Jim Witter
Encyclopedia
Jim Witter, born November 2, 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada
, is an award winning country music
and Christian music
singer/songwriter. Ten of Witter's songs reached the top 10 on Canadian country radio.
executive. Within three years, Witter was signed to FRE Records
. His debut album, Jim Witter, was released in 1993. The first single, "Everything and More," entered the National Country Chart at #40, at the time a first for a debut Canadian single. Every single released from the album reached the top 10 on the Canadian country singles chart, including "Distant Drum," "Stolen Moments," "Sweet Sweet Poison" and "Chevy Coupe." Witter received a 1994
Juno
nomination for Best New Solo Artist, an award that covered all genres of music, as well as a nomination for Best Country Male Vocalist.
Witter signed a songwriting deal with Curb Records
in 1999. That resulted in a record deal and the release of his second album, All My Life, in both Canada and the United States
. He continued his string of hits in Canada with songs like "All My Life," "Jumpin' Right In," "Tough As A Pickup Truck," "One Beat At A Time" and "One Hundred Years." Unfortunately, none of his singles reached Billboard
's Hot Country Songs
chart in the U.S.
When it came time to go back into the studio, Witter was encouraged by Mike Curb
to record a Christian
record. The result was his third album, 2003's Forgiveness. The album received a nomination at the 2004 GMA Dove Awards for Album of the Year.
Witter is currently performing in The Piano Men, a tribute to the music of the 1970s, performing the songs of Billy Joel
and Elton John
.
GMA Dove Awards
Juno Awards
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, is an award winning country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
singer/songwriter. Ten of Witter's songs reached the top 10 on Canadian country radio.
Biography
Jim Witter grew up playing music. In 1982, he performed four songs on the "Music for Safe Water" compilation by 1280 CHAM radio. In 1990, one of Witter's demos caught the attention of a Sony Music CanadaSony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
executive. Within three years, Witter was signed to FRE Records
FRE Records
FRE Records was a Toronto, Ontario based independent record label in the 1990s. It was originally formed by former employees of Enigma Records after that label's Canadian operations folded.The best-known bands on FRE were April Wine and Skydiggers....
. His debut album, Jim Witter, was released in 1993. The first single, "Everything and More," entered the National Country Chart at #40, at the time a first for a debut Canadian single. Every single released from the album reached the top 10 on the Canadian country singles chart, including "Distant Drum," "Stolen Moments," "Sweet Sweet Poison" and "Chevy Coupe." Witter received a 1994
Juno Awards of 1994
The Juno Awards of 1994, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 20 March 1994 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Roch Voisine was the host for the ceremonies, which were taped that afternoon for broadcast that evening on CBC...
Juno
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
nomination for Best New Solo Artist, an award that covered all genres of music, as well as a nomination for Best Country Male Vocalist.
Witter signed a songwriting deal with Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
in 1999. That resulted in a record deal and the release of his second album, All My Life, in both Canada and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He continued his string of hits in Canada with songs like "All My Life," "Jumpin' Right In," "Tough As A Pickup Truck," "One Beat At A Time" and "One Hundred Years." Unfortunately, none of his singles reached Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart in the U.S.
When it came time to go back into the studio, Witter was encouraged by Mike Curb
Mike Curb
Michael Curb is an American musician, record company executive, NASCAR and IRL race car owner. A Republican, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California from 1979-1983 under Democratic Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr...
to record a Christian
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
record. The result was his third album, 2003's Forgiveness. The album received a nomination at the 2004 GMA Dove Awards for Album of the Year.
Witter is currently performing in The Piano Men, a tribute to the music of the 1970s, performing the songs of Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
and Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
.
Albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Jim Witter |
| 1999 | All My Life |
| 2003 | Forgiveness |
Singles
| Year | Title | CAN Country | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Everything and More" | 5 | Jim Witter |
| "Distant Drum" | 4 | ||
| "Stolen Moments" | 5 | ||
| 1994 | "Sweet Sweet Poison" | 6 | |
| "Human Highway" (with Cassandra Vasik Cassandra Vasik Cassandra Vasik is a Canadian country singer/songwriter from Blenheim, Ontario. Vasik won the 1992 Canadian Country Music Association "Rising Star" award as well as the 1992 Juno Award for Best Country Female Vocalist.-Albums:- Singles :... ) |
24 | Borrowed Tunes: A Tribute to Neil Young Borrowed Tunes: A Tribute to Neil Young Borrowed Tunes is a tribute album to Neil Young, released in 1994. The album was released as a two-CD set, one compiling acoustic songs and one compiling rock-oriented ones, although the two discs were also each sold individually. The album features a variety of Canadian musicians covering songs... |
|
| "Chevy Coupe" | 6 | Jim Witter | |
| 1999 | "All My Life" | 8 | All My Life |
| "Jumpin' Right In" | 10 | ||
| "Tough as a Pickup Truck" | 7 | ||
| 2000 | "One Beat at a Time" | 7 | |
| 2001 | "One Hundred Years" | ||
| "I Want You to Want Me I Want You to Want Me "I Want You to Want Me" is a song by Cheap Trick which first appeared on their second album In Color in 1977. It was the first single released from that album but it didn't chart in the US. However, it was a #1 single in Japan... " |
|||
| 2003 | "Forgiveness" | Forgiveness | |
| "You Are the Sun" | |||
| "Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn! (song) "Turn! Turn! Turn! ", often abbreviated to "Turn! Turn! Turn!", is a song adapted entirely from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible and put to music by Pete Seeger in 1959... " |
Awards and recognition
Canadian Country Music AwardsCanadian Country Music Association
The Canadian Country Music Association was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The association changed its name to the Canadian Country Music Association in 1987.-Awards:The CCMA held the first Canadian...
- 1994 Video Of The Year: "Stolen Moments"
- 1995 Vocal Collaboration Of The Year
- 1996 Vocal Collaboration Of The Year
GMA Dove Awards
GMA Music Awards
The Gospel Music Association Dove Awards are presented annually by the Gospel Music Association for outstanding achievements in the Christian music industry. The awards are usually presented during a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee, that features performances by a number of the industry's newest...
- 2004 nominee, Inspirational Album Of The Year: Forgiveness
Juno Awards
- 1994 nomineeJuno Awards of 1994The Juno Awards of 1994, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 20 March 1994 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Roch Voisine was the host for the ceremonies, which were taped that afternoon for broadcast that evening on CBC...
, Country Male Vocalist Of The Year - 1994 nomineeJuno Awards of 1994The Juno Awards of 1994, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 20 March 1994 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Roch Voisine was the host for the ceremonies, which were taped that afternoon for broadcast that evening on CBC...
, Best New Solo Artist - 1995 nomineeJuno Awards of 1995The Juno Awards of 1995, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 26 March 1995 in Hamilton, Ontario at a ceremony in the Copps Coliseum...
, Country Male Vocalist Of The Year - 2000 nomineeJuno Awards of 2000The Juno Awards of 2000 were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 11-12 March 2000.The primary ceremonies were hosted by The Moffatts at the SkyDome on 12 March 2000 and broadcast on CBC Television...
, Best Country Male Artist - 2004 nomineeJuno Awards of 2004The Juno Awards of 2004 were presented on April 4, 2004 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and were hosted by Alanis Morissette.Singer-songwriters Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, and Nickelback led the nominations with five nominations each...
, Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year: Forgiveness