Colin James is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Regina, Canada. Born Colin James Munn in 1964, he works across blues, blues rock, jump blues, rock and roll, rock, swing and swing revival.

Career

James first draws attention as a teenage guitarist, and Stevie Ray Vaughan takes notice of his playing and brings him on tour through the Canadian prairies and later the United States. He also opens for artists including John Lee Hooker, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood and Keith Richards. His self-titled debut album appears in 1988 and becomes the fastest-selling album in Canadian music history. It includes the songs “Why’d You Lie?”, “Voodoo Thing” and “Five Long Years”, and is produced by Tom Dowd, Danny Kortchmar and Bob Rock.

His second album, Sudden Stop, follows in 1990 and is produced by Joe Hardy. It includes the radio hits “Just Came Back” and “Keep On Loving Me Baby”, and features backing vocals from Bonnie Raitt on “Give It Up”. In the early 1990s he forms The Little Big Band, a horn-driven group that focuses on a 1930s to 1950s style. With that band he releases a series of albums: Colin James and The Little Big Band in 1993, Colin James and The Little Big Band II in 1998, Colin James & The Little Big Band 3 in 2006, and a Christmas album.

Later albums and recognition

In 2008 he wins three Maple Blues Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, and Limelight goes gold in Canada. His twelfth album, Rooftops and Satellites, returns to his blues-rock roots and includes the singles “Man’s Gotta Be A Stone”, “Lost Again”, “Wavelength” and “Johnny Coolman”. Take It From The Top: The Best Of, released in 2011, surveys the first 23 years of his career and includes two new recordings: “It’s Gonna Be Alright” and a cover of Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes”, recorded in Vancouver with Bob Rock.

James releases Fifteen in 2012. The album is produced by Joe Hardy and includes co-writes with Gordie Johnson on “Sweets Gone Sour” and “I Need You Bad”, four tracks with Tom Wilson and Thomas “Tawgs” Salter, and two songs with Ron Sexsmith: “Finally Wrote a Song for You” and “Shoulder to Cry On”. It also includes covers of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy”, Peter Green’s “Oh Well”, Foy Vance’s “Shed A Little Light” and Allen Toussaint’s “Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley”.

Hearts On Fire follows in 2015, produced by Colin Linden and distributed by Universal Music. James writes or co-writes all but two tracks on the twelve-song album. Blue Highways appears in 2016 and consists of thirteen blues covers, including songs associated with Blind Willie McTell, Freddie King, Peter Green and Robert Johnson. The album is recorded and mixed mainly in Vancouver and distributed by True North Records and iTunes.

Awards and collaborations

James receives 15 Juno Award nominations and wins six times. He also earns 16 Maple Blues Awards over his career and is inducted into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2016. He works and tours with a wide range of artists, including Luther Allison, Jann Arden, The Chieftains, Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Tom Dowd, Buddy Guy, Johnny Hallyday, John Hammond Jr., Gordie Johnson, Albert King, Bobby King, Terry Evans, Danny Kortchmar, Lenny Kravitz, Little Feat, The Memphis Horns, Craig Northey, Bill Payne, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Bob Rock, The Rolling Stones, Roomful of Blues, Carlos Santana, Mavis Staples, Roebuck “Pops” Staples, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tom Wilson, Betty Wright and ZZ Top. His songs are also covered by Maria Muldaur, Johnny Halliday and Lucinda Williams.