Way back in 1977, when I was touring with the Scottish folk singer, Alex Campbell, we had dinner with Derroll and his wife, Danny, at their home in Antwerp. On the way to the house, Alex told me how, after meeting Derroll in Paris, he'd modeled himself on him and said," Once you've met Derroll, you won't want to know me." Alex was a charismatic guy and so I wondered what kind of superhero I was about to encounter, however, when we arrived at our destination we were welcomed by a quiet, unassuming man. Over the course of the evening, Derroll told me how Donovan got the line, "First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is," from him, made a song out of it which became a huge hit , but he'd never received any credit let alone financial reward. He also showed me a photograph of his grown-up son back in Oregon. The following day, Alex and I played a festival in Belgium, Derroll was on the bill, too. After we finished our set, Derroll complimented me on my guitar picking and then went on stage himself. While speaking with Derroll, I noticed he looked tired and maybe a little nervous, but when he walked on stage and began addressing the audience he underwent a complete transformation, visibly growing in stature, and, with his mellifluous, baritone voice and simple yet effective banjo playing, held the crowd spellbound., me, too. I didn't meet Derroll again after that, but I never forgot this unique human being, this practitioner of Zen.
@netwitch56 Thanks, Nettie. Good to know there are still people out there who remember Derroll and appreciate his music. There are some videos of me on youtube , if you're interested. Just google Dan Fone youtube.
@netwitch56 Glad you liked the videos, Nettie, and thanks for sharing , "Heading for the Sun". Started off writing it about another singer and then realized the story could equally apply to myself! If you'd like to hear more of my songs, there are two CDs on Bandcamp. I think you get 3 free listens before buying any tracks.
@Thomausc Deroll lived in Antwerpen, that's Flanders - Belgium, he married the sister of a friend of mine. Deroll's music was highly appreciated here in our town. I 've seen him once on the stage when he was opening the concert of Donovan. We all know he and Donovan were very good friends. Deroll died and with him a kind of music which will never be played again in this way.
I discovered Derrol thanks to RU-vid. And I wonder how it is possible I didn't know him before. He is so great. Oregon and Portland Town can be called masterpieces.
Derroll nous manque cruellement, c'est un proche qui est parti sans que l'on n'en puisse jamais faire le deuil! Nous restent ses fabuleux morceaux de tendresse et de feeling. A écouter again et again et se blottir tout contre lui!
Thank you for uploading this. I thought he'd long been forgotten. Listening to Derroll's banjo is what started me playing...I remember hearing him with Jack Elliot ...East Virginia Blues is still my favourite American folksong
Feel like Christmas in the middle of the week ! Thanks so much. And please let us have another one. For example Freight Train Blues. Greetings from the coast of Germany.
If you get your hands on the Pete Seeger book "How to play the 5-string banjo", he calls it basic strum. I asked Derroll why he had never moved on from this style, he said it was because he was left-handed playing on a r.h. banjo, cos when he started he couldn't afford a custom made one to suit. He made a wonderful noise with that basic strum and a bit of double thumbing! No need for fast and furious is there ? x
Madam, it's not a case of 'moving on', as you put it, but simply a matter of arriving at a way of playing that suits the performer. The style is no more basic to banjo than the diddlee bo is to blues, despite how Pete Seeger may choose to describe it...
@Thomausc Thank you very much for your perfect comment. Indeed, music is far more important than superficial boundries of countries. Have a nice day !!! (Hubert Geelen)
@Thomausc Small remark : Antwerpen is a city (port) in Belgium, not in the Netherlands, but no offence.... Can you please give more information about this CD ? Thank you....I am happy to hear that Derroll Adams was a very kind and wise man. (Hubert Geelen, Antwerpen, Belgium)
I'm from Maine and got a job in central Oregon for the summer and I was planning on visiting Portland; anyone know if there is a Derroll museum or statue or something out there?
