Everybody’s Favorite Freelance Human Being
Where to begin? There are singer/songwriters, there are philosophers, there are humorists, there are entertainers and then are freelance human beings. The powers that be have been trying to define James Lee Stanley for years. Think – Will Rogers but with a guitar. I’m not going to go into a long introduction here, but briefly, here’s what you should know…
This was recorded just days before James was scheduled to have a Squamous Cell Carcinoma removed from the base of his tongue along with some surrounding nodes. As I write this, he’s resting uncomfortably and trying to sleep sitting up with a tube down his throat according to a recent post he wrote on his Facebook page. You can help him out by purchasing James Lee Stanley CDs and merch. Links are below to his website.
JLS has recorded about 35 CDs. If you closed your eyes and picked a single one, you will have picked out a collection of songs that you could listen to multiple times. Like the one you would want to have if you had to choose which cd you’d want if your were stuck on a desert island. He’s that good. His latest is the critically acclaimed Without Susie. Well crafted songs and a voice that soothes the soul, whether it be a ballad or rock and roll. Speaking of rock and roll, James has toured with Peter Tork before, during and post Monkees, as well as recorded Peter’s solo albums, and as a duo dubbed, The Two Man Band on his Beachwood Recordings label.
James talked at length about his days as coowner of the Folk Ghetto, venue he opened in Virginia during the folk music boom of the 1960’s.
But wait , there’s more! In 2005 he also recorded an acoustic album of songs by the Rolling Stones called All Wood and Stones with John Batdorf (Batdorf and Rodney), then followed that up in 2001 when he collaborated with Cliff Eberhart on All Wood and Doors. Original members of The Doors, Robby Krieger and John Densmore were so impressed with what they had done with the Stones songs, they offered to contribute their talent to the All Wood and Doors project. They are nothing less than astounding, no that’s not it; amazing, no that’s not it; incomparable, fuck it, I can’t think of an adjective that does it justice. But wait. He’s not finished yet. Do you like Led Zeppelin? Well, good, because, he recently finished recording All Wood and Led with Dan Navarro (Lowen and Navarro) and I have to claim some bragging rights here… I got to listen to some of it while in the car with James, on the way to a radio station interview. It’s still in the mixing stage but here’s a heads-up: I give it an OMG in gigantic capital letters.
And now, let’s get on with the conversation with one of the most prolific and talented road warriors I’ve ever had the pleasure to know…
Things we talked about… Growin’ up. Africa, Philly, Virginia, New York, California
Links To All Things James Lee Stanley
Another Radio Show” from James Lee Stanley broadcast from now on, on Ron Olesko‘s Folk Music Notebook every Tuesday at 10pm ET / 7m PT with an encore broadcast at 3am ET / midnight PT
https://folkmusicnotebook.com
James Lee Stanley Website – News, Links, News, The Man, The Music, Store, etc.
