Colin James (born Colin James Munn; August 17, 1964) is a Canadian

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

singer and songwriter. James has been very successful in his native country, having attained seven Gold-certified albums in Canada during his career, including four Platinum albums and two Double Platinum albums.

Biography

Early years

James was born in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city population ...

, Canada. His grandfather was Serbian. James quit school in Grade 10. James got his break in his music career opening for

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years ...

in Regina in 1984. When the scheduled opening act did not show, he only had a few hours' notice to put together a set of blues standards with members from the local Regina band "Flying Colours". Vaughan invited James to perform with him during the encore, and then join his tour as a permanent opening act. He and his band The Hoodoo Men opened for Vaughan for several tour dates in the United States. According to legend, Vaughan himself suggested the stage name "Colin James", because when announced over arena P.A. systems, "Munn" sounded like "Mud". James also played guitar on

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, " D ...

's song "Thunder and Lightning".

Rock, swing and blues career

In 1987, James won the

CASBY Award The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You. The ...

for "Most Promising Artist". In 1988, following his association with Vaughan, James released his self-titled debut album, which yielded several international hit singles, as did the follow-up ''Sudden Stop''. He presaged the mid-1990s swing music revival with his Colin James and the Little Big Band project, which released a successful first CD in 1993, with a follow-up gold record in 1998, a third disc 2006, and a Christmas album in 2007. James's worldwide popularity waned somewhat in the late 1990s, but he continued to release albums in rock, blues, and acoustic styles. In 2005, he gave a command performance for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

during her visit to his home province of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

. James' backing band frequently includes members of the Vancouver-based band

Odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

, and he has co-written songs with Odds singer-guitarist

Craig Northey Craig Northey (born February 9, 1962) is a Canadian musician and film and TV composer. He is one of the founding members of the band Odds, which released four albums between 1991 and 1996. They were best known for the radio singles " It Falls Apa ...

. In February 2005, James guest-starred in an episode of the television program ''

Corner Gas ''Corner Gas'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Re-runs still air on CTV, CTV2, CTV Comedy Channel, Much, MTV, E! and are streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime. The series ...

'', a Canadian sitcom based in rural Saskatchewan. In 2007, James' album ''

Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created w ...

'' received a Gold record for sales in Canada. In January 2008, James received three Toronto Blues Society

Maple Blues Awards The Maple Blues Awards are Canada’s blues awards, "honouring the finest in Canadian blues". They are the only comprehensive national best in blues awards program. The program's goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outs ...

: "Entertainer of the Year", "Electric Act of the Year" and "Recording of the Year" for '' Colin James & The Little Big Band 3''. In 2009, James recorded the album ''Rooftops and Satellites'' with, among others, former

Junkhouse Junkhouse was a Canadian rock band, formed during 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario. They released three albums during the 1990s, which spawned numerous charting singles in Canada. They initially disbanded in 1998, and reformed for various one-off shows a ...

front man Tom Wilson. The album was co-produced, engineered and mixed by Mike Fraser, at

The Warehouse Studio The Warehouse Studio is a multi-media recording facility and photography studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, owned by Bryan Adams. Building Originally built by the Oppenheimer Brothers in June 1886 as Vancouver's first wholesale g ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. James' 2016 album ''Blue Highways'' spent 10 weeks at No.1 on the Roots Music Report's Blues Chart following its debut, and appeared in

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

magazine's Top 50 albums of that year. Its follow-up, ''Miles To Go'', was released in September 2018, to equal acclaim entering the top 10 blues charts in Canada, USA, UK and Australia.

Personal life

James has been married to his wife Heather since 1989. They have two grown children and live in suburban Vancouver.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Colin James Colin James (born Colin James Munn, August 17, 1964) is a Canadian rock and blues singer and songwriter. Biography Early years James was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His grandpa was Serbian. He got his break opening for Stevie Ray ...

'' (1988) * ''

Sudden Stop ''Sudden Stop'' is the second studio album by Canadian blues musician Colin James released in 1990 on Virgin Records. The album was recorded in Vancouver and Memphis, Tennessee. The album features guest appearances by Bonnie Raitt, The Memphis ...

'' (1990) * ''

Colin James and the Little Big Band ''Colin James and the Little Big Band'' is a Jump blues album by Canadian musician Colin James, released in 1993 (see 1993 in music), featuring members of Roomful of Blues. The album had sold 220,000 units in Canada by January, 1999. Track listin ...

