Legendary Guitarist Adam Roth Dies Of Cancer, New York In Mourning

In October 2014, I wrote a review of the Liza Colby Sound, “Adam Roth is a gifted guitarist, his licks are more than garage tricks, they ring so well, so cleanly they don’t quite have the grist of the blues but how much of that is just the context, I am not sure.” I’d never heard from Adam before, though I’d heard of him because of his playing with Del Fuegos, who he joined in the late 1980s. Adam thanked me for the honest review while other folks wanted to string me up. Yes, that is the sort of man Adam, who died of Stage Four Bile Duct Cancer, was.

The outpouring of grief for the passing of this well loved man has been heart wrenching. From Jahn Xavier, who called it losing a brother, to Joe Vincent, who shared memories of playing in bands together, Deborah Frost worried about Adam’s parents and  his brother Charlie Roth who has been quietly in mourning but his friends have flooded his Facebook Page. Stories of his sense of humor and his friendship have flooded social media. If you are how you are remembered, Roth is the best, that’s all.

According to Adam’s website:

“Adam Roth is a musician, composer, and producer of radio and television commercials. An experienced recording artist, he has worked with the likes of Jim Carroll, David JoHanson, Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando, and many more. Once a member of the Boston rock band Del Fuegos, he recorded the album Smokin in the Fields with them for RCA. A regular collaborator with comedian Denis Leary, Adam has recorded three of Leary’s albums including the comedy hit I’m An Asshole which was featured on the album No Cure For Cancer. He has also appeared with Denis on MTV’s Unplugged, and on numerous Denis Leary specials for Showtime, HBO, and Comedy Central. Experienced in film scoring, Adam has written and recorded music for The Ref, Monument Ave, and Long Walk to Forever, in addition to scoring Oscar nominated filmmaker Robert Stone’s documentary Hollywood Vietnam. He has written music for many television shows including Wreckreation Nation, Shorties Watchin’ Shorties, Showtimes Seven Deadly Sins, and Comedy in the Park. Adam has won over a dozen ADDY awards for musical commercial spots featuring Coke, Heineken, Febreze, and Budweiser. Recently, Adam wrote the music for FX’s hit show Rescue Me.
Currently Adam is working on the new FX half hour music driven comedy Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll which teams him once again with Denis Leary.
In addition to writing music, Adam is the guitar “voice” for John Corbett and tech adviser for the show.”

Last year, Adam was touring the UK with 60s legend Billy J Kramer, this year he was on the set of “Sex&Drugs&RocknRoll” and then he was cruelly snatched from us while still at the peak of life. Our condolences to Charles and Jahn, and Adam’s family, friends, fans,  and ourselves.