James Keith Norman

Born and raised in Toronto, I've lived my life surrounded and absorbed by music. My stepfather was a successful pianist, well-known around jazz clubs, plus a staple in recording studios. My mother was an influential music booking agent, music-business consultant, author, and columnist. No wonder that when we were talking around the dinner table, it was usually about music. Even if dinner was at 1 a.m. after one of my stepfather's gigs.

Music has been in my blood a very long time: a relative on my paternal grandmother's side and who was born in 1865 in Aberdeen (and who came to Toronto years later) played contrabassoon for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

(Speaking of family heritage, my earliest connections with Canada go back to 1770, when Normans came to Cupids, Newfoundland from Jersey, Channel Islands, which are just off the coast of Normandy, France. Normandy. How's that for a coincidence of names?!)

As for playing my own music, I first picked up a guitar when I was nine and started writing songs and singing in high school.

But music isn't my only creative love. I had an award-winning career in radio, and I wrote a suspense fiction, Echoes: A Novel, which is about of a radio journalist who investigates a complex murder and has been described as "Reminiscent of Robert Ludlum at his best." And, because I have a passion for learning, I decided to go back to school and get my MBA, which I received in 2008.

Back to the main reason you visited this site: my songs. So far, I've released four collections (three EPs and an album), six standalone singles of original songs, plus a compilation of the first three EPs and a bonus single). (If you'd like me to let you know whenever new songs are available, click here.)