The Notorious Adams Boys

Foto: Gary Adams, Arnie Adams, George Jones, Don Adams. 1964

The Notorious Adams Boys av Eric Grate er en biografi/memoarbok som forteller historien om tre brødre fra Greenfield, Ohio, Don, Gary og Arnie Adams.
Adams Boys ble et av countrymusikkens mest legendariske turnéband.

Gjennom flere tiår turnerte de i Nord-Amerika og Europa sammen med store navn som George Jones, Ray Price, Little Jimmy Dickens, Merle Haggard, Ferlin Husky, Johnny Paycheck, Barbara Fairchild og Marty Robbins.

Deres ettermæle hviler ikke bare på musikalsk dyktighet og hardt arbeid, men også på en nærmest kronisk evne til å havne i trøbbel, både på og utenfor scenen.

"In 1980 George Jones fired the Adams Boys because they were a bad influence. Let that sink in" -Eric Grate

Forfatteren Eric Grate kommer fra den samme røffe småbyen som Adams-brødrene.

Oppveksten der, kombinert med perioder i US Marine Corps, arbeid i bilindustrien og erfaring som småskala entreprenør, har vært med på å forme både livet hans og forfatterskapet.
Grate begynte ikke å skrive seriøst før han var i midten av femtiårene.

Nå driver han en liten kafé i Kentucky og har publisert flere skjønnlitterære bøker. Hans litterære stil har blitt beskrevet som "raw, hardscrabble storytelling".

Denne biografien om Adams-brødrene er midt i blinken for lesere som er interessert i musikk, sterke historier og fascinerende personligheter. En bok som jeg kan anbefale på det sterkeste.

Bare historiene om Johnny Paycheck er verdt å bruke tid på denne boken.
Om ikke det er nok, så dukker Elvis Presley, Jane Mansfield, Muhammad Ali, Johnny Carson, Keith Richards, og Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. opp som en del av Adams brødrenes historie.

Jeg var heldig og fikk noen ord med forfatteren Eric Grate:

What was the reason that made you, as a fiction writer, want to write this biography?
Don Adams asked me to write it. We were from the same hometown, Greenfield, Ohio, and I had known him since 1982 when I dated his daughter in high school. I knew he and his brothers were great musicians and had played with many country music legends. I also knew that Don didn’t have long to live, and it was important to him that I write the book.

Foto: Don Adams ca. 1967

Which of the brothers have you had the most contact with?
Don. We spent many hours together over the 11 months and 2 weeks we worked on the book.
I only met Gary a couple times before he died in 2022 and I never met Arnie, who passed in 2023.

What was it about these brothers that made such a strong impression on you?
Their incredible talent as musicians and rowdy reputations while on the road. Beyond that though, I learned that Don was a caring human being and surprisingly humble. I watched Don succumb to cancer and saw the changes it wrought on his body and, to a lesser extent, his mind. He endured it with dignity, and I never knew him to feel sorry for himself.
I learned much from Don; not just about music, but how to conduct oneself during trials.

Is there anything special about the small town of Greenfield, Ohio, where you come from?
Greenfield is a tough working-class town. People from Greenfield, including me, have a chip on their shoulder. That chip causes hardships sometimes, but it also drives many to attain success. A man named Paul Angel mentored a young Johnny Paycheck who left Greenfield in the late 1950s for Nashville.

Paycheck’s success started what would be a long line of successful country singers and musicians from Greenfield. Guys like Don, Gary, and Arnie Adams, Ralph May, Steve Marple, and Brad Martin.
Greenfield also has the most beautiful high school I have ever seen. Edward Lee McClain Hifg School. Look it up!

Does it matter that you are from the same town as the people you are writing about?
It mattered in my case, but I don’t believe it would matter in all cases.
I asked Don why he wanted me, a fiction writer, to write his story.
He said, “Because you’re from Greenfield. You’ll understand.” It mattered to Don.

