Mary James, known professionally by the stage name Mean Mary, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Geneva, Alabama, on March 22, 1980. She plays the banjo, guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. James began performing at six years of age, recording her original theme song “Mean Mary from Alabam'”, and was a regular on the television variety program Country Boy Eddie Show from 1986 to 1989. In 2003, she survived a car accident that temporarily paralyzed her right vocal cord, during which time she performed solely as an instrumentalist before recovering her voice in 2004. Her recording career includes the collaborative album Thank You Very Much (2006) with the group Jamestown and her debut solo album Walk a Little Ways with Me (2010). She subsequently released the solo albums Year of the Sparrow (2013), Sweet (2016), Blazing (2018), and Cold (2019). James also co-wrote mystery novels with her mother, Jean James. She has toured across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe. Her song “Iron Horse” was named the Vox Populi winner at the 13th Annual Independent Music Awards, and her track “Brand New Day” received a nomination at the 15th Annual Independent Music Awards.
