James Gordon is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, known as a founding member of Tamarack. He has also released more than 20 solo albums. As a prolific songwriter, he is known for such diverse songs as "Sweaters for Penguins

Sweaters for Penguins

"Sweaters for Penguins" is a song written by James Gordon for the CBC Radio program Basic Black. It describes a true incident, in which penguin sweaters were requested to help rehabilitate little penguins injured by oil spills in Tasmania....

" and "Frobisher Bay

Frozen in Frobisher Bay

"Frobisher Bay", also known as "Frozen in Frobisher Bay", is a song by James Gordon about whaling in the Canadian arctic. It has been recorded by many artists in Canada and the US, and was used as an audition song on Canadian Idol.-Discography:...

". He wrote the weekly song for the CBC Radio

CBC Radio

CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

 program Basic Black. He is proficient on a variety of instruments including guitar, piano, banjo and mandola.

He has toured internationally in North America, the British Isles, Southeast Asia, and Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

.

His songs have been covered by other musical artists such as the Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies

Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins , Michael Timmins , Peter Timmins and Alan Anton ....

 ("Mining for Gold

Mining for Gold

"Mining for Gold" is a song by the Canadian songwriter, James Gordon. The lyrics allude to the risks of silicosis in hard rock mining. In addition to his own recording, it has been covered by the Cowboy Junkies, and was in the soundtrack of the film Silver City....

") and Melanie Doane

Melanie Doane

Melanie Doane is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter who has had seven Top 40 singles in Canada, including "Adam's Rib", "Goliath", "Still Desire You" and "Waiting For The Tide"....

.

He is a co-founder of Guelph's annual Hillside Festival and was its first creative director, from 1985 to 1988. He also founded (and was the artistic director of) the Canadian Songwriters' Festival, and was a board member of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals. Gordon is active in arts-, civics-, and environment-related causes in the Guelph region, for which he was given the Guelph Mayor's Award in 2008.

He was the candidate for the Ontario New Democratic Party

Ontario New Democratic Party

The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...

 in the riding of Guelph

Guelph (provincial electoral district)

Guelph is a provincial electoral district in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 2007 provincial election. The entire riding was created from Guelph—Wellington riding.The riding includes all of the city of Guelph....

 in the 2011 Ontario provincial election

Ontario general election, 2011

The 40th Ontario general election was held on October 6, 2011 to elect members of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party will form a minority government, with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario serving as the Official Opposition and the Ontario New...

 but lost to incumbent Liz Sandals

Liz Sandals

Liz Sandals is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Guelph for the Ontario Liberal Party.-Background:...

.

Tamarack

• Au Canada (1980)
• Wind River
• Spirit & Stone
• 13
• Fields of Rock and Snow (1993)
• Frobisher Bay (1993)
• Leaving Inverarden (1995)
• Blankets of Snow (1998)

Solo recordings

• Looking for Livingstone (1987)
• Farther Along (1991)
• Hometown Tunes (1994)
• Dim Lights, Small City (1995)
• More Hometown Tunes (1997)
• Pipe Street Dreams (1999)
• Mining for Gold: Twenty Years of Songwriting (2002)
• Tune Cooties (2002)
• Endomusia (2004), includes "Weapons of Mass Instruction"
• Nine Green Bottles (2007), includes "Casey Sheehan Didn't Die for Nothing"

Folk operas (musicals)

James Gordon used to perform with David Archibald as "Jim and Dave", producing family-oriented musicals.

• Jim and Dave's Awesome Environmental Adventure (1990)
• Jim and Dave's Awesome Search for the Golden Toad (1992)
• Jim and Dave's Awesome Supernatural Camping Adventure (1993)

More recently, his work includes:

• Hardscrabble Road (2003)
• Two Steps and a Glass of Water (2005), which deals with mental illness and health, also a film by Glenn Curtis
• Tryst and Snout (2007)

Cinema

• "Mining for Gold" on the soundtrack of the film Silver City (2004)
• Two Steps and a Glass of Water