Mean Mary

Mary James (born March 22, 1980), known by the stage name Mean Mary, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, novelist, producer and YouTube personality. She has been described as having "the unique ability to mix together a variety of musical styles, which can appeal to a wide audience" and her childhood has been described as "a nomadic life that could have been plucked from an adventure novel."

Biography Mean Mary was born on March 22, 1980, in Geneva, Alabama, though her family lived near Bonifay, Florida, about two miles from Alabama. She was the youngest of six children. She could read music before she could read words and wrote original songs at age five. After recording her first original tune (and theme song), "Mean Mary from Alabam'", at age six, the song went public and it was then she was given the name Mean Mary by the press.

From 1986 – 1989 she was a regular on the Country Boy Eddie Show on WBRC-TV in Birmingham, Alabama.

On February 14, 2003, she was the passenger in a car accident. Her head broke the windshield and her neck cracked the dashboard leaving her right vocal cord paralyzed with little hope of recovery. She performed as just an instrumentalist for the next year until in 2004 she was informed by a specialist that there was slight movement in the vocal cord with a possibility of full recovery.

Career Mean Mary tours extensively in the US and has performed in Canada, UK, Ireland, and Europe. Venues and events have included The NAMM Show, Alberta Rose Theatre, The Triple Door, The Trumbull County Antique Tractor Show, The Atkinson, and Folk Alliance International. In 2018, Mean Mary appeared on The Red Jacket Jamboree, an old-time radio variety show recorded at the historic Calumet Theatre and distributed by PRX.

She has guested on various BBC radio shows including The John Toal Show on BBC Radio Ulster where she performed live her original song "Born to Be That Woman." The show was later replayed as one of the highlights of the year.

She was on the May 2016 cover of Banjo Newsletter.

Solo albums Walk a Little Ways with Me (2010, CD Baby, WoodRock) Year of the Sparrow (2013, CD Baby) Sweet (2016, self-released) Cold (2019, self-released/Woodrock Records) Alone (2020, self-released/Woodrock Records)

Studio albums with other artists Thank You Very Much (2006, CD Baby, WoodRock): Mean Mary and Jamestown Down Home (2017, Woodrock), Mean Mary and Frank James

Singles "Ding Dong Day" (2008, WoodRock)