An Amarillo native is sharing his life story, discussing how some of the smallest moments led him to becoming a multi-award-winning recording artist, in “Tuned In: Memoirs of a Piano Man.” The autobiography is now available for pre-order.
In the book, Jim Wilson speaks of his origins in Amarillo, being raised by his mother, a former local school teacher; how he became interested in music at the age of 7; and after he picked up his first guitar, gifted to him by a family friend, igniting the lifelong love for music that eventually formed into playing keys instead of strumming strings.
“A theme seen throughout the book is the power of one, how one moment can change your life, how one decision, one person – one encounter was when I was 7. My mom took me to go visit a family friend, Toy, and I found a guitar. … As my mom was preparing to leave, Toy said to me, ‘I saw you messing around on that guitar; did you like that?’ I said ‘yeah’, and he said, ‘take it, it’s yours’. I think of that moment a lot because it was this lovely, flippant gesture, and little did he know he was about to change my entire life,” Wilson said.