He was born Derroll Lewis Thompson in Portland, Oregon, United States.

[2] At 16, he served in the Army, but was discharged when his true age of 16 was discovered, and later in the Coast Guard.

He was busking around the West Coast music scene in the 1950s when he met Ramblin' Jack Elliott in the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles.

[1] He took Donovan, who had been playing around the UK with Gypsy Dave, under his wing as a sort of protégé; as a result, the influence of American traditional music can be distinctly heard in Donovan's earlier work, including the song "Epistle To Derroll".

[1] In celebration of Adams 65th birthday, a concert featuring Allan Taylor, Wizz Jones, former members of Pentangle and Happy Traum, plus Adams former travelling partner Elliott, was recorded and released on album.