Interview with Eddie and Martha Adcock, December 21, 2004

Partial Transcript: --and we'll go right on.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock talks about growing up in Scottsville, Virginia and Martha Adcock talks about growing up in North Carolina. They each talk about their families, their early interest in music, and their experience with rationing during World War II.

Keywords: Attitudes; Bands; Banjo players; Banjos; Brothers; Cars; Charity; Entertainment; Family; Farm life; Fiddle players; Gardens; Generosity; Giving; Grand Ole Opry; Graves, Virgil William "Smokey"; Growing food; Hay; Hogs; Hometowns; Interviews; Mandolin players; Mandolins; North Carolina; Pianos; Radio shows; Radios; Raising food; Rationing; Scottsville (Va.); Self-taught; Sharing; Shows; Siblings; Smokey Graves; Survival; Talent; Virgil William "Smokey" Graves; WWII; Wealthy; World War II

Subjects: Adcock, Eddie; Adcock, Martha; Childhood; Families.; Family farms; Musical instruments.; Musicians; Radio programs.; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: But anyway, that's kind of my background.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock talks about being a self-taught musician. He talks about the artists he saw perform at the local Victory Hall theater and how they and other musicians influenced him.

Keywords: Acuff, Roy (Artist); Banjos; Batteries; Bill Monroe; Carter Family (Artist); Coal stoves; Competitive; Country music; Curtains; Earl Scruggs; Five-string banjos; Generosity; Hank Williams; Heroes; Influences; Jobs; Mac Wiseman; Mandolin players; Mandolins; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Musical styles; Radios; Ralph Stanley; Roy Acuff; Scottsville (Va.); Scruggs, Earl (Artist); Self-taught; Stanley, Ralph (Artist); Stroud, Toby (Artist); Theaters; Toby Stroud; Victory Hall; Williams, Hank (Artist); Wiseman, Mac (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music facilities; Music icons; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: Tell them a little bit about, about Smokey Graves and when he played at the Victory Theater, how--what kind of a performer he was.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock talks about Smokey Graves, who he says was ahead of his time. He talks about how creators are always ahead of the audience in terms of what is popular. What creators are creating will not be popular until later, once the audience has had time to adjust to the new style, therefore those who copy others are always more popular than the creators themselves. Adcock talks more about the difficulty of being a self-taught musician and the importance of listening to the inspiration inside of you instead of trying to imitate others.

Keywords: "Popgrass"; "Rockgrass"; Acuff, Roy (Artist); Bandwagon; Banjo players; Banjo playing; Banjos; Bleeding; Bud Isaacs; Classical music; Comparisons; Copying; Covers; Creators; Crowds; Earl Scruggs; Entertainment; Exodus (Song); Family; Fathers; Fiddle players; Fiddles; Followers; Gigs; God; Graves, Virgil William "Smokey"; Herman Yarborough; Influence; Inspiration; Isaacs, Bud (Artist); Leaders; Learning; Mothers; Musical styles; Pedal steel; Practice; Practicing (Music); Proud; Ralph Stanley; Religion; Roy Acuff; Scottsville (Va.); Scruggs, Earl (Artist); Self-taught; Shows; Smokey Graves; Sounds; Stanley, Ralph (Artist); Steel guitars; Success; Talent; Teaching; Victory Hall; Virgil William "Smokey" Graves; Yarborough, Herman (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Banjo music (Bluegrass); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music audiences; Music icons; Music--Instruction and study.; Musical ability.; Practicing (Music)

Partial Transcript: Well, there's a lot more that needs to be said yet.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie and Martha Adcock discuss the reasons why touring back in the early days of Eddie's career was so difficult, including narrow highways, few restaurants and hotels, and slow vehicles. He describes how his band traveled from one show to another.

Keywords: Cleaning up; Country Gentlemen, The (Artist); Difficulty; Driving; Food; Friendly; Generosity; Gigs; Highways; Hotels; Motels; Music careers; On the road; Restaurants; Shows; Sleeping; Speed; The Country Gentlemen (Artist); Tours; Traveling; U.S. Highway 40; Want; Wheeling (Va.); Wheeling Jamboree

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance; Roads; Travel.

