Biography

The ugly truth of addiction.

''I started playing guitar in high school---I did my first paying gig when I was 15,'' admits Sleepy James, a life-long music addict. ''Actually until I was 35, music was the way I earned my living.''

At this stage in his career, Sleepy realizes that he has only himself to please. Like many musicians, Sleepy has come full circle and he's back when it all began-- the music and the way it makes him feel.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he grew up in Bay Shore on suburban Long Island where one of his classmates was singer Patti Austin.

''We were in Mr. Issakson's social studies class together," he says. ''Patti even sang a song with my band on the very first gig we ever played."

Sleepy and his band, the Strangers, (see top left) soon rose to prominence in the Long Island/New York music club scene. They released a single, "Remember My Address, " produced with the help of an engineer from Bay Shore's only radio station. The song, one of Sleepy's early compositions, was written with bandmates Ron Pallick and Tony Conocenti.

Deciding he'd had enough of cold weather to last a lifetime, Sleepy let out to the West Coast, arriving in July, 1967, just in time for the Summer of Love. Over the next few years, James performed as a solo act in Los Angeles' folk clubs and coffeehouses, sharing stages with likes of Jackson Browne, Don Henley, John David Souter, Glenn Frey and others.

The singer/songwriter later partnered with Dave Borisoff (see left, second and third), a banjo player/dobro player/kindred soul and future music mogul. Together they were fixtures on the L.A.'s South Bay area club circuit in the 1970s. In the 1980s, he worked for several years with Kama Sutra recording artist Adrian Loveridge in the band The Splitz. (see left).

Sleepy has toiled in the music vineyard for more than 40 years...and he has no intention to stop now. His latest CD, "The American Prisoner," featuring 15 original tunes, is available at CD Baby and iTunes.

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