The "Father of Psychobilly". He has performed and recorded as a one-man band for several decades. He plays guitar and sings while stompimg on bass drum and hi-hat pedals. Fat Possum put out a new record of his in 1998, called What the Hell Was I Thinking. It's awesome and like no other record. I'm not really too familiar with his other records. Some of the early ones are classics. These date back to the 50's and 60's and are available on vinyl from Norton Rocords. The Cramps cover one of his songs, She Said, on their Bad Music for Bad People record. There is a cool documentary about him, The Wild World of Hasil Adkins, available from Appalshop. I got to see Hasil when Mike brought him in for a special show at the 66 Bowl in OKC in 1999. They say he got off the plane asking for vodka and gravy. He was quite wasted by the time he played but he did his thing and it was a sight to see. I also heard some stories about the making of the Fat Possum record. Apparently the Fat Possum guys had tried to work with him at his place but he stayed too drunk to do anything so they had to give up. Later he called them wanting to make a record and they flew him to Mississippi. They just let him record when he felt like it. He would stay up all night eating pork chops and drinking beer (which he heated up in a pan on the stove - yes I mean the beer) and whenever he was ready, they recorded a few songs. Definitely a one-of-a-kind character.

Hasil Adkins Links:

The Hunch Club - members.tripod.com/~Hasil_Adkins

Hazequarters - www.grandrapidsrocks.com/haze/

Trouser Press - www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=hasil_adkins

Fat Possum - www.fatpossum.com/artists/hasil-adkins

Norton Records - www.nortonrecords.com

Deuce of Clubs Interview - www.deuceofclubs.com/write/adkins.htm

A couple of pictures - www.deuceofclubs.com/celebs/cel13.htm

Some Records:

What the Hell Was I Thinking?
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0000061VL

Look at That Caveman Go!!
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000001UFL

Drinkin' My Life Away
Amazon: www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B00000JC98


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Revised 10/28/10      Links checked 10/28/10