Eddie Adcock

Born in 1938 in Scottsville, Virginia, Eddie Adcock took to music when his brother brought a handful of stringed instruments home. Between arduous shifts on the farm, Eddie immersed himself in music, learning banjo, guitar and mandolin.

Eddie left home at the young age of 14 and spent the next several years as a semi-professional boxer, eventually beginning his professional music career when he joined Smokey Graves in tours across the East Coast. From there, Adcock went on to support several key figures including Mac Wiseman, Bill Harrell, Buzz Busby and Bill Monroe. Eventually, Eddie found his most lasting collaborative partnership (in music and life) with his soon-to-be wife: guitarist, singer and songwriter Martha Hearon Adcock.

Among Eddie and Martha’s many projects together was Talk of the Town, whose two full-length records were recorded for CMH in 1987 and 1988. The two additionally recorded 1978’s The IInd Generation, 1979’s Guitar Echoes and 1980’s Love Games together for CMH. These albums captured Eddie during his most prolific time as a solo artist and bandleader.

One-time farmhand, professional boxer, high school custodian, sheet-metal mechanic and drag-car racer, Eddie has just about done it all. And that’s not to mention his illustrious career as a banjoist, guitarist, mandolinist, singer and songwriter. He was rightfully recognized for this work when he was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of The Country Gentlemen, the first group to receive the honor as an entire band.

In 2008, Eddie made headlines when he successfully received a surgery to alleviate a tremor that posed a threat for his picking hand. Eddie stayed awake picking at his banjo while surgeons connected electrodes to his brain, correcting and fine-tuning the issues in his hand. Thanks to the surgery’s success, Eddie has been able to play banjo for many more years, performing, recording music with Martha and teaching when he can.