Partial Transcript: So tell us about when you started with, uh, Josh and, and how long you played and what you played and all that.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock talks about working with Mac Wiseman after working with Smokey Graves. He says working with Wiseman was the best job he ever had; he was making $90 per week in 1955. He talks about his friendship with Wiseman. He talks about Wiseman's popularity and the crowds he drew. He talks about the Bluegrass industry at the time of this interview, including fees artists are charging and the crowds they can draw. Adcock talks about working for Bill Monroe who paid him far less than Wiseman did.

Keywords: Artists; Banjo players; Bill Monroe (Artist); Bluegrass festivals; Booking agents; Crowds; Elvis Presley (Artist); Fees; Friends; Graves, Virgil William "Smokey" (Artist); Harlan (Ky.); Jobs; Mac Wiseman (Artist); Money; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Overcharging; Paychecks; Popularity; Presley, Elvis (Artist); Promoters; Ricky Skaggs (Artist); Rock 'n' roll; Skaggs, Ricky (Artist); Smokey Graves (Artist); Television programs; Television shows; Touring; Tours; Virgil William "Smokey" Graves (Artist); Wages; Washington, D.C.; Wiseman, Mac (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music business; Music--Economic aspects.; Music--Performance.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: And I left Bill Monroe and, uh, I couldn't handle it anymore...

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock talks about how he became a member of the band The Country Gentlemen because of a car accident.

Keywords: Banjo players; Banjos; Bill Emerson (Artist); Busby, Buzz (Artist); Buzz Busby (Artist); Car accidents; Charlie Waller (Artist); Country Gentlemen, The (Artist); Duffey, John (Artist); Emerson, Bill (Artist); Hospitals; Jobs; John Duffey (Artist); Lahey, Larry (Artist); Larry Lahey (Artist); Replacements; Rhythm guitar players; Rhythm guitars; Sheet metal; The Country Gentlemen (Artist); Waller, Charlie (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Musical groups.

Partial Transcript: Where'd you get your material with the--for The Country Gentlemen that was so different from--

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock describes how The Country Gentlemen would decide on arrangements for songs. He says they often would not discuss them prior to going on stage and would have a telepathic connection with one another which allowed them to switch parts, remember lyrics, and create arrangements on the fly.

Keywords: Adcock, Martha (Artist); Arrangers; Attuned; Bible; Charlie Waller (Artist); Country Gentlemen, The (Artist); Cover songs; Covers; Duffey, John (Artist); Emotion; Extrasensory perception (E.S.P.); Harmonies; Imitation; John Duffey (Artist); Library of Congress; Lyrics; Martha Adcock; Memory; Original material; Original music; Original songs; Remembering; Resonance; Reunions; Singing; Song arrangements; Songwriters; Speakers; Switching parts; Telepathy; The Country Gentlemen (Artist); Trios; Waller, Charlie (Artist)

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Musical groups.; Songs.

Partial Transcript: Did y'all write any material for The Country Gentlemen?

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock talks about Charlie Waller's natural talent for singing but says that he (Eddie) and John Duffey did most of the work for the band, booking gigs, writing songs, and other business aspects of the band. He talks about what he said at an IBMA meeting at which they were discussing who to nominate for an award, for which Charlie Waller had been suggested. He talks about Pete Roberts' (aka Pete Kuykendall) influence on The Country Gentlemen.

Keywords: Albums; Arrangers; Band members; Bass players; Bill Emerson (Artist); Bookings; Charlie Waller (Artist); Country Gentlemen, The (Artist); Cover songs; Covers; Credit; Decisions; Doyle Lawson (Artist); Duffey, John (Artist); Ed Ferris (Artist); Emerson, Bill (Artist); Ferris, Ed (Artist); Gigs; Gray, Tom (Artist); Growth; IBMA Awards; Imitation; Importance; International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA); International Bluegrass Music Awards; John Duffey (Artist); Kuykendall, Pete (Artist); Lawson, Doyle (Artist); Musical arrangements; Natural talent; Original material; Original music; Original songs; Pete Kuykendall (Artist); Pete Roberts (Artist); Pinecastle Records; Plaques; Roberts, Pete (Artist); Shows; Singers; Singing; Song arrangements; Songwriters; Songwriting; The Country Gentlemen (Artist); Tom Gray (Artist); Tom Riggs; Waller, Charlie (Artist); Work

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music business; Music icons; Musical groups.; Songs.

