Ryan Adams (born David Ryan Adams on November 5, 1974) is an
alt-country and
rock and roll singer-songwriter from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Adams dropped out of high school at age 16 to work in a shoe shop and make music. He formed a band named
Whiskeytown in 1994; they disbanded in 1999 having released two full albums,
Faithless Street and
Strangers Almanac. Adams went on to put out his first solo record,
Heartbreaker, in 2000. After a long delay, in 2001 Whiskeytown's third album
Pneumonia was finally issued.