Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American rock and country singer-songwriter. He has released 29 studio albums and three as a former member of Whiskeytown.
For other uses, see Ryan Adams (disambiguation).
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams
November 5, 1974
Jacksonville, North Carolina, U.S.
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- Vocals
- guitar
- piano
- banjo
- bass guitar
- harmonica
- percussion
1990–present
In 2000, Adams left Whiskeytown and released his debut solo album, Heartbreaker, to critical acclaim. The album was nominated for the Shortlist Music Prize. The following year, his profile increased with the release of the UK certified-gold Gold, which included the single "New York, New York". During this time, Adams worked on several unreleased albums, which were consolidated into a third solo release, Demolition (2002). Working at a prolific rate, Adams released the classic rock-influenced Rock N Roll (2003), after a planned album, Love Is Hell, was rejected by his label Lost Highway. As a compromise, Love Is Hell was released as two EPs and eventually released in its full-length state in 2004.
After breaking his wrist during a live performance, Ryan Adams took a hiatus and formed a backing band called The Cardinals, who supported him on his next four studio albums. In 2009, due to complications from Ménière's disease, Adams disbanded The Cardinals and took a break from music.[1] However, he returned to the music scene in 2010, releasing his 13th studio album, Ashes & Fire. Adams continued his musical journey by releasing his 14th album, Ryan Adams in 2014.
In 2015, Adams gained attention for his cover album 1989, a song-for-song cover of Taylor Swift's album of the same name. In 2019, several women accused Adams of sexual harassment, leading to a delay in the release of three planned albums. Adams later issued an apology and eventually released six more albums between 2020 and 2022. In addition to his own material, Adams has also produced albums for Willie Nelson, Jesse Malin, Jenny Lewis, and Fall Out Boy, and has collaborated with Counting Crows, Weezer, Norah Jones, America, Minnie Driver, Cowboy Junkies, Leona Naess, Toots and the Maytals, Beth Orton and Krista Polvere. He has written Infinity Blues, a book of poems, and Hello Sunshine, a collection of poems and short stories.
Early life[edit]
David Ryan Adams was born on November 5, 1974, in Jacksonville, North Carolina.[2] He is the middle of three children with an older brother and younger sister.[3] His childhood has been described as "dysfunctional". His father left when he was five at which time he, his mother and his siblings had to move in with his grandparents since they became homeless as a result of the divorce. He has said in an interview, "I became who I am now because of my grandparents"[4] and of his grandmother "...she was like a mother to me."[5] His mother remarried when he was 13.
At the age of eight, Adams began writing short stories and limericks on his grandmother's typewriter. In his own words, "I started writing short stories when I was really into Edgar Allan Poe. Then later, when I was a teenager, I got really hard into cult fiction: Hubert Selby, Jr., Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac." At 14, Adams began learning to play an electric guitar his mother and stepfather had bought him and soon joined a local band named Blank Label. While they quickly disbanded, they did record a short three-track 7-inch record, in 1991.[6]
Adams dropped out of Jacksonville High School in 10th grade, at the age of 16, subsequently moving into bandmate Jere McIlwean's rental house, just outside Jacksonville.[7] Around this time, he played and performed with a number of local bands, most notably his and McIlwean's The Patty Duke Syndrome. After obtaining his GED, Adams left Jacksonville for Raleigh, shortly followed by McIlwean. The Patty Duke Syndrome broke up in 1994[8] after releasing a split 7-inch single with GlamourPuss.
