Photo By: Wayne Tozzi / www.oprynorth.com

Opry North

Name: Jamie Glenn Warren

Birth date: April 8

Home town: Hanover Ontario Canada

Resides in: Kitchener-Waterloo area, Ontario

Pets:  Barley (a Border Collie)

Group name: The Warren Commission

Instruments played: Piano & guitar

What do you do to relax: Lots of hockey, golf, watches TV.

Finished CD's: 2

Cd's for sale: - “Fallen Angel”

Management: TooHip Music

                        667 Pinerow Crescent, Unit 33

                        Waterloo ON

                        N2T 2L5

                        Ph: (519) 725-6548

                        Fax: (519) 725-0062

                        Email: toohip@bserv.com

Record Label:  TooHip Music

Website: http://www.jamiewarren.com

   Jamie Warren has been an integral part of the Canadian country music industry for twenty years now but it’s only been in the last decade that he’s become ‘a star’.  Why is that?  Because the man has always been ahead of his time.  When you think of ‘innovator’ you have to be thinking of Jamie…back when Barbara Mandrell was serenading the public with tales of being ‘country when country wasn’t cool’ Jamie was writing and singing songs that were cutting edge country – later to be known as ‘New Country’.  In an era that spawned the traditionalist resurgence down in Nashville with the sudden arrival of artists like Randy Travis and Alan Jackson Jamie was well on his way to leading the pack into the 90’s and beyond.  And he had to wait.  He waited, for time to catch up with his writing and singing style, for the public to embrace his incredible vocal abilities and charismatic presence and for the industry to admit that there would be plenty of room for someone who ‘dared to be different’.  So now, the wait is over and country music fans couldn’t be happier.  Let’s make sure that Jamie won’t be ‘waiting’ for anything, ever again.  As you’ll see, he’s done more than his share already.

   When Jamie was growing up in Hanover Ontario he was probably your typical kid.  He had dreams (of being an NHL hockey player), he listened to music (early influences were Kenny Rogers and Merle Haggard), he learned to play due to his parents being musicians and he remained a true country music fan.  As he’s remained quite a hockey player that dream of playing professionally wasn’t just wishful thinking but a knee injury turned him to a broadcasting degree and a turn on the other side of the microphone.  And still, there was music that couldn’t be denied just waiting to come out.  Winning a talent contest led him to Tennessee to compete at the North American level and he decided to stay where the action was, getting a job at a theme park for a year.  After that year he returned to his roots, meeting up with Cedartree Studios and the man who would take that music waiting to come out and give it a voice, award-winning producer Rick Hutt. 

   Jamie’s first single was “World Of A Child” and was followed by five more in the 80’s.  This string of songs led to his 1985 Big Country Award for “Best New Artist” due to his single “Take Me Home Mississippi”.  And then, it stopped.  It was time to wait.  He was being told that what he was producing was “too rock for country and too country for rock”.  He wrote, he played when he could and he started a family.  That family took him on a completely different road and brought a new perspective to his way of looking at his career.  “It’s grounding to have a family,” he’s admitted, adding, “When I was 25, I would have given anything for success like this.  Now I appreciate it, but I wouldn’t have given everything to get it.”  He found new things to inspire him from his home life and the song “Watching Her Sleep” came about from his emotions for daughter Kaitlin and wife Beth.  The album “Fallen Angel” brought this song and fellow hits “Ready To Run” and “What Goes Around Comes Around” to the public and this time, the wait was just about over. 

