Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1949, Danny Adler ranks among the premier blues guitarists of the rock & roll period, an inventive stylist whose early immersion in the local jazz and R&B environments rapidly evolved into a wholly personal approach. Beginning in the mid-'70s with his group Roogalator and extending through the multi-disc Archive retrospective collection issued in 2012, his recorded output has continued to offer fresh discoveries for longtime listeners as well as newcomers who first encountered his work online.
Adler has also shared stages and recordings with numerous landmark figures in rock, among them periods with Charlie Watts' Rocket 88 alongside Ian Stewart, Jack Bruce, and Alexis Korner, plus the Deluxe Blues Band featuring Bob Brunning and Mickey Waller. In 1975 he helped establish the studio ensemble known as Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe's Disco Brothers, along with additional affiliations.
While performing regularly throughout Ohio, Adler launched his professional career in Amos Milburn's ensemble, an experience that expanded his range through appearances alongside Chuck Berry, Memphis Slim, Slim Harpo, Arthur Crudup, and T-Bone Walker. The Blues Doctors, another early project, appear on the initial installment of the Archive series and contain several of his first original pieces. A late-'60s interval in California preceded a move to New York City, where he joined Elephant's Memory, recorded the "Skyscraper Commando" single, and exited the lineup shortly before its association with John and Yoko.
After relocating to Europe, Adler worked across an unusually wide array of styles, ranging from Ginger Johnson's African Drummers to the Irish country circuit. He pursued jazz guitar studies in Paris before assembling the proto-glam outfit Smooth Loser with Jeff Pasternak, brother of U.K. disc jockey Emperor Rosko. The group laid down several sessions now featured on volume three of the Archive series, one of them an impressive date at 10cc's Strawberry Studios. Despite useful connections, the band secured no contract, prompting Adler to depart and launch Roogalator in 1973.
Following further personnel shifts, Roogalator drew enthusiastic notice from the pre-punk British music press, supported Dr. Feelgood on tour, and joined the fledgling Stiff Records for the 1976 single "All Aboard." Progress stalled when Stiff had to pull the picture sleeve because of copyright complications. By the time the band re-emerged, the prevailing musical climate had shifted sharply, with acts such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash—previously openers for Roogalator—now dominating coverage. Although the group persisted, its sound had evolved considerably by the time the debut album appeared.
After the well-regarded single "Love and the Single Girl" failed commercially, Roogalator disbanded in 1979. Adler turned to session work while helping form Rocket 88, then joined the Deluxe Blues Band; both outfits maintained a steady presence on the U.K. club circuit through the early and middle years of the decade. The Danny Adler Band soon joined that roster, generating an extensive catalog that encompassed the four Deluxe Blues Band albums—A Streetcar Named De Luxe and Live at Half Moon Putney (both 1981), Urban DeLuxe (1983), and Motorvating (1988)—plus nine additional solo and band releases issued to strong European notices throughout the '80s: Funky Afternoons (1979), Gusha Gusha Music (1980), Live (1982), the self-titled album (1983), Hubcap Heaven (1986), Hometowns and High Iron (1987), Night Shift (1987), Mackinaw City (1989), and Homestretch (1990). In 1986 Adler also engineered one of the decade's notable blues hoaxes by introducing the supposed unknown Otis "Elevator" Gilmore, whose actual identity as Adler himself escaped detection by numerous otherwise reliable experts.
Adler moved back to the United States in the early '90s, maintaining a lower profile yet delivering powerful performances whenever he appeared. The 1993 live recording Jazzin at RVGs captures one such vigorous set, and in 1999 he issued the Mother's Day CD. Boat Diddley appeared subsequently, while Adler has devoted considerable effort to remastering his earlier catalog and extensive archive for the Archive series. He also organized a 2011 live reunion of Roogalator in the U.K., followed in 2012 by the single "Political Dancing."
