James E. Gilbert

Starting my singing career in 1974 performing in my grammar school talent show,
I’ve been a singing my whole life. Vocal ability is a family trait, as my Mom & Dad
both love to sing. I’m a self thought musician, learning lead guitar, bass & drums
and to avoid trouble as a teenager. Blues music was a staple in our household in my
early years as I studied the mechanics of the Blues, which played out when I was 17,
as I was fortunate enough to share the stage with Blues Legend John Lee Hooker.
From then on performing has been my way of life. After bouncing around the country
as a member of a Top40 Rock and RnB band in the early 1980's, I decided to
return home to expand on my versatility. So I joined a local musicians union
singing radio jingles, of which my first assignment was vocalist for the Missouri
Lotteries New Pick-3 campaign in 1992. That same year, my new band got noticed and
was selected to perform as actors for the Toyota Corporations Big Spring Sale TV
commercial. Although falling in love with the art of voiceovers, performing continued to
hold my heart hostage, so I put doing voiceovers on the back burner and continued
to pursue my musical career. In nearly four decades of performing, I’ve played with
and opened for such superstars as B.B King, KoKo Taylor, Johnny Winter and War.
In 2006 I released my first solo CD project entitled Best Kept Secret, where I had
the #1 song for two weeks on Southern Soul radio and received rave reviews in both
the US and Europe. In 2012, I was signed to the roster of Quinn Records TM, where
my talents as a recording artist as well as company spokesperson continues to attract
attention from all over the world.