Jim Stringer, a veteran guitarist and bandleader based in Austin, Texas, has passed away.
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Rosie Flores, a member of the Blue Moon Jazz Quartet alongside Stringer, shared a heartfelt tribute to honor her friend. In it, she revealed that the 77-year-old had been diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer.
“I’m just so very heartbroken to learn that my friend and guitarist Jim Stringer passed today,” Flores wrote yesterday in part alongside a candid snapshot. “I can’t believe I’m writing these words. It seems surreal to me. He is so alive in my heart, and I feel so sad for Dana Stinger, his lovely wife, who has been his best friend and took such great care of him after he was diagnosed with cancer.”
For over 30 years, Stringer was a key figure in Austin’s music scene. He was best known as the leader of the AM Band, a roots-rockabilly group he formed in 1997.
“I’m really proud of the AM Band,” Stringer admitted on his website. “It’s named for a comment by Lisa Pankratz: ‘There’s only ONE band in Austin, and everyone plays in it.’”
Throughout their career, the AM Band released several albums, including Swang (1999), On The Radio (2001), and Triskadekaphilia (2008). In addition to his work with the AM Band, Stringer also played with Git Gone and the Blue Moon Jazz Quartet.
Jim Stringer’s Career as a Guitarist Began After Seeing Elvis Presley on TV
However, Stringer’s journey began in Kansas in 1956. After seeing Elvis Presley on TV, the eight-year-old asked for a guitar for Christmas. His parents gifted him a 3/4-size model decorated with Roy Rogers and Trigger.
“The first songs I remember playing were ‘Red River Valley,’ ‘She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain’… common country-folk tunes,” Stringer recalled, per Wide Open Country. “They were in the book that came with the guitar… not exactly the rock and roll I’d envisioned, but it was a start.”
During his time at the University of Kansas, Stringer played in several bands. One was The Upside Dawne, which included future hit producer Garth Fundis (Trisha Yearwood, Sugarland). Another band, Tide, built a strong local following in the early 1970s.
After leaving Tide in 1974, Stringer began composing music scores for a movie producer’s safety videos.
“I learned so much about the craft of recording during those years,” he explained. “You’re always on a time schedule, but there’s no slack cut as far as the quality required… You just have to do top-notch work real fast.”
In 1993, Stringer relocated to Austin after his studio career. He soon got to work, producing Travis County Pickin’, a country-jazz album featuring local musicians.
Stringer was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2007.