   With many excellent songwriters as friends it’s only natural that collaborations would come fast and furious and the album “Just Not The Same” is an example of this.  This is the album that propelled Jamie to the top of the heap as a songwriter, a performer and one of the many country ‘hunks’ that were emerging in Canada.  Single after single from this album have raced up the country charts and awards began coming in, one after another.  Videos that have become staples on CMT have helped to make Jamie one of the most recognizable personalities in Canadian entertainment and appearances all over the country have cemented him as a ‘fan favourite’.  All of this has prompted a philosophical Jamie to look at the ‘now’, saying, “I’ve also given songwriting a priority, and it’s the part of the music that I respect the most.”  He’s also approving of the success of singer-songwriters in country music in recent years, saying, “To be honest, before Charlie Major and Jim Witter came along, the singer-songwriter wasn’t much of a factor in our industry.”  Their time has come too, with Jim, Jamie and Charlie becoming a few among a flood of singer-songwriter successes in the last decade.  Among the friends that flank them on store shelves are Gil Grand, Julian Austin, Paul Brandt, John Landry, Duane Steele, Lisa Brokop, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Steve Fox and on and on.  And it’s about time.

   Jamie Warren is about as one-of-a-kind as they come.  He’s an award-winning country performer; he has some of the best videos you’ll see on CMT; he’s a devoted family man who has admitted on his website to liking the ‘Wedding Story’ television show.  Enough said?  Not on your life.  He has a fantastic sense of humour, he’s always impeccably turned out (though I think that’s due to Beth, more than anything), he’s actually quite shy (which I myself find endearing, and typical of country males) plus he’s a heck of a good hugger.  Ready to stop yet?  No way!  He’s respected and liked by his peers in the country music industry, he’s loved by his fans, he’s definitely destined for bigger things in the next few years and he credits hockey for his well-toned posterior.  Well, I did say he has a fantastic sense of humour, remember?  We have been fortunate in the last year to find ourselves continuously running into Jamie and his manager, wife Beth, and it’s been the fastest passing year we’ve ever had.  Let’s share a little of what we’ve been able to learn about Jamie…but not too much!  Some things you’ll have to discover for yourself.

   Jamie loves to ‘improvise’ when he’s up on stage and will often ask what the crowd would like to hear.  It’s usually best to respond when he does this, or you’ll be subjected to one of his own choices.  One show (we were told) had him singing the Barney theme song…and we’ve heard his version of the ‘Monster Mash’ ourselves.  He always delivers a great show regardless…you just have to close your eyes and listen to appreciate that unique singing style he has.  He sometimes likes to have discussions with someone from the audience too during a show, and that can lead into the strangest things.  One time last year we covered an event featuring Jamie and his amazing ‘Warren Commission’ and the admiration of some ladies down front for Jamie’s ‘rear end’ had him discussing the merits of exercise.  This led him to invite them to test his assurances that he didn’t have implants, which they took him up on of course.  Remember when I said he was shy?  Well, ‘show time’ is the exception…

   This fellow is also the joker in any group of country artists you’ll get together.  He has a very dry sense of humour that leads him to sidle up and make a comment that will have the unsuspecting in stitches, so beware.  I have a great series of photos that show a close-up of a group of artists taken at an awards show last year.  Out of the group you see one of the lovely ladies of Lace as Jamie says something behind her.  She turns to look at him while he gives an evil little smirk, then the next photo shows her bending over laughing while everyone else around her grins in response.  I’d love to know what he said to cause that reaction.  He’s also quite a teaser when he has occasion to be performing with others.  I remember one show that featured Diane Chase along with a stage full of guys (including Jamie).  During her song she burst into giggles when a very high falsetto suddenly joined her to sing backup for her and of course, it was Jamie.  But seriously, when a fellow artist needs a backup singer on the fly he is always prepared to jump up and lend his talents to a friend.  No need for centre stage all the time and that’s what friends are for, after all. 

   It has really been our privilege to be able to spend some time with Jamie and Beth and they’ve been great about being sounding boards for us at times.  They have always been upfront, warm, encouraging and very funny, sometimes all at the same time.  When you hear about country music artists being one big family it’s not only true, but it’s almost expected…only one of your peers can really understand what the life is like – good times, pitfalls and all.  And seemingly right at the heart of this big old family you’ll find the Warren’s, and that ‘s not by mistake.  It’s where they deserve to be. 

November 2001

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