Dr. Jimmie James, Jr., Announcer (Voice of the Sonic Boom)

Jimmie James, Jr. presently serves as Chair of the Department of Music and Professor of Music at Jackson State University (JSU). He received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from JSU where he was the first tuba major, graduating cum laude; the MS. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Southern Mississippi where he was the first African-American to received that degree. At JSU, he has served as Director of Musical Activities, Coordinator of the Graduate Music Program, Director of the Concert Band, Assistant Band Director and Director of the Brass Ensemble. A very versatile person, he serves as the Voice of the Sonic Boom of the South, the University’s Marching Band.. He was honored by the University by being named to deliver the 1992 Summer Commencement Address. Prior to being employed at JSU, he served as band director at Earl Travillion Attendance Center in Hattiesburg, MS where his bands received superior ratings. He was recently honored by P.A.C.E. Head Start of Hattiesburg during its 7th Annual Black Heritage Celebration. Dr. James served two terms as the first Conceptional Director of Music for the African Methodist Episcopal Church His composition, Praise Ye the Lord, can be heard on the JSU Choir’s new CD.

Having served as Director of the highly successful Annual Church Music Workshop of America sponsored by JSU and the Eighth Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Church since its inception in 1977, James has conducted workshops on church music in twenty different states He served as a member of the Commission on Worship and Liturgy, the Commission that organized the AME Bicentennial Hymnal. Presently, he is Minister of Music, Director of the Sanctuary Choir and a member of the Steward Board at Pearl Street A.M.E. Church in Jackson, MS and a member of the General Board of the AME Church. A member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, he has served as International Director of Talent Hunt and has been named Omega Man of the Year on the local and district levels. He is a member of Phi Delta Kappa Educational Fraternity and a former member of the Board of Directors of the JSU National Alumni Association. He is active in Optimist International and has been honored with the Distinguished President’s and the Distinguished Lt. Governor’s awards. Dr. James’ biography is listed in International Who’s Who in Music, Personalities of the South and several other publications. His biography will appear in the 8th Edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

He is married to the former Carrie Green, a retired educator, of Ruleville, MS, and they are the parents of one son Michael Renwick, a 1991 graduate of JSU. He is the son of the late Jimmie James, Sr. and Annie Mae James of Hattiesburg.