Big Jim Adam

Artist Information

Biography

Jim grew up in a small town in southeast Kansas, and while everyone else his age was listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Jim was listening to Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Reed and Son House. He started playing blues clubs at the advanced age of 13, and these legendary blues figures, along with artists like Sam and Dave and Wilson Pickett, became great influences on both his vocal and guitar style.

His family attended a small Baptist church, and Jim had the opportunity to merge these blues influences with gospel music, which draws strongly from the blues tradition. He led and performed gospel music and sang, along with his four brothers, in churches throughout the surrounding area.

Jim took a four year break from music while he served in the United States Marine Corps, but says "he still had the Blues." After his military service, Jim and his family relocated to Southern California. There he picked up his guitar again and made his living as a musician, performing the blues throughout L.A. and Orange County. He also was in demand as a studio vocalist.

As a songwriter Jim has several film credits and a couple of songs cut by Edgar Winter. His credits include the film, "The Waterdance", which starred Wesley Snipes, Eric Stoltz and Helen Hunt, in which both his song and performance were used.

Jim eventually moved with his family to Colorado Springs where he continues to perform and where he also runs Jimbo's Take 2, an outstanding blues and acoustic music club that has hosted such notables as John Hammond Jr., Bob Margolin, Otis Taylor, and Eden Brent along with outstanding local and regional acts. The Jim Adam Blues Band packs the house every time they play, and "Big Jim" Adam is a prominent figure on the regional blues scene.

Jim's new album, Rock Island Line, a collection of traditional and original blues material, has charted on the Living Blues radio chart and the Roots Music Report and has been enthusiastically received by audiences.

Jim has opened for blues legend John Hammond, Ruthie Foster, folk icon John Stewart, Michael Johnson (“Bluer than Blue”), Jake Armerding, Cajun rocker Zachary Richard, amongst others.

He is quickly being discovered by a national audience, and is looking forward to touring and meeting a larger audience in the year ahead.

Instrumentation

Big Jim Adam - Vocals and Guitar

Discography

Back In My Home Town
2011 International Blues Challenge Solo/Dou Finalist Big Jim Adam and John Stilwagen. Cook up some Tasty Blues Soup.

Rock Island Line (Fossyl Records)
Collection of traditional and original blues material, has charted on the Living Blues radio chart and the Roots Music Report

Live at Jimbo's
A true acoustic performance. A mic on his voice and guitar and a mic on the floor to capture his stomping foot

Links

• Booking Info contact amy@amusiccompanyinc.com

Audio

• Run Little Jimbo
  Listen  
• Biscuits and Gravy
  Listen  
• Love In Vain
  Listen  
• Rock Island Line
  Listen  
• 100 Reasons
  Listen  
• Feel Good Day
  Listen  

Video

Big Jim Adam Band

Photo Gallery

Press

• Nick Delay WKVR-fm [+ Show ]
  

  Big Jim Adam, Rock Island Line (Fossyl). Acoustically grounded, but with touches of Soul. Mr. Adam...Big Jim Adam, Rock Island Line (Fossyl). Acoustically grounded, but with touches of Soul. Mr. Adams best instrument is his rich baritone voice, which lends these tracks an attention-grabbing authority. The songs are a mix of originals and mostly familiar covers. My favorite of the originals is the upbeat Feel Good Day (7). There Goes the Blues (13) is my favorite cover, in part because this is a great Texas Johnny Brown song that rarely (if ever) has been recorded by anyone else. (Nick Delay – WKVR-fm) 02/08

• Broomfield Auditorium [+ Show ]
  

  "Big Jim and Little John entertained us with their foot stomping, knee slapping blues. Whether a blu..."Big Jim and Little John entertained us with their foot stomping, knee slapping blues. Whether a blues fan or someone new to the sound, the audience enjoyed the diverse selection that included old time blues as well as contemporary sounds. This show was a real crowd pleaser."
  
  Karen Gerrity
  Cultural Affairs Manager
  City and County of Broomfield

• Review of September 6, 2007 Ruthie Foster [+ Show ]
  

  The show kicked off with a 10-song set from Jim Adam Jim’s skill at storytelling, emotional singi...
  The show kicked off with a 10-song set from Jim Adam
  Jim’s skill at storytelling, emotional singing and the honest musicianship of his acoustic guitar with that right hand thumping bass while strumming were the perfect appetizer for Ruthie’s upcoming show.
  

• Big Jim Adam [+ Show ]
  

  “His sound is genuine delta pluck to slidin’ contemporary blues, and the vocals are impeccable…front...“His sound is genuine delta pluck to slidin’ contemporary blues, and the vocals are impeccable…front man Jim Adam is a consummate entertainer…”
  (Pikes Peak Blues Community)
  

• Betty Parish
  

  I'm hooked! Please bring "Big Jim" to Nashville and introduce him to this part of the world.

• Radio Stations [+ Show ]
  

  Playin' that good ol' boy right now on WDST, Woodstock NY. "good stuff", "lotsa great blues, dig ...Playin' that good ol' boy right now on WDST, Woodstock NY.
  "good stuff", "lotsa great blues, dig it!" (WITR, Rochester NY)
  "how blue it is" (KUSP, Santa Cruz CA)

Setlist

Originals and Traditionals
With covers ranging from Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, and Son House to Jimmy Reed, Howling Wolf and B.B. King

Basic Requirements

Calendar