About Jimmy Edwards Jimmy Edwards was born James Mitchell Edwards July 9, 1971 in Manhasset, NY. The son of professional singers, Jimmy grew up in a household dominated by the common themes of Opera, Broadway and Hollywood musicals: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy sings song and gets girl. As a child, Jimmy actively took part in several musical productions in the New York area including La Boheme, Elijah, The Electric Sunshine Man (a musical biography of Thomas Edison) as well as a host of other productions. Jimmy's family history reeks of musical talent. His mother and father sang for various venues as they were called on several times at gatherings for entertainment. Jimmy and his mother performed frequently together with the Manhasset Bay Opera Company. His grandfather, Thomas Edwards pursued a professional career as a tenor with the well-traveled quartet The Revelers; an act he owned. They performed constantly having done so for Dwight Eisenhower twice at the White House. His grandmother Eleanor Zellers-Edwards, herself an accomplished musician, performed frequently in churches throughout New York City. Her professionalism and dedication to her art landed her performances with the New York Philharmonic several times. Jimmy' early days on Long Island were ones wrought with the inception of his creativity. He started creating music at age seven while entertaining his brother Christopher, placing his menagerie of stuffed animals into situation comedy-type performances named "The Pooh Show" centering on the main character: a rather large Winnie the Pooh bear. Though the content of these skits mainly dealt with toilet humor, Jimmy created several songs for it including the melody for what would later become "Fruitful"(The Cheryl Collection) though at the time it was named "The Pooh Show". He also wrote plays and short stories. Jimmy's piano background stems from early lessons taken ages 10 - 13 resuming them in 1988 as his insatiable appetite for music took hold. He found music the only friendly outlet in what were awkward times. Jimmy, after an almost eight year hiatus from formal lessons returned to the piano his junior year. He found music as an outlet for his creativity as songwriting returned to center stage. This renewed interest in music convinced he and his family the necessity to take this endeavor further. Consequently, he auditioned for the University of the Arts in Philadelphia April of 1989(his Mother, unbeknownst to her until she and Jimmy were sitting in a restaurant across the street realized she had sang at the Philadelphia Academy of Music twenty years to the day of his audition). After several months of intense practice, he was admitted beginning that fall. Jimmy's tenure at the university lasted only one and a half years with a one-year hiatus within that time frame as Jimmy became distracted with the classroom environment, as he did in high school. Though a fine institution, The University of the Arts offered Jimmy little motivation, as it seemed much of the curriculum centered on the very musical upbringing Jimmy became accustomed to. He thirsted for more out of life since music seemed as natural as breathing. As he saw it, attending an institution for the purpose of learning that which has already been learned in a formal atmosphere seemed redundant. He left the university in the spring of 1992. The years between music school and the inception of this project were filled with polishing the Jimmy Edwards sound. Having musical influences from those exposed to at home along with the likes of jazz, Philadelphia soul, and others far too numerous to mention, Jimmy added these influences to music he wrote as well as future tunes he would crank out. To aid him in the creative process, he built his own 24-track recording studio in his home with all the trimmings in 1996. He named it 'Big-5 studios' for the five women who have influenced him the most creatively. The one common theme behind the music Jimmy composes is women; they, more than anything, have influenced his creativity. Politics, the environment, human suffering or any other topic never motivated him. You put a woman in front of him with haunting, hypnotic, unforgettable eyes and the melodies flow. There have been five who fit this profile, and he wrote a ton of material for each of them. Unfortunately, much of this material sat on a shelf with no clear direction for many years. This all changed one fateful evening in 2001. After several years' absence from all of them, he crossed paths with one. This moment, more than any in his past inspired him to pursue his current musical escapade: The Big - 5 Project. This particular incident lead to that which you are viewing now: a structured musical format based on these past love interests. This pursuit envelops everything Jimmy; from the musical influences/experiences of his past to his chivalrous devotion to that which gives his own life purpose. This project is made up of five albums comprising of the music he wrote for these five enchanting women with each named for them. The Cheryl Collection, the first, is complete. The Wendy Collection, The Kerri Collection, The Ashley Collection, and finally The Marlee Collection shall follow. The pieces contained within the first as well as forthcoming albums are not completely biographical in terms of lyrics however all, whether through lyric or melody, derive their influences from these fine creatures. He now wishes to share this work with you.