Songwriter Tim James released a book called “Going Crazy (Left Foot, Right Foot, Breathe),” which is an autobiography.
Some people might say the story of his life is crazy. In fact, a woman who saw him perform and tell some of his stories at the Bluebird Cafe did say that. James said the comment prompted him to start writing the book, which he said he didn’t know that he ever finish when he started it.
James grew up outside of Nashville but moved away because he wanted to get out of Tennessee. He was living in Los Angeles and working in pharmaceutical sales when he decided that was not what he wanted to do. He said he put a band together and moved back home. “This is home for me,” he said. James didn’t find success immediately after coming back to Nashville. He said he painted houses for a couple of years and came close to giving up.
Then, he signed a deal with Toby Keith’s publishing company and Keith selected “My List” to record on his “Pull My Chain” CD. The song went on to be a five-week #1. “That was sort of my springboard into the music business,” he said.
James recalled how the idea came for the song. He said he was writing with Rand Bishop that day and he told Bishop that he wanted to write a song about how his list was mostly made up on things that aren’t important in the grand scheme of things. James said he wanted his list to be comprised of things like spending time with my parents and doing the simple things in life. Bishop loved the idea and James said they wrote it in a day.
The song may not have been released as a single if it hadn’t been for Scott Borshetta. At the time, Borshetta was working as the head of promotions at Dreamworks. James said Borshetta told Keith if he wanted to release a song that would really resonate with people, especially after 9/11, he should release “My List,” which topped the charts for five weeks.
James is extremely thankful for that song and that Keith gave him a chance at all. He said Keith was willing to take a chance on him despite the fact he had only had one publishing deal before that. James said he and Keith wrote some songs together, but Keith never ended up recording any of them.
James said Keith was hard-headed, which was a trait he said they had in common. “I think when you do this, you get a lot more kicks in the butt than pats on the back and he would use those as motivation,” James said. “That’s kind of been the same for me… That’s what the book’s really about. The book is about perseverance, not just professionally, but personally as well.”
Bart Herbison, executive director of the Nashville Songwriting Association International (NSAI) has called James’ book a must-read for songwriters. James said once he started writing the book, he just told his story. He said a large part of that story has to do with songwriting. “There;s certainly some insights about the music business, how the game is played, and the best way to get from A to B in my opinion,” he said, adding that there’s not just one way to get from A to B.
James has been surprised by the success he’s had over the years. “I am looking around the room at the awards on the wall and still at this age, I have no idea how this happened.” he said.
According to James, he put his head down, decided to make it happen, and got a couple of lucky breaks. He said after “My List” became a hit, he knew that it was his opportunity. “I made it a point to get to know all the decision makers and all the A&R people and publishers because at that time everybody knows your name,” he said.
One important piece of advice James received came from fellow songwriter Mike Reid, who also played for the Cincinnati Bengals in the early 1970s. “He said the secret is to show up to work,” he said. As a result, James said he treated songwriting like a job and went to work every morning.
That changed when his father passed away. He said for about 10 days he didn’t want to go into Nashville and write a song. Then, he was scheduled to write with Doug Johnson, who wrote in the afternoon. James said he didn’t want to go. “I could hear my dad in the back of my head saying “Go to work.” I showed up and we wrote the bones of Love Like Crazy that day,” James said. The song went on to be a hit song for Lee Brice.
Outside his major hits, two of the songs he’s proud of are “So I Sang,” recorded by Darius Rucker, and “Either Way,” recorded by Chris Stapleton.
James said he’s still writing songs two or three days a week, but it’s very hard to get anything cut.
James doesn’t think he will ever write another book. “I don’t think I’m an author. I think I’m still a songwriter,” he said.
The book is available at Amazon and his website, www.thetimjames.com.
Book available on Amazon and www.thetimjames.com. The forward of the book was written by Keith. “He knew he was sick. He took time to write that, so I am incredibly grateful for that,” he said.
To potential readers, James said, “If you take the chance and read it, I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.”