Jamie James (born August 4, 1953 in

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) is a Canadian

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

ist, singer and songwriter, best known for his roles in DQ And The Sharks and Steppenwolf. He was also lead singer and founding member of RSO recording trio The Kingbees.

Music career

James was initially known as the leader and founder of the

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

trio The Kingbees, active between 1978 and 1982. The group included drummer Rex Roberts and bassist Michael Rummans. The Kingbees recorded two albums with David J. Holman, producing on RSO. The first, titled ''The Kingbees'', (released March, 1980) featured the James-penned hit "My Mistake" (#81 on

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chart). The second album, titled ''The Big Rock'', was released in March 1981 and also spawned national touring, a performance on

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

and a cameo role in the movie ''

The Idolmaker ''The Idolmaker'' is a 1980 American musical drama starring Ray Sharkey, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land, Tovah Feldshuh and Joe Pantoliano. The film is loosely based on the life of rock promoter/producer Bob Marcucci who discovered, among others, Fr ...

''. Shortly thereafter the band split up. In 1983 James released a solo EP with Vanity Records titled ''The Big One''. In the late 1980s, James hooked up with noted actor

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroe ...

to form a unique musical ensemble which performed until the year 2000. In 2000 James went on to form the rock and roll band "DQ and The Sharks" featuring actor/musician

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...

. In 1993 James had also released a solo LP on Schoolkids Records titled ''Cruel World''. In 2000 he released his latest solo LP on Oglio Records, titled ''Crossroads''. Oglio also released a two-album CD issue of the Kingbees first and second LPs. James resides in Los Angeles, where he formed a new record label with friend and business partner Fred Wehba. We Jam Music was created by James and Wehba to produce and release new albums including James' newest release Love Attack.

Discography

With The Kingbees

;Studio albums * ''The Kingbees'' (1980) * ''The Big Rock'' (1981) ;Singles * "My Mistake" (1980, #81 U.S.) * "Shake-Bop" (1980) * "Sweet Sweet Girl To Me" (1980) * "She Can't 'Make-Up' Her Mind" / "Stick It Out!" (1981) * "The Big Rock" / "The Ugly Truth" (1982) * "Tear It Up" / "Gonna Stop" (1982) *"Just Like That" / "If I Want To" (1982)

Solo

;Studio albums * ''Cruel World'' (1993) * ''Crossroads'' (2000) ; EPs * '' The Big One'' (1984)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Jamie 1953 births American male guitarists Canadian women songwriters Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Living people Musicians from Toronto Steppenwolf (band) members 20th-century American guitarists