Merle was born in Bainbridge, N.Y. in 1940. He now resides with his wife Betsy in Norwich. Merle has two sons, Jamie and Randy and two granddaughters, Megan and Karlee. He also has a sister, Dawn Adams from Norwich and a nephew Jamie Adams who is responsible for this website.
He started singing at the age of 6 at the Plymouth Methodist Church and sang at other churches in the area.
At the age of 10, he started taking guitar lessons from Ken Sickler’s Music Studio in Norwich. At 13, he had his first band, the “Melody Range Riders”. They played at grange halls, churches and theatres in the area.
At the age of 16 he wrote a song “Tennessee Baby” and got a recording contract with Cool Records in Harrison, N.J. The recording company liked his material and asked him to write more so he wrote a song called “Pink Shoes” which was a good seller for him. It made it to #64 on the Top 100 Country Charts and was played on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.
Merle traveled on the road for Jamboree U.S.A. and played all over New York State and Pennsylvania opening for many big stars such as; Johnny Cash, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Cowboy Copas.
A few years later Merle formed a new band called “Wild n’ Country” and played all over the state opening for many Nashville stars such as; Randy Travis, Sawyer Brown, Little Jimmy Dickens, Charlie Daniels, Dan Seals and many more.
Merle and “Wild n’ Country” recorded a cassette in Wheeling, W. Va. and played in Nashville at the Opryland Hotel.
Merle’s next band was called “New York Country” and played for about 9 years all over New York State and was a regular at the Opry Barn at Cortland’s Country Music Park where Loretta Eckel from the park asked him to form a house band for the park and name it “Route 66” in memory of Al Falso. Merle asked some of the best musicians he knew from other bands to join him and formed the “Route 66 Band”. They have been playing Sundays at the park and doing fairs, parks, shows, clubs, dances, and dinner theatre shows all over New York State and Pennsylvania. In 2001 Merle recorded 4 songs; “I Just Wanna Dance With You”, “There She Goes”, “Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine”, and “Keys In The Mailbox” on an album the band made titled “Most Requested Songs of Route 66”. On the newest CD entitled “Route 66 Band” We’re Still Country” he recorded, “The Cowboy Rides Away”, “Adelina”, “Honey You Feel Good All Over”, and “Room Full Of Roses”.
In 1987, Merle was inducted into the New York State Country Music Hall of Fame in Cortland and is in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in Tennessee.
Merle’s been playing for 53 years and as long as the fans keep supporting his music, he will continue.