"I'm absolutely THRILLED with my CD purchases!!! They are WONDERFUL...so relaxing, and just what I need in my stressful life! You are truly gifted and an inspiration to hard work and perseverance!! ~ Karen, Stuart, IA"

 


   
 

Media Resources

Jim's Biography

After stints as a high school band director, cruise ship entertainer and air-traffic controller, Jim McDonough began selling his distinctive brand of soothing piano music in gift shops in eastern Iowa. Today, the International Steinway Concert and Recording Artist’s CDs are available in nearly 1,000 stores across the country and via his Web site, www.pianofavorites.com. Jim’s independent record label, Jim McDonough Productions, Inc., has already sold more than 125,000 of his CDs.

The road to success, though, has been paved with detours. In eighth grade, an accident nearly ended his musical career. A falling piano crushed three fingers on his right hand - and nearly crushed his dreams in the process. Jim emerged from two hours of surgery with pins in his fingers and tiny fractures across his hand. But throughout more than a year of physical therapy, Jim kept playing -- with a cast on his right hand -- and concentrated on improving his performance with his left hand. "Playing the piano defined me," McDonough says. "It was my life, and I was determined to play again." He devoted nearly every spare moment to working to get back the dexterity in his right hand, and the rigorous rehearsing paid off. In ninth grade, instead of a car, Jim bought a Steinway grand piano to celebrate how far he'd come.

His debut CD Requests, released in 2002, features timeless solo piano music, including favorites such as My Heart Will Go On (from Titanic), Time to Say Goodbye, and All I Ask of You (from Phantom of the Opera). Jim's first holiday CD, Home for Christmas, includes 13 tunes, including O Holy Night, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Christmas Time is Here (from A Charlie Brown Christmas) and The Prayer. His early 2004 collection of movie music, Projections: Songs from the Silver Screen, features familiar film themes including Theme from On Golden Pond, Brian's Song and Through The Eyes Of Love (from Ice Castles). An Ivory Christmas is a taste of Jim's live holiday show, and features a combination of solo piano pieces and holiday tunes with vocals and full orchestrations, including We Need a Little Christmas, My Favorite Things and Ave Maria. Music of the Night is a collection of sophisticated, relaxing and romantic evening-inspired melodies including Some Enchanted Evening, Moon River and Somewhere Out There. Simple Gifts features 14 songs of faith and inspiration, including On Eagle's Wings, You Raise Me Up and How Great Thou Art. With Love is filled with timeless, most-often-requested love songs, including Unchained Melody, Unforgettable, and Somewhere My Love. Homeward Bound features melodies designed to accompany us on the many stages of our journeys through life, including You'll Never Walk Alone, Climb Ev'ry Mountain and Danny Boy.  New in 2008, Country Dreaming, features 16 classic country melodies, including Crazy, Always on My Mind and Tennessee Waltz. A Christmas to Remember is Jim’s second holiday album, and filled with such favorites as Mary Did You Know?, Silver Bells and Joy to the World. Rat Pack Remembered features one full hour of Jim’s distinctive solo piano arrangements of the most beloved hits of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., including My Way, Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime and Mr. BojanglesIsn’t It Romantic, the second CD in his series of classic love songs including The Rose, Tenderly, and When I Fall in Love. New in 2011, Christmas Eve is Jim’s latest holiday album and includes such favorites as Carol of the Bells, Away in a Manger and The First Noel. And McDonough’s most recent release, Young At Heart, featuring beloved themes from timeless movies for the young – and the young at heart, including Over the Rainbow, Beauty and the Beast and Edelweiss. 

Now in its ninth year, Jim's annual "Holiday Grande" concert tour has become a must-attend tradition for thousands of people each Christmas. The spectacular holiday stage production includes Jim at the grand piano, his 15-piece orchestra, a cast of singers and dancers, elaborate sets and costumes and the true spirit of the season.

For more information, visit Jim McDonough's web site at www.pianofavorites.com or call (800) 375-7095.

Download Jim’s full biography in Microsoft Word format Here

Download Jim’s full biography in Adobe Acrobat PDF format Here