James Samuel "Cornbread" Harris Sr. (born James Samuel Harris Jr.; April 23, 1927) is an American musician. He is a singer and pianist who performs in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

, Minnesota. He was a performer on Minnesota's first rock 'n' roll record, and is the father of record producer Jimmy Jam.

Family and early years

Harris was born James Samuel Harris Jr. on April 23, 1927 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, the son of James Samuel Harris Sr. (1893–1930), a gambler, and his wife, Alberta Jones Nelson (1895–1930). When his father was shot while gambling and his mother died of grieving, he was orphaned at age 3. He lived with foster families until he was 11 or 12 when he and his sister went to live with his grandparents in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. He has been married four times. One of his daughters died. He is the father of Jimmy Jam (James Harris III) who produced records for Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Usher. Country music was an early influence, and Hank Williams and Gene Autry are among his early favorites.

Later career

Harris co-wrote Augie Garcia's "Hi Yo Silver," a 1955 song that was Minnesota's first rock 'n' roll recording. He performed on the record, which he called a one-hit wonder (although Garcia is remembered as the godfather of Minnesota rock 'n' roll because of Augie's antics on stage upstaging Elvis Presley.). Harris was in the U.S. military and later worked for about 25 years for American Hoist & Derrick. His repertoire includes blues and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and in his nineties, Harris still plays Minneapolis nightclubs including the Loring Pasta Bar in Dinkytown, Clubhouse Jäger in the North Loop and Palmer's and the Nomad World Pub on the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Harris is a mentor to Cadillac Kolstad and ''

City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to ...

'' calls them the "must-see dueling-piano act in town".

Awards

*The "Blues Legend Award" (2012) *The Sally Awards (2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Cornbread 1927 births Living people American blues singers American blues pianists American male pianists Singers from Minnesota 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians