Texas singer-songwriter James McMurtry leanred how to play the guitar when he was seven years old.  While still a student at the University of Arizona, McMurtry started playing his own songs, and he continued to do so after moving back home and getting a job as a bartender. When it turned out that John Mellencamp was both directing and staring in a movie that McMurtry's father had written, McMurtry's demo tape was forwarded. Mellencamp was suitably impressed and worked as co-producer on McMurtry's 1989 debut album, "Too Long in the Wasteland", which helped him land a deal with Columbia Records. McMurtry released two more albums for the label: "Candyland" in 1992 and "Where'd You Hide the Body" in 1995. It Had to Happen, McMurtry's debut album for the famous roots music label Sugar Hill Records, was released in 1997. McMurtry discovered a more welcoming environment in the independent label world. In 1998, "Walk Between the Raindrops" was released, while Saint Mary of the Woods came out in 2002. The following year, McMurtry joined with the Texas-based Compadre label. The following year, he released "Childish Things", which included his powerful protest song "We Can't Make It Here", which longtime Village Voice music critic Robert Christgau hailed as the best song of the 2000s. Lightning Rod Records released the concert album "Just Us Kids" in 2008, and "Live in Europe" followed in 2009. When McMurtry isn't on the road, he maintains a weekly residency at Austin's Continental Club. His most recent solo album, "Complicated Game", was completed in 2015 and was produced by C.C. Adcock and Mike Napolitano..

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