Billy Adams

Willie Murray Adams (March 6, 1940 – March 30, 2019) was an American rockabilly musician and a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He recorded the 1950s song "Rock, Pretty Mama", recognized as "a seminal rockabilly classic" by critics. Other songs he recorded in the 1950s include "You Heard Me Knocking", "True Love Will Come Your Way", and "You Gotta Have a Duck Tail". He toured with his family band for decades and, as his rockabilly interest declined, he entered the ministry and wrote Gospel songs. He made a comeback late in his career when a collection of 27 of Adams' songs was released in 2002. Fans re-embraced his rockabilly music 45 years after the original recordings, igniting demand for his appearances at music festivals in U.S. and Britain. Adams died March 30, 2019, at age 79.

Early life

He was born in Redbush, Kentucky, one of 14 children. His father was a coal miner at the Van Lear Coal mine in Kentucky. As a youth, he had no money for instruments; he strummed a lard bucket lid, pretending it was a guitar, while listening to Bill Monroe on the Grand Ole Opry. At age 12, Adams borrowed a neighbor's guitar to perform on the radio for the first time on WCMI in Ashland, Kentucky. He formed his first band at age 14 called "The Rock & Roll Boys", soon renamed "The Rock-A-Teers".

Career

Influenced by Elvis Presley's style heard on the radio, Adams formed a band in 1954 consisting of his brother Charles (guitar) and Curtis May (upright bass).

In 1961, Adams married Freda Lousie Riffe; they had three daughters, Tina Maria, Teresa Louise and Janetta Darlene. They formed a family band that toured together for decades. In 1965, Adams changed his direction and went into Christian ministry. He wrote gospel and country songs including the gospel tune, "I Saw The Man", by the Happy Goodman Family. This helped re-energize his career and he was asked to perform at Austin's "South by Southwest" and other music festivals in the U.S. and the U.K. in his later years.