Jim Lauderdale

James Russell Lauderdale and Dr. Wilbur "Chap" Chapman Lauderdale. Lauderdale's mother was originally from Kansas. Both of his parents were singers. He, too, sang in his early years, and learned the drums at 11, the harmonica at 13, and the banjo at 15. He attended the Carolina Friends School in Durham, North Carolina, and then went on to the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, studying theater. He played in country and bluegrass bands during college.

Career

After graduating from college, Lauderdale lived in Nashville for five months in the summer of 1979 while he tried to get a recording or publishing deal. He hung out a lot with Roland White, an accomplished mandolin player, with whom he cut a record, but things never took off, so he decided to move to New York City, where he played in Floyd Domino's band and performed as a solo artist. In 1980, he met singer-songwriter Buddy Miller, In April 2018, Lauderdale signed to Yep Roc Records.

Solo career

Lauderdale's solo debut, Planet of Love, produced by Rodney Crowell and John Leventhal, was released in 1991. Lost in the Lonesome Pines, a 2002 collaboration with Ralph Stanley, won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. The Bluegrass Diaries won the same award in 2008. In 2003, Lauderdale was joined by roots/jam band Donna the Buffalo on the album Wait 'til Spring. His Could We Get Any Closer? was nominated for a Grammy in 2009.

In 2013, Lauderdale released Old Time Angels (a bluegrass album) and his first solo acoustic album, Blue Moon Junction, followed by Black Roses, with the North Mississippi All-Stars. Lauderdale appears on Laura Cantrell's 2013 release No Way There From Here. In 2014, the release of his album I'm A Song occurred. Lauderdale will release his new album Time Flies on August 3, 2018, along with Jim Lauderdale and Roland White.

Collaborations In 2007, he began a collaboration with Larry Campbell, the band Olabelle, and others in the American Beauty Project, a loose collection of musicians dedicated to reimagining in performance the Grateful Dead's two classic 1970 albums, Workingman's Dead and American Beauty.

In 2011, Lauderdale toured with Hot Tuna, an ensemble act that included Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Barry Mitterhof, G.E. Smith, and for a time, Charlie Musselwhite. He has also toured with Elvis Costello, Rhonda Vincent, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and others.

Dr. Ralph Stanley Lauderdale wrote and produced two bluegrass records with Ralph Stanley. Their first collaboration, I Feel Like Singing Today, was nominated for a Grammy.

Buddy Miller

Lauderdale released a record called Buddy and Jim with long-time friend and collaborator Buddy Miller in 2013. Lauderdale said they recorded it in three days in Miller's home studio. Miller did the mixing and producing. as well as Muscle Shoals musicians Spooner Oldham and David Hood. The album was recorded at their father Jim Dickinson's studio, Zebra Ranch, in Mississippi. The article notes that many country artists who were signed to major labels in the 1990s failed to get radio airtime and had their contracts dropped after making one or two albums.

Discography Lauderdale has had a long-time, successful

Songwriting Gary Allan: "Forever And A Day", "Wake Up Screaming", "What's On My Mind", "We Touched the Sun" Mark Chesnutt: "Gonna Get a Life" (co-written with Frank Dycus) – hit number one in 1995

"Wake Up Screaming"

1999 "Still Not Out of the Woods"

Onward Through It All 2000 "If I Were You"

The Other Sessions 2002 "She's Looking at Me" (with Ralph Stanley)

Lost in the Lonesome Pines 2006 "I Met Jesus in a Bar"

"Who's Leaving Who?"

"There Goes Bessy Brown"

2008 "This Is the Last Time (I'm Ever Gonna Hurt)"

The Bluegrass Diaries

Guest singles YearSingleArtistAlbum 2009"Love's Gonna Live Here"Tanya TuckerMy Turn

Music videos

Contributions A Town South of Bakersfield Vol. II (1988) – "What Am I Waiting For" Happy Birthday, Buck! A Texas Salute to Buck Owens (2002) – "Sweet Rosie Jones" Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck (2005) – "I Want You To Know" Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins (2008) – "Easy Times"

Other activities Lauderdale has hosted the Americana Music Awards since winning their first Artist of the Year and Song of the Year awards in 2002. He was a judge for the second, 10th and 11th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. He is Honorary Chairperson for the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest each April at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC.

He hosted "The Jim Lauderdale Show" on WSM Radio. He hosts, along with Buddy Miller, "The Buddy & Jim Show" on SiriusXM Outlaw Country. Lauderdale is also a frequent host and performer on "Music City Roots", a weekly Americana music show web-streamed live from The Factory at Franklin just outside Nashville.

Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts A documentary film called Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts, directed by Jeremy Dylan, was released in 2013. Using interviews with Elvis Costello, Buddy Miller, John Oates, Gary Allan, Tony Brown, and Jerry Douglas, the film describes Lauderdale's successes and failures as a recording artist.