He is also, the father of Jimmy Jam (James Harris III) who produced records for Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Usher.

[2] Harris co-wrote[3] Augie Garcia's "Hi Yo Silver," a 1955 song that was Minnesota's first rock 'n' roll recording.

He performed on the record, which he called a one-hit wonder[1] (although Garcia is remembered as the godfather of Minnesota rock 'n' roll because of Augie's antics on stage upstaging Elvis Presley.[4]).

[1] His repertoire includes blues and jazz and in his nineties, Harris still plays Minneapolis nightclubs[5] including the Loring Pasta Bar in Dinkytown, Clubhouse Jäger in the North Loop and Palmer's Bar[6] and the Nomad World Pub on the West Bank.

[7] Harris is a mentor to Cadillac Kolstad and City Pages calls them the "must-see dueling-piano act in town".