Partial Transcript: And the next thing I did after the Country Gentlemen, loving that band and being the, the, the, the most emotional part of my life...

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock talks about the advent of the Newgrass subgenre with the formation of bands like IInd Generation (Second Generation) and New Grass Revival. He talks more about the audience needing time to adjust to new styles, the importance of not copying other musicians, and the (in his opinion) incorrect thinking that one artist can be the "best."

Keywords: "Best"; Albums; Art; Artists; Bush, Sam (Artist); Comparisons; Country Gentlemen, The (Artist); Cover songs; Covers; Creativity; Gigs; Goodrow, Jimmy (Artist); Growing; Growth; IInd Generation (Artist); Imitation; Jimmy Goodrow (Artist); New Grass Revival (Artist); Newgrass; Original material; Original music; Original songs; Sam Bush (Artist); Second Generation (Artist); Shows; Skills; Styles; The Country Gentlemen (Artist); Thinking; Understanding

Subjects: Bands (Music); Banjo music (Bluegrass); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music audiences; Music icons; Music--Instruction and study.; Musical ability.; Practicing (Music)

Partial Transcript: Anyway, the Second Generation [IInd Generation] went on and, uh, '73 I met this young lady.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie Adcock talks about Martha's role as the sound engineer for his band before she later joined the band herself. He talks about her talent as a singer and a rhythm player. Martha discusses her own early musical influences, moving to Nashville to write music, and how meeting Eddie and his band was a fulfillment of her dream for her career and life.

Keywords: Adcock, Eddie (Artist); Adcock, Martha (Artist); Beats; Childhood; Connections; Country music; Dreams; Eddie Adcock (Artist); Folk music; Growth; IInd Generation (Artist); Influences; Lead players; Married; Martha Adcock (Artist); Meeting; Nashville (Tenn.); Newgrass; Nightclubs; Randy Wood (Artist); Rhythm guitarists; Rhythm players; Second Generation (Artist); Singing; Sound companies; Sound engineers; Wood, Randy (Artist); Writing music; Yell singing

Subjects: Adcock, Eddie; Adcock, Martha; Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music business; Musical ability.; Sound studios; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: I had long hair.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie and Martha Adcock discuss the diverse crowds Bluegrass musicians would play to during the sixties and seventies, and how those crowds did not always get along with one another. They talk about how those rowdier crowds made the traditional Bluegrass musicians and promoters shy away from the more progressive Bluegrass groups.

Keywords: Bikers; Bill Monroe (Artist); Conservatives; Crowds; Electric instruments; Groups; Hippies; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Murders; Music scene; Musical instruments; Newgrass; Popularity; Progressive; Promoters

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass festivals; Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Communities in music; Music audiences; Music business; Music facilities; Music fans.; Music festivals.; Music--Performance.; Music--Social aspects.; Musical groups.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: And Eddie, in 1978, invented and built in '78 and '79 an instrument called a Guitbo...

Segment Synopsis: Eddie and Martha Adcock talk about Eddie's invention of the Guitbo, a combination of an electric guitar and banjo. He talks about how he created it, and the system of foot pedals and sliders he also created to control echo, tempo, volume and other aspects of the instrument. He talks about playing the Guitbo on David Allen Coe's tour.

Keywords: Coe, David Allen (Artist); Controls; Country music; David Allen Coe (Artist); Denny Gatton (Artist); Echo (reverberation); Echoplex; Eddie Adcock (Artist); Fender; Foot pedals; Gatton, Denny (Artist); Gigs; Guitars; Guitbos; Hank Williams, Jr. (Artist); Hits; Inventors; Jamming; Musical instruments; Nelson, Willie (Artist); Shows; Sliders; Station Inn; Tanya Tucker (Artist); Tempo; Trios; Tucker, Tanya (Artist); Volume; Williams, Hank, Jr. (Artist); Willie Nelson (Artist)

Subjects: Adcock, Eddie; Bands (Music); Music--Performance.; Musical instrument makers.; Musical inventions and patents.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: And so after we left David we came back to Bluegrass.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie and Martha Adcock talk about returning to playing Bluegrass music after touring with country singer David Allen Coe. They talk about how they found their bass player, Missy Raines, and changing their name from Talk of the Town back to The Eddie Adcock Band.

