James was only 18-years old when he captured the attention of guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan, who marveled at this prodigious guitar talent, and immediately decided to take him on the road through the Canadian prairies, and later the United States. It wasn't long after that the young musician began opening for the likes of John Lee Hooker, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood and Keith Richards, Colin's 1988 self-titled debut Colin James was the fastest-selling album in Canadian music history featuring the smash hits "Why'd You Lie?”, “Voodoo Thing” and “Five Long Years". It featured a team of three top producers, including Tom Dowd (Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers), Danny Kortchmar (Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young) and Bob Rock (Jann Arden, Michael Bublé, Bush, The Cult, Loverboy, Sarah McLachlan, Metallica).
James followed up his record-breaking debut with a strong 1990 release, Sudden Stop, which was produced by Joe Hardy (.38 Special, Steve Earle, The Jeff Healey Band, ZZ Top ). This release has two top forty radio hits: "Just Came Back" and, "Keep On Loving Me Baby", and features Bonnie Raitt singing backing vocals on "Give It Up". This sophomore album further helped established Colin's integrity as an artist to lookout for.
James formed The Little Big Band in early 1990's and would eventually release a trilogy of CDs fronting this 1930's-50's style punchy horn section band, playing classics and originals featuring his stellar guitar fills and confident vocals. The first Colin James and The Little Big Band was released in 1993, and it was produced by Chris Kinsley (The Cult, Duran Duran, Psychedelic Furs, The Rolling Stones). The second Colin James and The Little Big Band II was released in 1998 on Warner Music, while the third, Colin James & The Little Big Band 3 was distributed on Maple Music in Canada and Universal Music Group globally in 2006, and he would eventually do a fourth with the band, a holiday album Colin James & The Little Big Band Christmas.
In 2008 he took home three Maple Blues Awards (Toronto Blues Society), which included Entertainer of the Year, while his release Limelight also went gold in Canada.
James released his twelfth album Rooftops and Satellites on October 6th, 2009, and it was a return to his guitar Blues-Rock roots. The album was primarily co-written by Tom Wilson (Junkhouse, Blackie and The Rodeo Kings, Lee Harvey Osmond) and Thomas "Tawgs" Salter, co-writer and producer of Lights' debut and Josh Groban's Awake, and it has generated four Canadian radio singles, “Man’s Gotta Be A Stone”, “Lost Again”, “Wavelength” and “Johnny Coolman.”
2011's 'Take It From The Top: The Best Of’ pays tribute to James's career's first 23 years and serves as a celebration of Colin’s return back where he started his recordings, Virgin/EMI. This Greatest Hits collection also features two newly recorded tracks, “It’s Gonna Be Alright“ as well as an innovative cover of the Buddy Miles' classic “Them Changes”, that were recorded in Vancouver with veteran producer Bob Rock (Michael Bublé, Metallica), reuniting the two after almost twenty years.
On June 12th, 2012, James released his fifteenth album, appropriately entitled Fifteen, which was produced by Joe Hardy (ZZ Top, Brooks & Dunn, Jeff Healey, Steve Earle), who had handled three of Colin's previous album productions including his successful sophomore release. Colin co-writes with Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar, Grady) on the opener “Sweets Gone Sour” and the rocker “I Need You Bad.” Colin also re-teamed with Tom Wilson and Thomas “Tawgs” Salter on four high-octane tracks, including the bluesy “No Time to Get There” and the driving “Stone Faith,” the album’s first single.
Fifteen also features two beautiful co-writes with Ron Sexsmith that reveal Colin’s seductive side: “Finally Wrote a Song for You”, a soulful love ballad; and “Shoulder to Cry On,” a moving acoustic number that highlights his vocal range, while closing the album. The disc also features some inspiring covers, including John Lennon's "Jealous Guy", Peter Green's (Fleetwood Mac) "Oh Well", [artis]Foy Vance’s gospel-tinged “Shed A Little Light,” and Allen Toussaint's funky "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley", which has perhaps become best known by Robert Palmer's cover.
On February 3, 2015, James released Hearts On Fire which was produced by Colin Linden at House of Blues Studios in Nashville, and this twelve track collection is distributed by Universal Music. The title track and all but two of the songs were written or co-written by Colin.
In 2016, James was named an inductee into the Western Canadian Music Hall of Fame presented by FACTOR (The Canadian Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings). In addition to this honour, Colin headlined the Western Canadian Music Awards Show at Casino Regina on October 13th, 2016, kicking off BreakOut West’s 14th year of celebrating Western Canada’s talent.
