Adams was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where he met fellow resident Steve Ferguson, a singer and guitarist who also became a charter member of NRBQ.

His younger brother, Donn Adams, has served the band in various support roles, including originally coining the NRBQ name, playing the trombone (as part of the "Whole Wheat Horn" section), and writing liner notes.

The Los Angeles Times once attempted to sum up his musical approach: "If Adams has often been likened to a cross between Jerry Lee Lewis and Thelonious Monk, it is only because the image is so apt.

"[1] 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 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.