Country Music Legend Eddie Adcock Dead at 86

The country music world is mourning the loss of Eddie Adcock.

The banjoist and guitarist, who played with The Country Gentlemen, died at the age of 86 on Thursday, March 20, Bluegrass Today reported. His cause of death was not disclosed, but the outlet noted that Adcock had been suffering from numerous health issues in recent years.

Adcock was considered a banjo master. Born in Scottsville, Virginia on June 21, 1938, per his biography on the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame website, Adock was first introduced to the instrument as a child through his brother. He eventually picked up the instrument himself, as well as the guitar and mandolin, as learning to play was “easier” than “throwing hay bales five bales high on the downhill side of a wagon.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame (@bluegrasshall)

After leaving home when he was just 14, Adcock boxed semi-professionally and also joined Smoky Graves’ Blue Star Boys. At the time, Adcock played mandolin, guitar, and “a little bit of tenor banjo,” but when he learned that the Blue Star Boys were looking for five-string banjo player, he “sold my calf and bought a Gibson RB-100 banjo. I said I could be there in probably two or three weeks. In that time, I had to learn to play the five-string banjo.”

He went on to play in a number of groups, including Mac Wiseman, Bill Harrell & The Rocky Mountain Boys, Buzz Busby & the Bayou Boys, and Bill Monroe & The Blu Grass Boys, before joining The Country Gentlemen in 1959. Together with the group’s classic lineup of Charlie Waller on guitar, John Duffey on mandolin, and Tom Gray on bass, Adcock appeared on six of the group’s albums and played on hits like “Bringing Mary Home,” “This Morning At Nine,” “Brown Mountain Light,” and “Girl From The North Country.”

Adcock remained with The Country Gentleman for 12 years, during which time the group played at Carnegie Hall and was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame in 1966.

“The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum mourns the passing of Eddie Adcock, a true innovator and a Hall of Fame member whose groundbreaking banjo style helped shape the sound of bluegrass music,” the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame wrote in a social media tribute. “His fearless creativity and boundless energy left an indelible mark on the genre, inspiring generations of musicians.”

After parting ways with The Country Gentleman, Adcock dabbled in country rock before forming II Generation with Jimmy Gaudreau, Bob White, and Wendy Thatcher. Guitarist and vocalist Martha Hearon joined the group in 1973, she and Adcock marrying three years later. The pair became known as “the biggest little band in Bluegrass” and released several albums together.

Later in his career, Adcock released the solo project Eddie Adcock & His Guitar, played in the group Talk of the Town, and reunited with his former The Country Gentleman bandmates to release a 2008 reunion album.

Adcock is survived by his wife, Martha; his children Edward Adcock, Jr., Beatrice Adcock, and Dennis Adcock; four grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and five great-great grandchildren.