James Thomas Slater is a two-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter based in Nashville. He has written several hit songs of American popular music.

Background

James Thomas Slater was born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. His father is a psychiatrist who plays the mandolin, and his mother is from Bolivia. He was raised in the Panama Canal Zone in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Career

After high school, Slater attended and graduated from the

University of Miami School of Music Frost School of Music is the music school at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. From 1926 to 2003, it was known as University of Miami School of Music. Academics and programs The University of Miami's Frost School of Music was on ...

. After a brief move to Los Angeles, he moved again to Zurich, Switzerland where he lived for six years and enjoyed touring, recording, and writing music. During this time, he wrote " Don't Break My Heart," for Belgian super group Vaya Con Dios, signed a solo contract with BMG Switzerland, and penned the hit "Poco a Poco." As of 2002, Slater lives in Nashville,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Upon his arrival, he signed with Byron Gallimore's Song Garden/State One publishing company but made the move to

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

Music Publishing. During his time in Nashville, his songs have been recorded by country superstars like

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs and Country ...

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloc ...

Rodney Atkins Rodney Allan Atkins (born March 28, 1969) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the ''Billboard'' country chart in 1997, but did not release an album until 2003's '' ...

John Michael Montgomery John Michael Montgomery (born January 20, 1965) is an American country music singer. Montgomery began singing with his brother Eddie, who would later become known as one half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, before beginning his major-label solo c ...

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. Mor ...

Jessica Andrews Jessica Danielle Andrews (born December 29, 1983) is an American country music singer. At age 15 in mid-1999, she made her debut on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts with the single "I Will Be There ...

, and

Mark Wills Mark Wills (born Daryl Mark Williams; August 8, 1973) is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label – '' Mark Wills'', ''Wish You Were Here'', ''Permanently'' ...

, among others. McBride's recording of " In My Daughter's Eyes" has become a contemporary standard and garnered Slater a 2006 BMI country award as well as a BMI pop award. The song was also nominated for a Grammy for best vocal performance. James recently was nominated for the country song of the year Grammy for Jamey Johnson's "The High Cost of Living". He has also penned

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

' single, "Unstoppable" which was used as a theme for the winter Olympics in Vancouver and has written American Idol Kellie Pickler's single, "Falling In Love Again". Billboard.com/ref> James' song "Maggie Creek Road" is featured on Reba McEntire's 2009 album Keep On Loving You which debuted at number 1 on the pop and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

charts. Slater was featured in CMT's in Season 1 of "Gone Country" where he co-wrote the winning song "The Way That I Want You", (which was sung by Julio Iglesias Jr.). In October 2016, Slater signed with BMG Music Publishing under industry veteran Chris Oglesby joining a roster including Hillary Lindsey, busbee, Tony Lane, and Travis Meadows. Most recently, Slater partnered with Tunecore and released Mexicoma, a selection of songs including the Tim McGraw cut "Mexicoma."

Discography

Slater co-wrote the following singles: *

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

: " God Whispered Your Name" *

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

: " I'll Roll" *

: " There's More to Me Than You" *

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Ho ...

: " Can't Shake You" *

Jamey Johnson Jamey Johnson (born July 14, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to BNA Records in 2005, Johnson made his debut with his single " The Dollar", the title track to his 2006 album '' The Dollar''. He was dropped fro ...

: "High Cost Of Living" *

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song " Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", " Baby ...

: "Kiss Me Like A Stranger" *

: " In My Daughter's Eyes" *

: "

Lookin' for That Girl "Lookin' for That Girl" is a song recorded by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released in January 2014 as the first single from his second studio album for Big Machine Records, ''Sundown Heaven Town''. The single was still rising ...

", "Mexicoma", "That's Why God Made Mexico", "Annie I Owe You A Dance", "Open Season On My Heart", "We Carry On""Damn sure Do" *

: "Forever" *

Kellie Pickler Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of ''American Idol'' and finished in sixth place. In 2006, she signed ...

: " Makin' Me Fall in Love Again", " 100 Proof" *

: "Unstoppable", "Life's A Song" * Chris Young: "I'm Going Your Way Jose" *

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

: "Get To Me" * Carrie Underwood: "Forever Changed" *

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

: "Solo Un Momento" *

: "The Life", "Guys Named Captain" "Wasted" * Reba McEntire: "Maggie Creek Road", "The Clown" * Emmylou Harris

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

: "Open Season On My Heart" * Enrique Iglesias: "Only A Woman" * Sabrina Carpenter: “Christmas the Whole Year Round”

References

External links

*
Official websiteJames Slater Interview – NAMM Oral History Library (2016)James Slater Signs With BMG

James Slater Mexicoma Spotify
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, James T. American country songwriters American male songwriters American people of Bolivian descent University of Miami Frost School of Music alumni Living people Musicians from Durham, North Carolina Songwriters from North Carolina Year of birth missing (living people)