here's a little holiday song for you all.   it's on the beachwood christmas cd, and i get requests for it every year.    here the lyrics and chords:


           D                                      A
i don't need another present underneath the christmas tree
                F                dmin  	emin                    A sus 4-3
no there's really only one thing that i want for you and me.

    D      D/C#       D/B             D/A
if everyone in the whole wide world 
          G        emin       A sus 4-3
could live in peace tonight
          D            D/C#    D/B       D/A
every man and woman, boy and girl
                C          G           A sus4-3
would be feeling safe and right
             G               A          D   D/C# D/B D/A
and the light in the eyes of each of us 
               C          Emin7         A sus 4-3
would be shining bright with love
G                 A           D   D/C# D/B D/A
that's what i want for Christmas
G                     A              G      D
that's what i'm dreaming of

G                 A           D   D/C# D/B D/A
that's what i want for Christmas
              G           A          bmin
no more hunger, no more fear
G                 A           D   D/C# D/B D/A
that's what i want for Christmas
G             A       D          A
each and every year

(exact same chords for the second verse)
if only it could always be 
like it's never been before
and then one bright morning we would wake to find
that we'd put an end to war

and the light in the eyes of each of us 
would be shining bright with love
that's what i want for christmas
that's what i'm dreaming of

that's what i want for christmas
no more hunger, no more fear
that's what i want for christmas
each and every year

by james lee stanley and thom bishop
@1997, 2011 james lee Stanley music, bmi and thom bishop music, bmi


04 That's What I Want for Christmas

America’s a gun.  Final

the melody from tchaikowski's nutcracker suite, dance of the sugar plum faeries combined with the lyrics from deck the halls. 

Deck the Halls With Sugar Plum Faeries

puttin this track up in memory of allison krause who was shot and killed at kent state all those years ago.    she's the one with the flowers story.   my sister and i cut this on four tracks both singing at the same time and then making up a new part for the nexst pass on the fly.  one track unison and then six harmonies all spontaneously created.   took us about a half an hour.

Flowers for the Living

simple acoustic guitar and bass on a classic song

12 Let's Get Out Of Here (Redux).Mp3

as a fan of muhammed ali, i would collect the things he was quoted saying.   i took a string of them and rearranged them into a poem and put it to music and recorded it on my "ripe four distraction" cd.

my my (chiaroscuro)

i wrote this the evening of and the morning after 9/11.  i was originally scheduled to drive into dc that day to work on a friends cd, but was not allowed to drive into the city.  went to my friends alison and paul coppock and spent the night there.  worked on the song that night and in the morning when i awoke.  it's about the day before 9/11 because it was one world on september 10th, it was a different world on september 11th.   i tried to capture the innocence of the world before this terrorist attack.

Traces of the Old Road

last day of summer

written in the wake of the faux election of the drumpf, an illegal president and a traitor to our country...just in case you are wondering where i stand.

We're Not Alone Vox And Gtr

needed to write a love song.  something sweet after all the political rage we are all experiencing as our country is dismantled by putins puppet.

Still Crazy Over You Vox And Gtr

this was a huge dance hit in the 80's by my lovely sister pamala stanley, but this is my acoustic smokey version, it's also from backstage at the resurrection.    

03 Coming Out Of Hiding

Heading down a dark road
There’s no telling where we’re going
Something in those shadows
Doesn’t seem right to me
Heading down dark road
Dividing lines are all I see
One side or the other
lies between you and me
Taking a look around
Can’t believe what I think I see  
Taking a look around
Is this the best, the best that we can be

Heading down a dark road
Need a spark to light the way
No sense of direction
Still we spend another day
Heading down a dark road
Seems we’ve got a lot to lose
Coming to a crossroads
Which way will we choose?
Taking a look around
Can’t believe what I think I see
Taking a look around
Is this the best, the best that we can be

Everybody knows…
We’re gonna reap, we’re gonna reap
We’re gonna reap what we sow.

Heading down a dark road…

From the CD, Without Susie, Beachwood Recordings @2019
Words and Music by James Lee Stanley and Wyatt Easterling

Dark Road Jan 7 2019

HEY LOOK AT YOU 2

Winner of Best Documentary at the 2022 Nashville Film Festival 

People’s Choice Award London Film Festival

The documentary The Opening Act – The Extraordinary Journey of James Lee Stanley, is a wonderful, entertaining and uplifting look at a remarkable career and a window into the actual world of Show Biz.

Included are interviews with such luminaries as comedian Steven Wright and in the music world John Densmore of the Doors, Timothy B Schmit of the Eagles, Stephen Bishop, Henry Diltz, Uber Agent Mike Kappus, all of whom attest to James Lee’s validity as an artist, entertainer, composer and all around great guy and, yes, cancer survivor.

This story has it all.  Do yourself a favor.  Check it out.

https://vimeo.com/678390097
 
Password: Theopeningact


Without Susie solo CD.   All Wood and Led CD. Release Concert @ the world famous Grammy Museum, Los Angeles, Saturday, August 27th, 8 pm 2016.   Doors open at 7 pm  Tickets include signed CD and access to tour the museum.  $25 advance $30 at the door.

James Lee Stanley

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