Bluegrass Banjo Wizard Eddie Adcock Passes

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Eddie Adcock. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Bluegrass banjo master Eddie Adcock passed away on March 20. He was 86.

A native of Scottsville, Virginia, Eddie left home when he was 14 and backed Mac Wiseman, Bill Harrell, Bill Monroe and more in his early days. He played with the Country Gentlemen beginning in the late ’50s, and rose to prominence as their banjoist, playing on numerous albums. Eddie left the Country Gentlemen in 1970 and founded the IInd Generation in 1971, a bluegrass ensemble that also featured Martha, Eddie’s wife, on guitar and vocals.

The Country Gentlemen reunited in 1989 to record Classic Country Gents Reunion for Sugar Hill Records, and the project was named IBMA’s Recorded Event of the Year for 1990. That year he also teamed up with Kenny Baker, Josh Graves and Jesse McReynolds billed as The Masters, with Martha Adcock on guitar. Eddie and Martha continued to record through the years for Pinecastle Records, until he formed his own Radio Therapy Records. Eddie was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame in 1996 as a member of the Country Gentlemen, and he also won the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass Music in 2014.

Eddie also notably won 34 consecutive drag races with his car, Mr. Banjo. He became an internet sensation at the age of 70 when video circulated showing him undergoing brain surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to address a hand tremor, where he remained conscious and played his banjo throughout the operation, showing surgeons when they had found the spot.

He is survived by wife, Martha, three children: Edward Adcock, Jr., Beatrice Adcock and Dennis Adcock; four grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren. No information has been provided on services at this time.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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