Singer/songwriter Jim Wilson has been playing music and writing songs since he picked up his first guitar at age 10.  By the time Wilson was in junior high, he was playing in a working band with musicians five years his elder and, from that point forward, never stopped trying to find his voice, hone his skills and continue his commitment to music.  

Jim grew up in Northeast Arkansas and would describe himself as “the odd man out” with his musical peers.  As far as musical influences go, a friend of Jim’s said to him, “You can learn a whole lot about a person by looking at the music they listen to.”  “If there is a grain of truth to that statement, after looking at my collection, he probably left with some serious reservations about my sanity!  I really gravitate to other writers, folks like Steve Earle, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, John Prine, just to name a few.  My taste in music is really pretty diverse.  The old Motown and Stax stuff, the pure lonesome hillbilly sound of Merle Haggard and George Jones, Bluegrass harmony, Emmylou Harris, Sarah McLauglin, Ani Di Franco…I could go on forever but it really boils down to one thing:  all of the aforementioned people do something that moves me, moves me to dance, moves me to tears; it hits where I live in one way or another. And that is exactly what I am attempting to do each and every time I play to an audience…to use my music to make some kind of lasting connection.”  

Jim’s musical journey took him from Arkansas to Austin to Memphis, where he currently resides.  Writing songs, working as a front man and contributing his talents to other musicians, Jim began to develop a dedicated and loyal fan base and set out to take his career to the next level.  He began to “shop” his songs as publishing demos and as a result of friends, other musicians and, most importantly, the fans that came to his shows, he was encouraged to put out a CD.  Although at the time he only had enough songs to record half a CD, Jim set out to “complete the circle” and the additional material that he would write and record became SIMPLE THINGS.  “Most of the songs are about everyday life…friends, family, love, elderly mentors…things that mean something to most of us, so the title track, Simple Things, seemed to me to be the most logical choice.”  

SIMPLE THINGS songs range from the opening and title track Simple Things, which is the lead single to such gems as Lost Without Your Love, Jessie, and Stop Drop and Roll.   

“Lost Without Your Love was a result of a conversation that I had with one of my kids…I wanted to come up with a song that would honor them but when I sat down to write, this beautiful love song came pouring out.  It really had nothing to do with my kids but was more about unconditional love.”  

“Jessie is another personal favorite and was written about a ‘seriously pregnant’ teen that I saw in an Ozark grocery store while buying supplies for a camping trip.  We never spoke, but I found myself mulling over the fact that there’s not a lot of difference between youth and oblivion (given some of the decisions that I made in my teens) and the stigma that would be attached to her particular situation, living in a small town, a place where you couldn’t hide if you wanted to.”  

“Stop Drop and Roll is a tongue-in-cheek look at dance hall/nightclub romance that my four year old niece inspired at a family cookout...yeah, fill in the blanks.”  

Other songs include Too Soon To Say, a relationship ditty that questions whether or not a couple should stay the course, Bet You’re Gonna Find It about a smart gold digging woman, Dim Lights, a mournful ballad about an elder statesman who told stories about his life and perhaps how he would live differently today and Something About You, another song about love that reinvigorates a relationship.  

Jim Wilson’s songwriting and storytelling coupled with first rate musicianship gives a listener a front row seat to one of his shows or a seat in his living room. Trying to pigeonhole Jim’s writing into a particular style is a lost cause but its roots are country with a dash of Americana and rock.  The subtle undertones comprise a CD that will suit many a listener’s collection for years to come. 

Jim co-produced his debut CD with Jack Holder (Jonny Lang, Travis Tritt, Tracy Chapman) and features some of the finest musicians available today such as David Smith on bass (Leo Kottke, Willie Nelson), Greg Morrow on drums and percussion (Gretchen Wilson, Montgomery Gentry, Dixie Chicks), the legendary Robbie Turner (Dixie Chicks, The Mavericks, Waylon Jennings) and Eddie Long (Hank Williams Jr., Kenny Chesney) on pedal steel guitar, and Tommy Burroughs (John Prine) on fiddle and mandolin. 

Jim continues to build upon his solid fan base and counts the legendary Bluebird Café, The Sutler, Exit/In, The Factory and Alfred’s as some of his favorite venues as well as those famous “guitar pulls” where singer-songwriters gather together, sit in and play their songs.  

The CD has enjoyed praise from industry professionals like Michael Steele of the Wood and Steele Morning Show at KFIN-FM in Jonesboro, Arkansas, who says that the station has been receiving numerous requests from their listeners for several tracks from the SIMPLE THINGS CD.  Courtney Del Verle says, “Jim Wilson was one of the best performers to walk through the door on a Sunday night” at the renowned Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennessee.  Ben Johnson, Program Director at KSSN-FM in Batesville, Arkansas says, “Wilson’s music is as good as some and better than most of the stuff we’ve been getting from the major labels right now.”