James's studio album Blue Highways features thirteen Classic Blues covers from guitar-hero greats like Blind Willie McTell, Freddie King, Peter Green, and Robert Johnson. The CD was released on October 16th, 2016. Recording and Production was primarily handled in Vancouver by Colin James and Dave Meszaros, with recording and mixing assistance from Eric Mosher, Chris Stringer and Jason Jaknunas. Blue Highways is being distributed by True North Records, and iTunes.
Over his illustrious career, James has earned 16 Maple Blues Awards, and he has worked and toured with the 'who’s who' in the international music scene (in alphabetical order): Luther Allison, Jann Arden, The Chieftains, Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Tom Dowd, Buddy Guy, Johnny Hallyday, John Hammond Jr., Gordie Johnson, Albert King, Bobby King and Terry Evans, Danny Kortchmar, Lenny Kravitz, Little Feat, The Memphis Horns, Craig Northey, Bill Payne, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Bob Rock, The Rolling Stones, Roomful Of Blues, Carlos Santana, Mavis Staples, Roebuck "Pops" Staples, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tom Wilson, Betty Wright and ZZ Top. In addition to writing most of his own material, his music has been covered by artists like Maria Muldaur, Johnny Halliday and Lucinda Williams.
Get to the Bottom
Colin James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I taste somethin' strange you're leavin on my lips,
Now we're gonna hit the bottom when you tell me what it is,
I recommend that you trust me and take a risk.
We're gonna dig right down and get to the bottom of this,
Get to the bottom of this,
Get to the bottom of this.
I'm hangin out to dry, waitin for the word,
I'm trynna make a lick of sense of anything I've heard,
I'll believe it when you tell me, baby, then I can be sure,
(Alright) Before we lose each other by not sayin what it is,
We'd better dive right in and get to the bottom of this
Get to the bottom of this,
Get to the bottom of this.
(Yeah yeah yeah yeah)
Get to the bottom of this.
Get to the bottom of this,
Get to the bottom of this,
Tell me, tell me now and help me get to the bottom of this
Get to the bottom of this,
Get to the bottom of this.
Dig right down, and get to the bottom of this.
Yeah, yeah, dig right down.
The song "Get to the Bottom" by Colin James speaks about a sense of mistrust or unease that the singer feels in his relationship with his partner. He is unable to figure out what is causing this discomfort, but he knows that it exists. He hints at a strange taste left on his lips after they kiss, which could signify a hidden secret or something left unsaid. The singer pleads with his partner to trust him and take a risk by exposing the root cause of their problems.
The chorus repeats the phrase "Get to the bottom of this" multiple times, emphasizing the importance of honesty and communication in a relationship. The singer is willing to make an effort and dig deeper to uncover what is troubling them because losing each other due to misunderstandings is not an option. The song implies that addressing the elephant in the room, no matter how difficult or unpleasant, is necessary to maintain a healthy and fulfilling relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Feelin that old story every time we kiss,
Every time we kiss, I feel like we're living out an old story or pattern, like history is repeating itself.
I taste somethin' strange you're leavin on my lips,
I can sense that something is different or strange about the way we're interacting, and it's leaving an impression on me.
Now we're gonna hit the bottom when you tell me what it is,
If you tell me what's going on, then we'll hit rock bottom or reach the lowest point in our relationship.
I recommend that you trust me and take a risk.
It's important that we trust each other and take a chance on opening up about our feelings and concerns.
We're gonna dig right down and get to the bottom of this,
We need to investigate and uncover the root of the problem, we can't just ignore it.
Get to the bottom of this,
We need to find out what's really going on between us and what's causing this tension or unease.
I'm hangin out to dry, waitin for the word,
I feel like I'm being left in the unknown and I'm waiting for some clarity or clarification.
I'm trynna make a lick of sense of anything I've heard,
I'm struggling to make sense of all the things I've heard or noticed that seem off in our relationship.
I'll believe it when you tell me, baby, then I can be sure,
I need to hear the truth from you before I can believe anything and move forward with confidence.
(Alright) Before we lose each other by not sayin what it is,
We need to address this issue before it drives a wedge between us and causes irreparable damage to our relationship.
We'd better dive right in and get to the bottom of this
We need to be proactive and investigate this issue head-on, without hesitation.
(Yeah yeah yeah yeah)
Get to the bottom of this.
Finding out what's really going on between us is critical to our relationship's survival.
Tell me, tell me now and help me get to the bottom of this
I need you to be upfront and honest with me so we can work together to unravel this problem.
Dig right down, and get to the bottom of this.
We need to dig deep and get to the heart of the issue in order to fix it and move forward together.
Yeah, yeah, dig right down.
We can't be afraid to confront the challenges in our relationship head-on and face them together.
Contributed by Aiden B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.