Jim James Piece in Wall Street Journal

[kotchishm]

Today's issue of the WSJ has an article about Jim.  Pick up print or go to the link if you're a subscriber

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323977304578654183441413280.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5#articleTabs%3Darticle

[jaye]

(courtesy of JohnnYYac) 

My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James is also the rock world's go-to background vocalist.
By CHRIS KORNELIS

THE VOICE: My Morning Jacket's Jim James is an in-demand backup singer.

Jim James's expansive voice helped make My Morning Jacket one of the most popular rock bands on the summer festival circuit. But when producer Tucker Martine calls upon the group's frontman to sing on one of the records he's working on, he doesn't want James's voice to sit front and center. Most of the time, he's not even looking for him to sing any words at all.

Mr. James has established himself as one of the rock world's go-to back-up vocalists, working with albums from artists such as Kathleen Edwards, the Roots and John Fogerty. Mr. Martine first employed Mr. James to provide "haunting sounds" on The Decemberists' 2009 album "The Hazards of Love." This summer Mr. James's voice can be heard on songs from three albums produced by Mr. Martine—Camera Obscura's "Desire Lines," Laura Veirs's Aug. 20 release "Warp and Weft," and Neko Case's "The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You", out Sept. 3.

"I also like thinking of (my voice) just as an instrument in an abstract way," Mr. James says, "whether it's singing without words, or making word puzzles—singing words that might not necessarily make sense to someone else, but I just like the way they sound."

Ms. Veirs, who is married to Mr. Martine, also tapped Mr. James as a back-up vocalist for a handful of tracks on her 2010 album "July Flame." His voice can be high and ethereal, "almost a woman's tone," she says, "and it can be a powerful, strong aggressive sound, too."

Ms. Veirs says she and Mr. Martine hardly give him any direction. They send him tracks, ask him to think of some ideas, and wait for him to send back contributions. These recordings often include several layers of Mr. James harmonizing with himself. He makes howling oohs, ahhs and abstract tones. The effect, Ms. Veirs says, is not unlike that of a horn section, which combines several different instruments to create a single sound.

Mr. Martine says that with many back-up vocalists, collaborations come down to deciding which lines they should sing. "With Jim, sometimes I'll leave an instrumental section open without a real featured instrument and earmark that Jim's territory and just give him room to explore and see what happens," Mr. Martine says.

Mr. James will be touring in September to promote his solo debut, "Regions of Light and Sound of God." He just wrapped up the Americanarama tour, in which bands including My Morning Jacket, Wilco and Ryan Bingham supported headliner Bob Dylan. On several of the tour stops, Mr. James, Mr. Bingham, and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy joined Mr. Dylan on stage to cover the Band's "The Weight."

On the last night of the tour, Mr. James gave fellow musicians the opportunity to be his guest when he invited both Mr. Bingham and the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir to join My Morning Jacket in a set that included covers of Mr. Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days."
"Any chance to collaborate or share music with your friends or people that you admire is just a chance to grow, and spread your wings," Mr. James says.

Friends With Lungs
It's not uncommon for high-profile musicians to turn out to support their colleagues as back-up vocalists. Here's a look at a few famous voices that have done turns as backing vocalists:
• Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love"
David Bowie doesn't just produce this Lou Reed classic. He lends the euphoric howl to the end of it.
• Steely Dan's "Peg"
A number of artists bounced between Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, including Michael McDonald. His vocal contributions to the chorus of "Peg" are ringing and unmistakable.
• James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend"
Joni Mitchell's contribution is minimal, yet critical to Mr. Taylor's recording of Carole King's best-known song this side of "Loco-Motion."
• Kanye West's "Gold Digger"
Not long after he portrayed Ray Charles in the biopic "Ray," Jamie Foxx backed up Mr. West on this number-one single.
• David Bowie's "Fame"
Mr. Bowie got a leg up from John Lennon on this screed from 1975's "Young Americans." The Beatle helped write the song and can be heard shouting "Fame!" at the end.