This is the album that fulfilled the promise and inherent faith of Jamie Lee Thurston’s move to Nashville from a small town in Vermont. Instantly establishing him as a singer-songwriter capable of matching licks and lyrics with the industry’s best, I Just Wanna Do My Thing masterfully weaves soulful ballads (Understanding Man, Dance Around the Truth and Dear God) with classic country rockers. If you just want to try one song on for size, pick It Can All be Gone, an epic you-better-live-life-for-the-moment tour de force. This album’s enduring legacy, of course, is Jamie Lee’s own cut of 15 Minutes, the ditty that Rodney Atkins borrowed for a ride to the Top 20 back in 2008. In his version, the song’s author, Jamie Lee, clearly owns it. 

11 15 Minutes

Waiting five years between albums, Jamie Lee Thurston unleashed 2010’s Where’s An Outlaw as if he’d been caged for the half decade. From the first song, the growling title cut that pays homage to his county heroes, Willie, Waylon and Hank Jr., to the last, Jamie Lee offers up a double album’s worth of gems. A full 18 songs make us want to dance (Livin’ the Good Life), to laugh (Alcohol of Fame, Beer Holder, Blame it on Tequila) or maybe even shed a tear. The song you’ll never forget after the first listen is Heaven Got a Hell Raiser about a Vietnam vet who made a lasting impression on his friends and family. But anyone who’s ever been in love needs to hear Understandin’ Man. We should all be able to deliver that much compassion.

10 For the Love of a Woman

12 High Class Country Song

In the growing legend that is Jamie Lee Thurston’s musical and life story, once upon a time he produced a record for Warner Brothers that — due only to technicalities and bad luck — never saw the light of day. Such a fate might have broken other songwriters’ spirit, but as Jamie Lee Thurston defiantly proclaims in the title cut to his best album, “Leavin’ don’t even cross your mind” when you’re the stayin’ kind. Thank goodness he didn’t. Every single song including the aforementioned title track seems to jump off this record in its own right, but we’ll be hearing two of these for years to come: the love song Why Wouldn’t I? and Ghosts in His Eyes, a tribute to heroes who bear emotional scars long after the war has ended. As for that Warner record? A couple of choice cuts from those early days show up here. It’s called staying power. 


Jamie Lee Thurston

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