Keywords: Bass players; Charlottesville (Va.); Cloud Valley (Artist); Eddie Adcock Band, The (Artist); Electric instruments; Missy Raines (Artist); Mothers; Name recognition; Newgrass; Raines, Missy (Artist); Record companies; Talk of the Town (Artist); The Eddie Adcock Band (Artist)

Subjects: Adcock, Eddie; Adcock, Martha; Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Eddie Adcock Band; Musical groups.; Women bluegrass musicians.

Partial Transcript: But I think in the back of our minds what we wanted to do at that point was really change and so we went back to playing as a, as a duet.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie and Martha Adcock discuss their decision to work mainly as a duet. They talk about the traditional Bluegrass scene and people's reluctance to accept the more progressive styles. He talks about the need for growth in the music industry as well as in life.

Keywords: "Oldies"; Acceptance; Bill Monroe (Artist); Bluegrass music scene; Changes; Country music; Creators; Duets; Earl Scruggs (Artist); Exploration; Followers; Growth; Innovation; Leaders; Monroe, Bill (Artist); Scruggs, Earl (Artist); Survival; Traditional; Traditionalism

Subjects: Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music audiences; Music business; Music fans.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: Uh, I found the right ingredients.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie and Martha Adcock talk about playing shows where the traditional Bluegrass bands would play first and then the Newgrass bands would play late and how the types of people at the shows would change when his band came on. He talks about some of the Newgrass bands at the time, the creativity it allowed him, and why he doesn't innovate as much now. He talks about how Newgrass came about.

Keywords: Acceptance; Adcock, Eddie (Artist); Adcock, Martha (Artist); Band members; Bass players; Breakfast Special (Artist); College kids; College students; Creation; Crowds; Eddie Adcock (Artist); Eddie and Martha Adcock (Artist); Hippies; IInd Generation (Artist); Making a living; Martha Adcock (Artist); Musical styles; New Grass Revival (Artist); Newgrass; Rock 'n' roll; Roots; Sam Bush; Second Generation (Artist); Station Inn; Survival

Subjects: Adcock, Eddie; Adcock, Martha; Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music audiences; Music business; Music fans.; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: Okay, we're rolling.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie and Martha Adcock talk about their involvement with the band The Masters, and Martin Hurley's ideas for the band including making them wear matching suits.

Keywords: Albums; Band members; CMH Records; Community concerts; Eddie and Martha Adcock (Artist); Gigs; Gimmicks; IInd Generation (Artist); Instrumentals; Martin Hurley; Record labels; Second Generation (Artist); Shows; The Masters (Artist); White tuxedos

Subjects: Adcock, Eddie; Adcock, Martha; Bands (Music); Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Music--Performance.; Musical groups.; Musical performance

Partial Transcript: Everything we do we try to, we try to enhance the respectability of Bluegrass.

Segment Synopsis: Eddie and Martha Adcock talk about the fans of Bluegrass music and their generosity to the artists as well as one another. They talk about the many benefit shows the community has arranged for those in need, including shows to help Eddie after his heart bypass surgery. They compare the Bluegrass community to the gospel music community. They discuss how the IBMA has affected the industry. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Attitudes; Benefit shows; Bluegrass community; Charity; Donations; Equipment; Exposure; Generosity; Giving; Gospel festivals; Growth; Heart bypass surgery; IBMA Trust Fund; International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA); Respectability; Sharing; Stealing; Theft; Tradition

Subjects: Adcock, Eddie; Adcock, Martha; Bluegrass festivals; Bluegrass music.; Bluegrass musicians; Communities in music; Music audiences; Music fans.; Music festivals.; Music--Social aspects.