Share Your Memories of Jim
In lieu of flowers we are asking you to remember Jim through his Grateful Music Foundation
Please send checks to:
Grateful Music Foundation
11605 W. 73rd Avenue
Arvada, CO 80005
Jim Salestrom was just such an artist.
Jim was an Emmy Award Winning Songwriter, a gifted guitarist and a seasoned performer who wrote and recorded music since he was 13. He performed for four US Presidents, at the White House, at The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and at the Supreme Court for his friend Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. He appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson three times and the Academy Awards show, as well as two HBO specials. Jim also appeared on Ellen, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Jay Leno shows. His music crossed generational boundaries and is enjoyed by fans of all ages. Jim liked traveling and meeting new folks and sharing his songs and stories that took him around the world.
In 1977, Jim, along with his band, Timberline recorded the The Great Timber Rush for CBS EPIC in Hollywood California. While touring with Timberline, they opened for Dolly Parton. This led to a long relationship with Jim playing in Dolly Parton’s band off and on starting in 1979, and included her 2011 Better Day World Tour.
While doing sound for John Denver at John’s first appearance at the Red Rocks Amphitheater, in 1972, he was one of the first to hear Rocky Mountain High at the sound check. Jim recorded vocals and banjo on John Denver’s Different Directions and sang with John in concert. He sang Rocky Mountain High at the Colorado State Capital when the song became the co-official state song of Colorado in 2007.
Jim created a multi-media tribute to Buffalo Bill that played in May and June of 2017 in various venues in Colorado and he performed around the country. Jim also co-produced the Shetland Reel Music Festival each August in the Shetland Islands of northern Scotland.
Dear Jim,
I want to thank you for the wonderful CD’s you gave us. I listen to Jim’s music every time I drive my car, and I think I have memorized all the lyrics to every song! Each song is unique: The collections are a combination of music, poetry, history, heartache, and humor (from “When Momma Ain’t Happy…when Daddy ain’t happy, nobody cares!!”) There are so many contemporary songs that we cannot relate to, but Jim’s songs are both relatable and comforting. I was an undergraduate history major so “Going To The Sun” is a lovely background of the Montana original settlers. I think that every elementary or middle school should hear that song as a beautiful way to learn about their roots! I remember the Warren Miller films when I first learned to ski, so that song brings back happy times. I was totally impressed by the history that is so often alluded to in the songs.
Thank you again for the CD’s but more importantly, thank you for the renewed friendship. Old friends are often the best friends since we come from a common background.
~Aloha, Anita
“If you come to visit me at the Carolina Tree House, I guarantee you will hear some albums by Jim Salestrom. There is no finer music for the mountains. Jim is a unique musician. He uses his guitar and voice like a fine artist uses brush and paint...drawing the most exquisite stories I’ve ever heard.”
~ Rusty Edwards, The Carolina Tree House, Murphy, NC
Nebraska Senator John Lowe (a dear friend) delivered Governor Pete Ricketts signed proclamation, giving Jim a special honor of becoming an Admiral in the Nebraska Navy.
“All the friends and folks we saw in Nebraska reminded me of how incredibly lucky we are to be from Nebraska. People are genuine and supportive and just plain nice. It is a wonderful place to raise a family, go to church, get an education, spend time in great outdoors, frequent great places to eat and watch the rest of this chaotic world in wonder. There is so much to be said for living in Nebraska. I am blessed that I was raised there. Thank-you family and friends and the Band Timberline for reminding me…there is no place like Nebraska”
Watch Jim on PBS’s 11th and Grant
I had the joy of being a small part of presenting this song during the A Holly Dolly Christmas TV special on CBS!
Someday We Will Make It
James and I wrote this song the second week of quarantine camp at our home in Big Sky Montana. The song is about helping each other, healing each other, and someday being together back home.