Colin James

Colin James (born Colin James Munn; August 17, 1964) is a Canadian blues rock singer and songwriter. James has been very successful in Canada, 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, Canada. His grandfather was Serbian. James quit school in Grade 10. James got his break in his music career opening for Stevie Ray Vaughan 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's song "Thunder and Lightning".

Rock, swing and blues career

In 1987, James won the CASBY Award 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 during her visit to his home province of Saskatchewan.

James' backing band frequently includes members of the Vancouver-based band Odds, and he has co-written songs with Odds singer-guitarist Craig Northey. In February 2005, James guest-starred in an episode of the television program Corner Gas, a Canadian sitcom based in rural Saskatchewan.

In 2007, James' album Limelight received a Gold record for sales in Canada. In January 2008, James received three Toronto Blues Society Maple Blues Awards: "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 front man Tom Wilson. The album was co-produced, engineered and mixed by Mike Fraser, at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver.

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 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 (1988)
• Sudden Stop (1990)
• Colin James and the Little Big Band (1993)
• Bad Habits (1995)
• National Steel (1997)
• Colin James and the Little Big Band II (1998)
• Fuse (2000)
• Traveler (2003)
• Limelight (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 (2013)

Compilation albums

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

Guest appearances

• Long John Baldry – It Still Ain't Easy (1991)
• Richard Marx_Thunder and Lightning. (1991)
• The Chieftains – Another Country (1992)
• Johnny Halliday Rough Town (1994)
• The Chieftains- Long Black Veil (1995)
• Don Freed – Live, ARR! (1993; credited as Colin James Munn)
• Long John Baldry – Right To Sing The Blues (1996)
• JW-Jones Blues Band – My Kind of Evil (2004)
• Craig Northey and Jesse Valenzuela – Northey Valenzuela (2004)
• Bernard Allison -Highs and Lows 2022

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 Awards, winning seven of them.

Wins

• 1989 – "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year"
• 1991 – "Single of the Year" for "Just Came Back"
• 1991 – "Male Vocalist of the Year"
• 1996 – "Male Vocalist of the Year"
• 1998 – "Best Blues Album for National Steel
• 1999 – "Best Producer" for "Let's Shout" and "C'mon with the C'mon" from Colin James and the Little Big Band II
• 2019 – "Blues Album of the Year" for "Miles to Go"
• 2022- Blues Album Of The Year for “Open Road”

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"
• 2019 - Blues Album Of The Year for “Miles To Go”
• 2022 - Blues Album of the Year for Open Road

Maple Blues Awards

Colin James has been nominated for, and won, 20 Maple Blues Awards, between 1997 and 2018.

See also

• Canadian blues
• Canadian rock
• Music of Canada

References

External links

• Official website
• Colin James Archived February 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine at AuthenticBlues.com
• Maple Blues Awards