Jim James celebrates his birthday today. The acclaimed My Morning Jacket singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and frontman, as well as acclaimed solo artist, was born James Edward Olliges Jr. on April 27, 1978 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Jim James formed My Morning Jacket in Louisville in 1998, interestingly as an outlet for acoustic songs that he felt didn’t fit within his band Month of Sundays. The original lineup of MMJ featured Jim’s cousin Johnny Quaid on guitar along with current bassist Tom Blankenship and drummer J. Glenn. The early MMJ iteration would release their debut album, The Tennessee Fire, in May 1999. From the beginning, Jim James’ echoing, reverb-soaked vocals — many recorded in an improvised studio above his cousin’s garage — are at the forefront of the band’s sound and float over the garage rock tracks like a mystical ghost. The Tennessee Fire saw some success in the U.S. but also made waves across the pond in Europe, where the band would subsequently tour.
The release of their sophomore album, 2001’s At Dawn, saw the band rising in the U.S., getting in front of wider audiences on tours with Foo Fighters and more. The band’s third album and and ATO records debut, It Still Moves, arrived in September 2003 and received well-deserved critical acclaim. But it was MMJ’s fourth album, 2005’s Z, that broke the band to a much larger audience and also received critical praise with famed rock critic David Fricke writing in Rolling Stone, “America is a lot closer to getting its own Radiohead, and it isn’t Wilco.”
Like Radiohead, part of what distinguished Jim James and MMJ from other rock acts was their adventurousness and will to be weird, which is evident on Z as the band began experimenting with dub, reggae and more psychedelic sounds. Led by James’ idiosyncratic songwriting, the band’s innovative nature allowed them to navigate the quickly shifting sands of rock in the aughts. MMJ would continue to change their sonic landscape on the landmark, Grammy-nominated 2008 album, Evil Urges, and the band’s penchant for experimentation made them favorites at festivals. In June 2008, My Morning Jacket delivered a career-defining, four-hour late night performance at Bonnaroo which saw them nearly play Evil Urges in its entirety and were also joined by Metallica’s Kirk Hammett.
By 2016, My Morning Jacket had gone from late night darlings to festival headliners. In August 2016, MMJ — James, Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel and keyboardist Bo Koster — made another milestone festival appearance for their headline debut at LOCKN.’ Read an excerpt from JamBase’s coverage below:
My Morning Jacket gave a relentless performance from the first anthemic notes of “Victory Dance” to the incredibly potent “One Big Holiday” closer. Included within were a selection of the best songs from their studio albums and a whopping four covers. After MMJ released The Waterfall last year, they barely played any covers. Jim James & Co. had plenty in store for Lockn’ as they debuted a passionate rendering of Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love” and a frenetic tribute to David Bowie in the form of “Rebel Rebel.” The quintet also dusted off a lively cover of Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved,” just the second time they’ve ever played it and first since the 2015 installment of their One Big Holiday destination festival. Then there was a breathtaking cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain” that had festivalgoers staring at the band in amazement with a sense of satisfaction that comes with seeing a set you know is a once-in-a-lifetime, special performance. Kudos to MMJ for stealing the show at Lockn’ and earning every penny they were paid.
To celebrate Jim James’ birthday, watch My Morning Jacket’s entire 2016 LOCKN’ performance below via the JamBase Live Video Archive:
Setlist
My Morning Jacket at Oak Ridge Estate
- Unknown Song
- Victory Dance Compound Fracture Off the Record
- Circuital
- Steam Engine
- What the World Needs Now Is Love
- Lay Low I’m Amazed
- Spring (Among the Living)
- State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)
- Phone Went West Could You Be Loved
- Mahgeetah
- Purple Rain
- Wordless Chorus Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2 Rebel Rebel
- One Big Holiday
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