Colin James (born Colin James Munn; August 17, 1964) is a Canadian

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

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 Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, Canada. His grandfather was Serbian. James quit school in Grade 10. James got his break in his music career opening for

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

in Saskatoon in 1983. 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 Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's first number one success as a songwriter came in 1984 with " What About Me?", which was recorded by Kenny Rogers ...

's song "Thunder and Lightning".

Rock, swing and blues career

In 1987, James won the

CASBY Award The CASBY Awards were a Canadian awards ceremony for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. CASBY is an acronym for Canadian Artists Selected By You. The ...

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 Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Je ...

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 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during her visit to his home province of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. James' backing band frequently includes members of the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

-based band

Odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outcome. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. For example for an event that is 40% probable, one could say that the odds are or When gambling, o ...

, and he has co-written songs with Odds singer-guitarist

Craig Northey Craig Northey (born February 9, 1962) is a Canadian musician and film and TV composer. He is one of the founding members of the band Odds, which released four albums between 1991 and 1996. They were best known for the radio singles " It Falls Apa ...

. In February 2005, James guest-starred in an episode of the television program ''

Corner Gas ''Corner Gas'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Reruns still air on CTV, CTV2, CTV Comedy Channel, Much, E! and are streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime. The series ...

'', a Canadian sitcom based in rural Saskatchewan. In 2007, James' album ''

Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a non-electric type of stage lighting that was once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illum ...

'' received a Gold record for sales in Canada. In January 2008, James received three Toronto Blues Society

Maple Blues Awards The Maple Blues Awards are Canada’s blues awards, "honouring the finest in Canadian blues". They are the only comprehensive national best in blues awards program. The program's goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize ou ...

: "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,

Junkhouse Junkhouse is a Canadian rock band, formed during 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario. They released three albums during the 1990s, which spawned numerous charting singles in Canada. They initially disbanded in 1998, and have performed occasional shows afte ...

frontman Tom Wilson. The album was co-produced, engineered and mixed by Mike Fraser, at

The Warehouse Studio The Warehouse Studio is a multi-media recording facility and photography studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, owned by Bryan Adams. Building The studio is within the Oppenheimer Building, a three-story Victorian building recognized ...

in Vancouver. ''Rooftops and Satellites'' reached #69 on the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

. 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 ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' 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 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 alb ...

'' (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 ''Colin James and the Little Big Band II'' is a swing-jive album by Canadian musician Colin James, released in 1998. ''Colin James and the Little Big Band II'' earned James the 1999 Juno Award for Best Producer. The album was certified Platinum ...

'' (1998) * ''

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

'' (2000) * '' Traveler'' (2003) * ''

'' (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) * ''Chasing the Sun'' (2024)

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 John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

– '' It Still Ain't Easy'' (1991) *

– "Thunder and Lightning" (1991) *

The Chieftains The Chieftains were a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous w ...

– '' Another Country'' (1992) *

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...

– '' Rough Town'' (1994) *

– ''

Long Black Veil "Long Black Veil" is a 1959 country ballad, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell. It is told from the point of view of a man falsely accused of murder and executed. He refuses to provide an alibi, ...

'' (1995) *

Don Freed Donald Freed (born 1949 in New Westminster) is a Canadian singer-songwriter best known for his works about life on the prairies of western-Canada and the province of Saskatchewan in particular. Life and career Don Freed was born of Métis descen ...

– ''Live, ARR!'' (1993; credited as Colin James Munn) *

– ''Right To Sing The Blues'' (1996) * JW-Jones Blues Band – '' My Kind of Evil'' (2004) *

and

Jesse Valenzuela Jesse Valenzuela (born May 22, 1962) is an American rock musician and singer who is perhaps best known as a member of the alternative rock band Gin Blossoms. He was originally the vocalist in Gin Blossoms when the band first formed in 1987. In ...

– ''Northey Valenzuela'' (2004) *

Bernard Allison Bernard Allison (born November 26, 1965) is an American blues guitarist and singer, based in Paris, France. Biography Allison was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States. His father, Luther Allison, was a Chicago blues musician. Allison moved ...

– ''Highs & 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.

Awards and honours

Juno Awards

James has been nominated for 17

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s, 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 The Grammy Award for Best Blues Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the blues genre. Honors in severa ...

for '' National Steel'' *1999 – " Best Producer" for "Let's Shout" and "C'mon with the C'mon" from ''

'' *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

, between 1997 and 2018.

Other

James was made a member of the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administe ...

in 2024.