Jim Weatherly  began writing songs when he was only thirteen years old. He had his own bands in high school and college and played dates throughout the South. He would go on to write songs for famous artists such as Gladys Knight and The Pips and Vince Gill. Many artists have performed versions of his songs. In fact, there are over 600 versions of his songs. Ray Price was his biggest publisher,  publishing over fifty of his songs. Most of his songs were dreamy love songs. He was once quoted saying "Every song I compose is a personal statement. My music tells how I feel, what I believe, and what I see."

Jim is a native of Ponotoc, MS. He was born on March 17, 1943. Before he hit it big in music, he attended college at Ole Miss. At Ole Miss, Jim played football and was an all conference quarterback for the Rebels. He met his wife, Cynthia, in Nashville in an acting class. They have a daughter, Brighton, and a son, Zack.

Jim and his family moved out to L.A. for a short time. During his time in L.A., Jim wrote songs that crossed over into R and B, country, gospel, and jazz. "Neither One of Us Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye" was a number one pop/soul hit, and won a Grammy for Gladys Knight and The Pips. The next year it became a hit for the late Bob Luman. Vince Gill teamed up with Jim to write "Love Never Broke Anyone’s Heart", which is on Vince Gill’s "I Still Believe in You" album. They also teamed up to write "If I Didn’t Have You in my World" for the double-platinum "Pocket Full of Gold".

Many different artists performed Jim’s songs, but he also recorded solo albums of his own. Upon moving back to Nashville, he recorded six solo albums during the seventies. Most of Jim’s hits were on "Songs I’ve Written". It contained "Midnight Train to Georgia", "Neither One of Us Wants to be the First to Say Goodbye", and "The Need to Be". "Midnight Train to Georgia" wasn’t as big of a hit for Jim as it was for other artists who performed it, such as Gladys Knight and The Pips. They won a Grammy for this song. The only hit of Jim’s to make any commercial impact was "I’ll Still Love You". It was a top ten hit back in 1975.

Jim was more successful as a songwriter than he was a performer. Jim’s songs have earned him over thirty ASCAP awards. with many artists have winning  awards for performing Jim’s songs. He wrote or co-wrote songs for performers such as Glen Campbell, Bryan White, Steve Wariner, Dan Seals, Linda Davis, