Adams, Woodrow

 

Woodrow Wilson Adams, 9 April 1917, Tchula, Mississippi, USA. Although he earned his living driving a tractor in rural Mississippi, Woodrow Adams made enough records to offer a fascinating insight into the music of a non-professional Delta blues musician. He learned both harmonica and guitar during childhood, but was 35 years old before he made his first record. He released three singles between 1952 and 1961. The first was an extremely rough, unpolished performance in the Mississippi-based Chicago blues style of the time, but by the time the third was released, there was an attempt to update his sound to a more commercial R&B. None of these records enjoyed any success and Adams was still working on a plantation when researcher David Evans recorded a session with his band in 1967, part of which was later issued on an album.