Born into a musical family in 1957 in Los Angeles, James Armstrong had blues music in his blood from the very start. His mom was a blues singer, his dad played jazz guitar.

In the early '90s, James got plenty of exposure from his musical influences, including Albert Collins and Sam Taylor. Shortly after that, he was discovered and signed by HighTone Records owner Bruce Bromberg, who had discovered and signed Robert Cray and Joe Louis Walker.

Armstrong was about to tour with his critically acclaimed first album, Sleeping with a Stranger, when tragedy struck. The events surrounding a home invasion left Armstrong without the use of his left hand and arm, including permanent nerve damage. This threatened to end his career forever; but thanks to the support of friends, fans and the blues community, Armstrong came back two years later with a second album, Dark Night.