“Wonderful fellow with an interesting life equals great story.” –John Prine
“Without Jim Rooney’s early encouragement, I would not have a career.”—Nanci Griffith
“As a singer and entertainer, record producer and song publisher, Jim Rooney has been right smack in the middle of so much authentic American music for over 50 years. His guiding hand has helped launch and expand the careers of a host of great artists and I can’t imagine the arc of my own success without the benefit of Jim’s natural musical integrity and generous support.” – Pat Alger, member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame
“If it were not for Jim Rooney, I could have never negotiated my way through the jungle that is Nashville. We made two wonderful records together and had a blast doing them.” – Robert Earl Keen
Jim Rooney breathes-in life’s most soulful, loving, beatific sensibilities, then breathes them out as music’s most soulful, loving, beatific grooves. As a producer, his eclectic discography (including spoken-word CDs by an unknown Polish-Italian rodeo poet) affirms a degree of freedom and fearlessness commensurate with that of, say, funambulist Philippe Man On Wire Petit. And speaking of “heights,” it was early-on in our friendship, as Jim wove his melodious tale of sharing an “occasional bowl” with Thelonious Monk, that I understood how my words—my veritable chords and notes and riffs—were in the trustful arms of an Irish shaman, a master helmsman of The Musical Universe. Now it’s your turn. Embrace this venerable memoir. Not only play and sing along with a life magnanimously lived, but breathe it in—you, too, then will understand the creative magnitude of which I speak. – Paul Zarzyski (unknown Polish-Italian rodeo poet)
“I know how lucky I am to have connected with Jim all those years back when I was just starting out. Not only did he produce my records, but he mentored me and became a dear friend. What he most did for me in the studio is what I call, “bringing the church into the room.” He always had a way of lifting us all up out of the everyday. We never forgot that we were trying to make music that’d help people get THROUGH the everyday, but, ironically, you have to get on up out of it for awhile in order to do that. Jim always made that possible for me. He could also break the ice easier than anyone I’ve ever known, and that sure helped a lot too! He’s as honest and true as the day is long, and I’m sure glad he got in it for the long run. But, the reason I love him so much and the reason he continues to inspire me, is that he never forgot why.”—Iris DeMent
“Rooney has always packed a one/two punch–the mind of a scholar; the soul of a musician. In the years I have known him he has been a mentor, a teacher and a steadfast, unflinching friend. I am proud to consider myself one of his children.” – Hal Ketchum