James Otto

Name	James Otto
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	James Allen Otto
Born	July 29, 1973
Origin	Fort Lewis, Washington, USA
Instrument	Vocals Rhythm guitar
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2002-present
Label	Mercury Nashville Warner Bros. Nashville
Associated acts	Big & Rich Jay DeMarcus Jamey Johnson
Url	Official website

James Allen Otto (born July 29, 1973 at Fort Lewis in Washington) is an American country music artist who is a member of the MuzikMafia, a group of country musicians known for their "country music without prejudice". Otto began his career on Mercury Nashville Records in 2002, charting three minor singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and recording his debut album Days of Our Lives for the label before being dropped in 2004.

In late 2007, he signed to Warner Bros. Records. His second album, Sunset Man, was released in April 2008. It was produced by John Rich (of Big & Rich) and Jay DeMarcus (of Rascal Flatts), the latter of whom is Otto's brother-in-law. The lead-off single to Sunset Man, "Just Got Started Lovin' You", became Otto's first Number One hit, as well as the Number One country single of 2008 according to Billboard.

Biography

James Otto was born on July 29, 1973 on the Fort Lewis Army Base in the state of Washington. He first took up singing at age two and later learned to play violin and saxophone. However, he wanted to learn to play guitar as well, and at age thirteen, he received a guitar for his birthday.

Musical career

In 2002, Otto met Scott Parker of Mercury Nashville Records, who signed him to a record deal that year. Shortly after the song peaked, his debut album (also entitled Days of Our Lives) was released on Mercury, and in 2004, Otto was signed as an opening act for Shania Twain on her Up! Tour. Sunset Man peaked at #2 on Top Country Albums upon its April release. "Just Got Started Lovin' You" reached Number One on the Hot Country Songs charts a month later, becoming the highest-charting single of his career as well as the Number One country single of 2008 according to the Billboard Year-End charts. The album's other two singles — "For You" and "These Are the Good Ole Days" — did not perform as well on the charts, peaking at #39 and #36 in September 2008 and March 2009, respectively.

In mid-2008, Otto was commissioned to perform a new theme song for the Atlanta Braves, entitled "The Braves Play Here," composed by Greg Barnhill and Randy Wachtler for 615 Music. He also co-wrote Jamey Johnson's mid-2008 single "In Color" with Johnson and Lee Thomas Miller. This song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards, and received the 2008 Academy of Country Music award for Song of the Year, which is awarded to the songwriters.

Shake What God Gave Ya

Otto released a non-album single, "Since You Brought It Up", in April 2009. It peaked at #37 by July of the same year. The song was followed by "Groovy Little Summer Song" in early 2010. This song is the lead-off single from Otto's third album, Shake What God Gave Ya, which is produced by Paul Worley and was released on September 14, 2010. The album's second single "Soldiers & Jesus" released to country radio on September 7, 2010.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Album details ! colspan="2"| Peak chart
positions |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width="40"| US Country
! width="40"| US
|- | 2004 | align="left"| Days of Our Lives

Release date: March 9, 2004

Label: Mercury Nashville

| 61 | — |- | 2008 | align="left"| Sunset Man

Release date: April 8, 2008

Label: Raybaw/Warner Bros. Nashville

| 2 | 3 |- | 2010 | align="left"| Shake What God Gave Ya

Release date: September 14, 2010

Label: Warner Bros. Nashville

| 10 | 63 |- | colspan="10" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |- |}

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="3"| Peak chart
positions ! rowspan="2"| Certifications
(sales threshold) ! rowspan="2"| Album |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width="40"| US Country
! width="40"| US
! width="40"| CAN
|- | 2002 | align="left"| "The Ball" | 45 | — | — | | align="left" rowspan="4"| Days of Our Lives |- | rowspan="2"| 2003 | align="left"| "Long Way Down" | — | — | — | |- | align="left"| "Days of Our Lives" | 33 | — | — | |- | 2004 | align="left"| "Sunday Morning and Saturday Night" | 58 | — | — | |- | 2007 | align="left"| "Just Got Started Lovin' You" | 1 | 27 | 71 | align="left"| US: Gold | align="left" rowspan="3"| Sunset Man |- | rowspan="2"| 2008 | align="left"| "For You" | 39 | — | — | |- | align="left"| "These Are the Good Ole Days" | 36 | — | — | |- | 2009 | align="left"| "Since You Brought It Up" | 37 | — | — | | align=left| Non-album song |- | rowspan="2"| 2010 | align="left"| "Groovy Little Summer Song" | 26 | — | — | | align="left" rowspan="2"| Shake What God Gave Ya |- | align="left"| "Soldiers & Jesus"^[A] | 36 | | | |- | colspan="10" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |- |}

Music videos

{| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! Year ! Video ! Director |- | rowspan="2"| 2008 | "Just Got Started Lovin' You" | Ryan Smith |- | "For You" | Kristin Barlowe/Jack Roberts |- | rowspan="1"| 2009 | "These Are the Good Ole Days" | Ryan Smith |- | 2010 | "Groovy Little Summer Song" | David McClister |}

References

External links

Official website

Category:1973 births Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:Warner Bros. Records artists Category:Musicians from Washington (U.S. state) Category:Mercury Records artists