James has been recording since he was 14 when he and his sisters Sandra and Pamala were signed to their first contract. At 15, he and a friend (Bob Zentz) formed a duet called The Rovers. The next year, he joined the local trio, The Churchkeys, whose other members included Mike Jenks and Keith Ryan.

Working with a fake I.D., James met Peter Tork in 1963, at a club in Virgina Beach called The Shadows, a club that was only open in the summer. They became life long friends.

In 1964, James and some other friends, Ronnie Holloman and Bruce Stampley opened a Norfolk nightclub, The Folk Ghetto. He was 17 at the time. James recalles, " The first big act that I hired was Peter, whom I had known for almost a year by then."

James spent some time in New York City around 1967, studying the folk scene, just before entering the Air Force. There he was stationed for a time in Monterey, CA where he was taught Chinese and then assigned to Taiwan as a linguist during the Vietnam era. Upon his discharge, he majored in music at Los Angeles City College and at California State at Northridge. While studying, he was hired as a songwriter for Bones Howe (producer for The Association and The Fifth Dimension). Through a contact named Jonnie Barnett (who wrote "Chain of Love), he landed a recording contract with Wooden Nickel Records (a division of RCA). James had recorded for Jollye Roger, MCA/Regency, Asylum and Takoma before releasing his work on his own Beachwood label. James has been the opening act for a plethora of names - Steven Wright, Bonnie Raitt, Robin Williams, Karla Bonoff, Michael Murphy, Nicolette Larson and Art Garfunkel among others.