Who has been the most difficult person to interview for this book?
Next question. J

What surprised you most about some of the famous country stars when you began digging into this story?
How short some of these guys were: Johnny Paycheck 5’5”, George Jones 5’7”, Little Jimmy Dickens 4’11”. Don had to learn to play the bass with it sticking straight up in the air so it wouldn’t cover their faces. Don was 6’2”.

Foto: Don Adams, Little Jimmy Dickens, Gary Adams. The Jimmy Dean Show. 1965

When you write about people with darker sides and self-destructive lives, how do you balance honesty with respect?
Tough question. It depends on whether the subject you are writing about consents to being written about. In that case, you just write the truth without spinning it into something better or worse than what it really is.

Be careful writing about unsubstantiated rumors. And there are times when it’s okay to keep some subjects anonymous.

Have you ever found that the myths surrounding an artist are more popular than the truth?
Oh, yes. I always say that “Stories become myths and myths become legends.” Johnny Paycheck probably has more myths surrounding him than any other country artist. David Alan Coe is a close second. In fact, Outlaw Country is full of myths. Most perpetuated by the artists themselves.

There’s currently a renewed interest in country music. Do you think The Adams Brothers will reach new, younger listeners with this book, or remain cult figures in the shadow of arena-friendly bro-country and pop-country stars?
I sure hope so, but I’m not sure. Young people today are bombarded with information. I’m not sure that most care as much about history as older generations.
There is a strong cult following though that really digs class honkytonk country music over today’s shit “country”. Those people will get into the Adams Boys if they read the book.

What are the differences and similarities between writing fiction and writing a biography?
They are the same in that both are just about writing stories. They are different though in that in fiction you are making the stories up, so you have almost complete creative control.

While in nonfiction, you must confirm stories through research and citing multiple sources. Sometimes the same stories are told completely differently by two people who were there when the event occurred. That is a tough one to navigate. In that case, I try to determine which version is closest to the truth. If I can’t make that determination, I write both versions and ask the reader to decide.

Writer’s block is a real thing in fiction. Not so much in nonfiction. I find nonfiction to be much easier to write than fiction. Maybe because I don’t adhere to all the rules of writing nonfiction and I don’t plan on starting.

Which writers or individuals have most influenced or shaped you as a writer?
Donald Ray Pollock, Ernest Hemingway, and Stephen King.

Are there still people you dream of writing a book about, and what makes them a dream project?
Johnny Paycheck. It’s hard to believe that no one has written a book about him already. He’s a legend and has had great shelf life. He is probably more popular now than he was when he was alive. He’s such a polarizing figure within the country music industry though. They don’t want the baggage that comes with him.

Johnny Paycheck’s guitar is in the Country Music Hall of Fame. His gold records are in the Hall of Fame. But he’s not in the Hall of Fame.
I’m not sure a book could be written about him. It would piss too many people off to make it worthwhile.

Now that you’re putting this book behind you, what have you learned, and what do you carry with you as a person?
I’m so busy marketing the book and try to make people aware of it that I’ve not really had time to thin about that. It’s all consuming. Ask me again a year.

What would you like your readers to take away after reading the book?
I want people to understand that the Adams Boys were always just one break away from becoming superstars. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s they were the top touring band in all of country music.

Gary Adams was universally considered to be amongst the best guitar players in Nashville from the early 1960s through the end of the 1980s. Don Adams’ voice was unbelievable. Go on YouTube and listen to his songs. It wasn’t for lack of talent that they didn’t “make it big.” It was just the way things fell.

Foto: Don Adams, George Jones, Gary Adams, Charlie Justice. Texas 1964

Foto: Don Adams. Las Vegas 1975

Foto: Don Adams and Arnie Adams. Memphis, TN 2023

Foto: The Adams Boys Band. Arnie Adams, Don Adams (bottom), Doug Jernigan (at the top) Gary Adams. Greenfield, OH 1966

Foto: Paul Wayne, Arnie Adams, ..... Jack Solomon. 1963

Foto: Standing Arnie Adams, Gary Adams, Buck Owens, Charlie Justice, Don Adams., Sitting Sonny Curtis. 1964/1965

Foto: Steve Marple (drummer for Johnny Paycheck and George Jones) and Eric