Mountain Special at Augusta Bluegrass Week in 2016.
Here he plays Nine Pound Hammer for BanjoNews.
What to learn from Adams
Learn Nine Pound Hammer from his video. It is a jam standard with a clean Scruggs break. The technique to steal is tone. Work on one roll until every note sounds full and even, then build the tune around it, the way Adams builds on the Scruggs records.
Sources
Adams, Tom, BluegrassBios.com Tom Adams archives, Bluegrass Today
Related players
See the banjo players hub and the bluegrass banjo guide for more pickers. Adams played with Jimmy Martin, Lynn Morris, and Michael Cleveland, and built on Earl Scruggs.