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.
Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley
Colin James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sneakin' sally through the alley
Sneakin' sally through the alley
Trying to keep her out of sight
Sneakin' sally through the alley
When up pops the wife
I said, ah i can't find nothing wrong with being friends cos sometimes
She said if you can't find nothing wrong with your mind
You'd better find something wrong with her, her
So i began to explain ah that it wasn't just ah what she thought
I'd better find something to do with my time
The fact is i've just been caught
Sneakin' sally through the alley
Sneakin' sally through the alley
Trying to get away clean
Sneakin' sally through the alley
When up pops the queen
Trying to double talk, get myself in trouble talk, catching myself in lies
Catching myself in lies
Mama just looked at me as if i was, ah, crazy
And didn't even bat an eye
So i began to try to explain, ah that it just wasn't what she thought
I'd better find something to do with my time
The fact is ah just been caught, just been caught,
Sneakin, sneakin, sneakin,
Trying to talk doubletalk, get myself in trouble talk
Catching myself in lies, catching myself in lies
Mama just looked at me as if i was crazy
She didn't even bat an eye
Sneakin' sally through the alley with sally
Sneakin' sally through the alley with sally
Sneakin sally through the alley
Sneakin sally through the alley
Sneakin sally through the alley
The song Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley by Colin James is about a man who is out on the town with his friend Sally, who he is sneaking through an alley to avoid being seen by anyone who may disapprove of their friendship. However, things take a turn when the man's wife appears, questioning why he is out with another woman. The man's attempts to explain that there is nothing untoward going on fall on deaf ears, and he finds himself caught in a lie.
The lyrics reflect on the difficulty of keeping secrets from those close to us and highlight the importance of communication and being honest in relationships. The man's attempts to talk himself out of trouble only serve to make matters worse, and his wife's mistrust ultimately leads to his confession of wrongdoing. The repeated lines "sneakin' sally through the alley" highlight the theme of secrecy and suggest that the man knows he is doing something wrong.
Overall, Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley is a cautionary tale about the dangers of keeping secrets and the importance of communication in relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Sneakin' sally through the alley
Attempting to secretly move Sally through the alley
Sneakin' sally through the alley
Continuing the effort to move Sally through the alley undetected
Sneakin' sally through the alley
Persisting in moving Sally through the alley without being seen
Trying to keep her out of sight
Aiming to prevent others from seeing Sally
Sneakin' sally through the alley
Concealing Sally while traversing the alley
When up pops the wife
Unexpectedly encountering the singer's spouse
I said, ah i can't find nothing wrong with being friends cos sometimes
Asserting that there is nothing wrong with having a friendship with Sally because there are occasional benefits
She lets me use the car
Providing an example of a benefit Sally provides
She said if you can't find nothing wrong with your mind
Suggesting that the artist's thinking is flawed if he can't see the issue with his actions
You'd better find something wrong with her, her
Advising the artist to recognize the problem with Sally
So i began to explain ah that it wasn't just ah what she thought
Describing the complexity of the situation
I'd better find something to do with my time
Realizing that he needs to occupy himself in a more acceptable way
The fact is i've just been caught
Acknowledging that he has been discovered
Trying to get away clean
Striving to escape without being implicated
When up pops the queen
Suddenly encountering someone unexpected
Trying to double talk, get myself in trouble talk, catching myself in lies
Attempting to deceive and cover up, only to end up revealing the truth
Catching myself in lies
Realizing that he has been untruthful
Mama just looked at me as if i was, ah, crazy
Receiving a confused or disapproving look from his mother
And didn't even bat an eye
Staying calm and collected
So i began to try to explain, ah that it just wasn't what she thought
Making an effort to clarify the situation
Just been caught, just been caught, Sneakin, sneakin, sneakin
Repeating the realization that he has been discovered
Trying to talk doubletalk, get myself in trouble talk
Attempting to use tricky language to get out of the situation
Sneakin' sally through the alley with sally
Continuing to move Sally through the alley
Sneakin' sally through the alley with sally
Repeating the previous line with emphasis on Sally's involvement
Sneakin sally through the alley
Continuing the effort to move Sally undetected
Sneakin sally through the alley
Persisting in moving Sally through the alley unnoticed
Sneakin sally through the alley
Repeating the previous line to emphasize the continued secrecy
Contributed by Scarlett L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.