Jim was born in Toronto, ON, but moved when he was very young. He and his family have lived in Montreal, QU, Brantford, ON, and the USA. He first asked for a guitar when he was 10 because he wanted to be like Roy Rogers. The first song he learned was Gordon Lightfoot`s "That`s What You Get For Loving Me." His first songwriting experience came when he was 11 and he re-wrote some of the lyrics in the song. He first met Greg Keelor in a grade 11 math class. After high school the two of them put together their first band, The HiFis. After a few years the band broke up, and Jim and Greg went to university where Jim got a BA in English. After university they went down to New York City and formed another band, Fly To France, which Jim says is: "A truly stupid name." After about 3 years, they broke up the band and came back to Toronto. Within a few months they had put together Blue Rodeo and were working on the first album. Since then they have been very successful and are still doing great. Blue Rodeo has been together for 15 years, won quite a few Juno awards, and are gaining new fans every year. Jim has also recorded a solo album: All In Time. He is married to Rena Polley and has three kids: Devin, Emma, and Sam.