About Jim

A brief history of Jim Howard

Jim born on 7th January 1958 is the youngest of 4 children and has lived in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright all his life and is proud to be a Gallovidian (someone from Galloway). Jim started singing at an early age listing to Robert Wilson the Scottish Tenor, and could sing “My Scottish Homeland” and “The Clans Are Gathering” before starting primary school. Jim’s father was an accomplished pianist and saxophonist and had a piano in the family home. Jim wrote his first tune when 10 years old on the piano and played it in front of his class at school. Also that year Jim bought a ukulele and when 12 years old, he got his first guitar. Jim’s early influence in Folk/Country Music was The Seekers and John Denver.

Over the years Jim has entered and won many talent competitions and started singing semi-professionally in 1980. His TV debut at Border Television was on 2nd February 1982, later that year Jim went to Australia for 3 months. Jim has performed at clubs, sessions, festivals, hotels and holiday venues throughout the UK and abroad.

Over the years Jim has written many songs on several subjects, about: Love, Christmas, Gospel, Weddings, Historical and Scottish plus others songs, some of which can be found on Jim’s albums. Jim taught guitar night classes at Castle Douglas High School for about 20 years.

Jim was an active sportsman when he was younger playing many sports, mainly badminton, tennis, golf, snooker and football. He started to practice the art of Karate when he had just turned 17 years old in February 1975, and is still practising till this day and has achieved his 7th Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, receiving his grades form Alex McGregor and Keinosuke Enoeda. Jim is also a 2nd Kyu in Judo. Jim now only does karate, archery, snooker and golf.

Over the years Jim has made a few albums of his own songs and has now put the best of these into 4 new albums: Country Love Songs – Volumes 1 & 2 and Scottish Folk Songs – Volumes 1 & 2. Also another two new albums: The Songs of Robert Burns – Volumes 1 & 2. You can also get a live performance of just Jim and his guitar on One Day In Spring. Jim has written the songs for his Christmas musical, it is about young people leaving school and going away for the first time to university, college or to find work, some of the songs are on Back Home For Christmas.

Jim normally performs using two acoustic guitars, one tuned in the normal “E” tuning (E6-A5-D4-G3-B2-E1) and the other guitar tuned in Open “C” tuning (C6-G5-C4-G3-C2-E1), Open “C” tuning give the guitar great depth and that Celtic drone which Jim uses for some of his Traditional and Scottish songs.