James Paul O'Hara (August 8, 1950 – January 7, 2021) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist. Between 1986 and 1990, he and

Kieran Kane Kieran Kane (born October 7, 1949) is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven si ...

comprised

The O'Kanes The O'Kanes were an American country music duo composed of Jamie O'Hara (singer), Jamie O'Hara and Kieran Kane, both vocalists and guitarists. Active between 1986 and 1990, the duo recorded three albums for Columbia Records and charted seven singl ...

, a duo that charted seven singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts, including the No. 1 single " Can't Stop My Heart from Loving You". After the O'Kanes disbanded in 1990, both O'Hara and Kane recorded solo albums of their own. In addition, O'Hara continued writing songs for other country music artists, including

The Judds The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist Wynonna Judd and her mother, Naomi Judd. The duo signed to RCA Nashville in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds were one of the most success ...

' 1986 hit "

Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days) "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)" is a song written by Jamie O'Hara, and recorded by the American country music duo, The Judds. It was released in January 1986 as the second single from the album ''Rockin' with the Rhythm''. The song ...

" which earned him a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Biography

O'Hara was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

where he attended

Ottawa Hills High School (Ohio) Ottawa Hills High School is a public high school in the village of Ottawa Hills, Ohio, United States, just west of Toledo. It is the only high school in the Ottawa Hills Local Schools district. The school's mascot is the Green Bears. Appearanc ...

and played Varsity Football. He had initially planned to pursue a career in

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

, but after a career-ending knee injury, O'Hara shifted his focus to singing and songwriting. By 1975, he had moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, where he was signed to a publishing contract. Among the songs that he composed throughout the 1980s were "

Older Women "Older Women" is a song written by Jamie O'Hara, and recorded by American country music artist Ronnie McDowell Ronald Dean McDowell Sr. (born March 25, 1950) is an American country music artist, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his 1 ...

" and " Wandering Eyes" a number one and number two single, both for

Ronnie McDowell Ronald Dean McDowell Sr. (born March 25, 1950) is an American country music artist, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his 1977 song "The King Is Gone", a tribute to Elvis Presley, who had recently died. From that single onward, McDowell ...

The O'Kanes

, another songwriter who worked for the same publishing company, first collaborated with O'Hara on a song titled "Bluegrass Blues", eventually recorded by

. Afterwards, the two began writing more songs together; by 1986, they decided to form a duo known as

. The same year, O'Hara wrote "

Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days) "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)" is a song written by Jamie O'Hara, and recorded by the American country music duo, The Judds. It was released in January 1986 as the second single from the album ''Rockin' with the Rhythm''. The song ...

", which was also recorded by The Judds; in addition to becoming a number one single on the country music charts, this song earned him a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. Signed to

Columbia Nashville Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the Amer ...

in 1986, The O'Kanes recorded three studio albums for the label, in addition to charting seven singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles charts. Their third album failed to produce any singles and by 1990, the duo parted ways, with both members assuming solo careers.

Return to solo career

O'Hara recorded a solo album for

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Current artists *Kane Brown *Andrew Jannakos *Miranda Lambert *Niko Moon (RCA/River Hou ...

in 1994. His only album for the label, ''Rise Above It'', was issued that year, followed by a second album titled ''Beautiful Obsession'' seven years later. In addition, O'Hara continued to write songs for other artists, including cuts by

Shelby Lynne Shelby Lynne (born Shelby Lynn Moorer, October 22, 1968) is an American singer and songwriter and the older sister of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer. The success of her pop rock album '' I Am Shelby Lynne'' (1999) led to her winning the Grammy ...

Gary Allan Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967) is an American country music singer. Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his country music debut with the release of his single " Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album '' U ...

, and

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

Death

O'Hara died under the care of Alive Hospice on January 7, 2021, after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Jamie 1950 births 2021 deaths American country singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Musicians from Toledo, Ohio Singer-songwriters from Ohio The O'Kanes members RCA Records Nashville artists Country musicians from Ohio