Adam Levy, the guitarist and singer distinct from the Honeydogs member who shares his name, spent his formative years in Los Angeles. His initial access to the music industry arrived through his grandfather, the songwriter behind the Christmas perennial “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and the Gilligan’s Island television theme, who brought him to studio sessions. After learning guitar, Levy moved at age twenty-three to San Francisco to join that city’s jazz milieu.
He soon established himself as a sought-after session and backup player in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New Orleans alike. In 1999 he relocated to New York City, where he met aspiring singer-pianist Norah Jones and began accompanying her. His debut solo album, the trio set Buttermilk Channel of original material featuring Larry Goldings on organ and Kenny Wollesen on drums, appeared August 14, 2001 on the independent Orchard label.
During 2002 Levy contributed guitar to Jones’s multi-platinum, Grammy-winning debut Come Away with Me. His second solo album, Get Your Glow On, followed on April 8, 2003 via Lost Wax Music; alongside his own songs it contained covers of material by Carole King, Elvis Presley, and Bob Dylan, with Jones appearing as a guest. Levy also played on Jones’s second album, Feels Like Home (2004), and supplied the song “In the Morning.” His third solo release, the live album Loose Rhymes, came out July 11, 2006. He issued his fourth solo album, Washing Day, on August 14, 2007 while touring with Jones in support of her third album, Not Too Late.