'' (1993) * '' Bad Habits'' (1995) * '' National Steel'' (1997) * ''

Colin James and the Little Big Band II ''Colin James and the Little Big Band II'' is a swing-jive album by Canadian musician Colin James, released in 1999 (see 1999 in music). ''Colin James and the Little Big Band II'' earned James the 1999 Juno Award for "Best Producer". Track li ...

'' (1998) * ''

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to prote ...

'' (2000) * '' Traveler'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Colin James & The Little Big Band 3'' (2006) * '' Colin James & The Little Big Band: Christmas'' (2007) * ''Rooftops and Satellites'' (2009) * ''Fifteen'' (2012) * ''Hearts on Fire'' (2015) * ''Blue Highways'' (2016) * ''Miles to Go'' (2018) * ''Open Road'' (2021)

Live albums

* ''

Twenty Five Live ''Twenty Five Live'' includes 16 of Colin James' biggest fan favorites, recorded live over a sold-out three-night stand at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, British Columbia, in November 2012. Track listing # "Saviour" – 4:09 # "Sweets ...

'' (2013)

Compilation albums

* '' Then Again...'' (1995) * ''Take It From The Top: The Best Of Colin James'' (2011)

Guest appearances

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

– ''It Still Ain't Easy'' (1991) *

The Chieftains The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymou ...

– '' Another Country'' (1992) *

Don Freed Donald Freed (born 1949 in New Westminster) is a Canadian singer-songwriter best known for his works about life on the prairies of western-Canada and the province of Saskatchewan in particular. Life and career Don Freed was born of Métis desce ...

– '' Live, ARR!'' (1993; credited as Colin James Munn) *

– ''Right To Sing The Blues'' (1996) *

JW-Jones Blues Band JW-Jones (born July 15, 1980) is a Canadian blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He is a Juno Award nominee (2015), ''Billboard'' magazine Top 10 Selling artist, and winner of the International Blues Challenge for "Best Self-Prod ...

– ''My Kind of Evil'' (2004) *

and

Jesse Valenzuela Jesse Valenzuela (born May 22, 1962) is an American rock musician and singer who is perhaps best known as a member of the alternative rock band Gin Blossoms. Valenzuela was originally the vocalist in Gin Blossoms when the band first formed in ...

– '' Northey Valenzuela'' (2004)

Singles

Television appearance

James made a cameo in the Canadian television program ''Corner Gas'', Season 2, episode 15, which was originally broadcast on February 21, 2005.

Juno Awards

James has been nominated for 17

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

s, winning seven of them.

Wins

*1989 – " Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year""You oughta Juno: What happened to those artists voted most likely to succeed? Part 2 — 1986 – 1999"
''National Post'', David Berry and Rebecca Tucker , March 14, 2015 *1991 – " Single of the Year" for "

Just Came Back "Just Came Back" is a song by Canadian musician Colin James. The song was released as the lead single from his second studio album, ''Sudden Stop''. The song peaked at #5 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Singles chart, and is James' biggest hit to date. Th ...

" *1991 – "

Male Vocalist of the Year Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

" *1996 – "

" *1998 – "

Best Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Blues Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the blues genre. Honors in sever ...

for '' National Steel'' *1999 – "

Best Producer Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

" for "Let's Shout" and "C'mon with the C'mon" from ''

'' *2019 – " Blues Album of the Year" for "Miles to Go"

Nominations

*1989 – "Canadian Entertainer of the Year" *1991 – "Canadian Entertainer of the Year" *1992 – "Canadian Entertainer of the Year" *1994 – "Best Blues/Gospel Album" for ''Colin James and The Little Big Band'' *1995 – "Male Vocalist of the Year" *1996 – "Best Video" for "Freedom" *1998 – "Best Male Vocalist" *1999 – "Best Blues Album for ''Colin James and The Little Big Band II'' *2007 – "Blues Album of the Year" for ''Colin James and The Little Big Band III'' *2013 – "Blues Album of the Year" for "Fifteen" *2017 – "Blues Album of the Year" for "Blue Highways"

Maple Blues Awards

Colin James has been nominated for, and won, 20

, between 1997 and 2018.

References

External links

*
Colin James
a
AuthenticBlues.com

Maple Blues Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Colin 1964 births Living people Canadian blues guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian blues singers Canadian rock guitarists Canadian rock singers Canadian Quakers Juno Award for Single of the Year winners Musicians from Regina, Saskatchewan Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year winners Juno Award for Artist of the Year winners Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners Blues rock musicians Swing revival musicians 20th-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian guitarists Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award winners 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian male singers