While Adams spent his early musical years playing in various rock and R&B groups in and around Louisville, he and Ferguson eventually arrived in
Florida, where they met up with three other musicians (singer/bassist
Joey Spampinato, drummer Tom Staley, and singer Frank Gadler) who joined them to launch
NRBQ in 1967. The group relocated to the northeast, and a recording contract with
Columbia Records followed soon thereafter. However, most of NRBQ's subsequent recorded works have been released on smaller, independent labels. Although the group has made personnel changes over the years, Adams has remained in the lineup throughout the band's history. The band worked almost constantly, either in the studio or on the road, from their formation until 2004, when the group went on a hiatus for several years, interrupted only by a few select concert dates. After NRBQ stopped performing, Adams continued to record and tour as a solo artist and with other musicians. 2006 saw the release of
Louisville Sluggers, a collaboration with former bandmate Ferguson, and an accompanying tour. Afterward, Adams released
Rhythm Spell and
Holy Tweet, and began touring with his new group, the Terry Adams Rock & Roll Quartet. In a March 2011 letter to his fans on NRBQ.com, Adams revealed that in 2004 he had been diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer, which was, at the time of the letter, in remission. In the same letter, Adams also announced the rebranding of his quartet as the new NRBQ. The band's members are Adams, Scott Ligon on guitar and vocals,
Casey McDonough on bass and vocals, and John Perrin on drums. (As of 2024, Ligon and McDonough are also members of the
Flat Five, based in
Chicago.) Adams has focused much of his career on playing, writing, and singing with NRBQ, but he has found time to devote to other projects, including the discovery and production of the musically untrained sisters comprising
The Shaggs; live and recorded work with jazz composer
Carla Bley's band in the 1970s; collaborations with spoken word artist David Greenberger; solo recordings and performances; a duet recording with alto saxophonist
Marshall Allen (known for his long career with the
Sun Ra Arkestra); and the recent performances and recordings described above. Adams also released a solo jazz album,
Terrible, in 1995. ==Discography==