Rodney's roots come from deep in the south, born in Tennessee and adopted in Greenville, Tennessee from the Holston Methodist Home for Children. Here is a man that can honestly say he knows his roots, as Rodney became a spokesperson for the National Council for Adoption. Rodney was taken home by two different families as a child from the home, and returned by both because he was "sickly." In fact he had a respiratory infection, which the third adoptive parents, Margaret and Allan Adkins, with determination, helped him overcome, refusing to give up on Rodney.
His influences include such stars as Ray Charles, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and ZZ Top. But his music is challengingly different to the ears, a bit louder, rougher, with extreme energy onstage. He often says that when onstage he "lets his shadow come out to play." The roughneck often seen on stage in contrast to the quiet, often soft spoken family man with an extremely large heart, with a genuine life desire to give back to the society that helped pick him up as a small child and give him the chance to become someone. That road though not as long as some, is never less fuller with hope, knowledge, memories and faith, all found in his songs.
Rodney was encouraged by some industry folks to take a stage name so he wouldn't be confused with Trace Adkins or Rhett Akins, but Rodney refused, saying, "I'm pretty lucky to have a last name, so I'm not going to change my name."
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