News : Musicians to gather for jam in memory of Ronald \'Rajj\' James, Jan. 9

Ronald Rajj James: Local guitarist died of cancer on New Year's Eve.

Musicians from throughout the area and beyond will gather for a jam session January 9 in honor of a local guitarist who died New Year’s Eve.
Ronald Alan “Rajj” James, 60, of Mount Auburn, died of lung cancer, just a few months after receiving his diagnosis. He had played music all his life and lived in Michigan until moving to Iowa in 2007.

“He was a great man with a heart of gold,” says Ron’s widow, Belinda.

Rajj and Belinda have performed in several venues throughout Iowa, including the “Idiot Jam” organized by Vinton musician and singer Todd Frank.

“He didn't have a favorite venue because any and every gig was special to him,” Belinda recalls. “He was the kind of person that loved playing and inspiring other to be the best they could be. We would go to jams that had beginners and he would encourage them and help any way he could.”

Friends called him “Ron” and Rajj, which represented Ron’s initials and the first letter of the name of his son, Jeremie.

One of those young performers he encouraged most was his wife, whom he urged to join him on stage.

“If it wasn't for him gently pushing me, I never would have had the courage to sing in public,” says Belinda. “He would always give me little smiles of encouragement.”

Belinda smiles as she tells the story of how an Iowa woman met a Michigan native in Alabama.

“I was an over-the-road truck driver,” she explains. “I pulled into a truck stop in Birmingham, Ala., and saw this guy with a guitar sitting outside. I love music so I noticed the guitar. When I came back out of the building, he stopped me and asked if I was going north as he was trying to get to Canada to play.”

Belinda told him she could take him as far as Iowa, and she did.

“I dropped him off in Evansdale thinking he could get a ride from there,” she recalls. “But two days later he was still there so I had one of my sons go get him, since I was on the road.”

Belinda bought Rajj a bus ticket, but he was still in Des Moines when Belinda learned she had lost her job.

“So when he called me, he talked me into picking him up from Des Moines and we would travel to Canada together. We went up to Whitehorse in the Yukon and played and sang in bars for a while. I left him up in Canada and came back to the States. Two days after I was back in Iowa, he called and said he had decided he didn't want to live without me. So I went back to Canada and brought him back to Iowa. I figured it was cheaper to keep him. I called ‘Jimmy Bad Penny,’” she recalls.

One of the Iowa musicians who played with Rajj was Tom Zimmerman.

“I absolutely loved playing with Ron. He could make blues and rock come out of that guitar like no one else I know, and he was such a great showman,” said Zimmerman. “He loved the music and it had to come out. I loved his energy and passion for making music.”

Ron's Celebration of Life will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, at the Mount Auburn United Methodist Church. After a luncheon at the church, Belinda invites all musicians who would like to bring their instruments and voices to the couple’s home for a jam session tribute to Rajj. Belinda is also arranging a memorial service for Rajj’s friends and family in Michigan.

See a story about his autographed guitar HERE.

Belinda has set up a Go Fund Me page to help with expenses. See that page HERE.