Personal life[edit]
Relationships and health[edit]
Adams was engaged to singer-songwriter Leona Naess, but the engagement ended in 2003.[68] From 2003 to 2005 Adams dated actress Parker Posey. In 2008, Adams began dating singer-songwriter and actress Mandy Moore. They became engaged in February 2009 and they were married on March 10, 2009, in Savannah, Georgia.[69] On January 23, 2015, Adams and Moore announced in a joint statement that they were separating.[70] The divorce was finalized in June 2016.[71]
In 2007, Adams stated that he doesn't drink or take drugs.[72] He revealed that he had endured "an extended period of substance abuse" that ended in 2006. He indicated that he routinely snorted heroin mixed with cocaine, and abused alcohol and pills. He beat his addiction with the assistance of his girlfriend at the time, Jessica Joffe, using Valium therapy and occasionally attending twelve-step meetings.[73] In the following years, he made several statements indicating he was "newly sober"[74] and he told TMZ in June 2022 that he had reached nine months of sobriety.[75] He celebrated one year of sobriety with the free release of his album Devolver on September 23, 2022.[62]
Adams has Ménière's disease and tinnitus. A flyer advising of Adams' condition is affixed to the first several rows of seats at his concerts, with the admonition for audience members to refrain from taking flash photos or using autofocus assist beams when photographing at his shows.[76] Adams has also openly spoken about experiencing depression and anxiety.[77]
Disputes with fans and other artists[edit]
At a concert in October 2002, at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, someone in the audience yelled out a request for "Summer of '69", a song by the similarly named Bryan Adams. Adams reacted with a stream of expletives, and ordered the house lights turned on, The Tennessean newspaper reported. He eventually found the fan who made the joke-request, paid him $30 cash as a refund for the show, ordered him to leave, and said he would not play another note until he had left.[78] In a 2014 interview, Ryan Adams denied that the audience-member was asked to leave "for screaming a Bryan Adams song", but rather because the man was drunk: "The reason why the guy was asked to leave by me was because I was doing an a-capella three-piece with Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and myself of 'Bartering Lines', and in between the quiet parts the guy was screaming."[79][80] In April 2015, Ryan, who had since become friends with Bryan, played "Summer of '69" at the end of another performance at the Ryman, an act described by Rolling Stone as "an olive branch to the city that was once his home".[81]
Adams left an angry message on critic Jim DeRogatis's answering-machine, in response to a scathing review DeRogatis gave of an Adams show in 2003.[82]
During filming of the BBC's long-running show Songwriter's Circle, where Adams was joined by American folk-singer Janis Ian and New Zealand's Neil Finn, it was reported that he refused to participate in a number of the songs performed on the night and was generally dismissive of collaborating with the others. The fallout from the show resulted in an online to-and-fro argument between Adams, Ian, and members of the public, who cited Adams's rude behavior and eccentric demeanor toward his colleagues.[83] In August 2017, Adams singled out Father John Misty for criticism,[84][85] while a month earlier he made derogatory remarks about the Strokes through social media.[86][87][88]
Harassment allegations[edit]
On February 13, 2019, The New York Times reported that seven women (including Phoebe Bridgers and ex-wife Mandy Moore) said Adams offered to assist them with their music careers, then pursued the women romantically. They also claimed that Adams retaliated when they spurned his advances, hindering their careers and harassing them in text messages and on social media.[89][90] The accusations surfaced in the context of the MeToo movement against sexual harassment. Adams initially denied the accusations but in July 2020, he issued a statement in the Daily Mail apologizing for his actions.[91][92][93]
Recognition[edit]
Adams is recognized for his highly prolific songwriting and a singing style that resembles that of a country rocker, even though he played punk rock in the early part of his career. Adams has frequently experimented with different genres, although for the major part of his career his musical style has been alternative rock. He is also one of the few artists to emerge from the alt-country scene into mainstream commercial success.[94]
His musical style and dynamism has been praised by various artists like Frank Turner,[95] Elton John,[96] Willie Nelson,[97] Taylor Swift,[98] Norah Jones,[99] Wesley Schultz,[100] Jared Followill[101] and Noel Gallagher.[102] American author Stephen King is historically a fan of Adams, stating in 2007, "I won't say Adams is the best North American singer songwriter since Neil Young... but I won't say he isn't either".[103]