The date was September 28 in 1954, when on a small town farm in Plymouth, NC, the third child of the Adams family is born. Contrary to popular belief, this Adams family was neither gruesome, nor creepy. Rather they were sturdy, hard-working, folks with the work-ethic required to manage a commercial farm, producing many types of crops including tobacco, corn, soybeans and peanuts. Young Jimmy was fully invested in the daily operations of the farm and even became active in the local 4-H clubs. In 1967, he won a state 4-H demonstration contest on Soil &Water Conservation and even appeared on WITN TV later that summer to repeat the demonstration. Unlike most people who are afraid of public speaking, Jimmy found he rather enjoyed it.
By 1970, Jimmy's two
older siblings were serving in the military and Jimmy's mother had
decided to relocate the remaining family to Richmond, VA, after the
untimely death of his father in 1969. In Richmond, Jimmy became
active in the youth and adult church choirs and even learned to play
rhythm guitar. He enjoyed hanging out with friends who were also
musically inclined and his biggest influence, as with many teens his
age, was The Beatles.Note from Alan Ross: "There are two types of people in our generation, Elvis people and Beatles people. Even though Jimmy was a Beatles person, we still love him."
Jimmy graduated high school in 1972 and entered into an electrician's apprenticeship program while working as an electrician's helper. For the next four years, he worked full time and attended classes. As a certified electrician, Jimmy has kept busy at his craft for the last 29 years. He still runs a very successful electrician's business today. He also remained active in the church and married his first wife in 1978. During his marriage, daily work related and personal responsibilities pulled him away from his musical love and his tastes began turning towards Country music. By 1983, after his divorce, Jimmy was listening almost exclusively to Country music and it reignited his passion for music. In 1988, he even went so far as to take two semesters of vocal lessons at a local private music and drama academy. Then, for the next year and a half, he continued with a private vocal tutor.
By 1990, Jimmy had discovered the joys of Karaoke. Finally, he had an outlet for his burning desire to perform and within three years, he had purchased his own small Karaoke system which he used with his sister to perform for Richmond area retirement homes and outdoor festivals - all the while, maintaining work as an electrician and staying active in his church. In 1993, Jimmy married his second wife.
Once again, Jimmy's time and attention were pulled away from his music and by 1998, he and his sister were no longer performing. he was, however, still visiting the Outer Banks occasionally for a few days at a time. He had first visited Cape Hatteras with his family in 1964 and like most 9 year old boys, was fully caught up in having fun on the beach. But he didn't next visit the Outer Banks until 1979. It was after that visit, as a young adult, when he really began to develop a true love for the area.
In Jimmy's own words:
"In late 2002, after a second divorce, I began coming to the Outer Banks on a regular basis. I first met Alan Ross at the Jolly Roger in February of 2003 and immediately knew it was the best Karaoke I had ever seen."
Disclaimer from Alan Ross:
"Jimmy was not paid, nor given any compensation for that endorsement. Also, no animals were harmed in the preparation of this page."
Jimmy continues:
"It wasn't long before Alan was giving me an opportunity to join his staff as [a] host. I didn't pursue it because I was living in Richmond [VA] and didn't feel it was practical before I could move [to the Outer Banks]."
Fortunately for us,
Jimmy accepted the offer Alan finally put forth for
him to go through our training program so that he could possibly fill
in doing shows when he was in town. Jimmy took to the Alan Ross
Karaoke formula like a bird to flight and in no time, was travelling to
the Outer Banks every other week, doing shows every visit. Jimmy
is currrently in the process of settling his affairs in Richmond, and
then plans to relocate to the Outer Banks as a permanent
resident. He has already taken steps to set up his electrician's
corporation in NC, so when he finally moves here, he can hit the ground
running.For the ladies reading this page, Jimmy is now single and available, but not looking. His basic philospohy is, "If it happens, it happens. I'm not gonna push it." When asked for information about himself for this web page, Jimmy listed his hobbies as Singing, Fishing and Hang Gliding and his favorite artist is Alan Jackson. Jimmy's sign is Libra.
Rest assured, when Jimmy becomes an Outer Banks resident, you will see him much more often behind the mic at many Alan Ross Karaoke Roadshows!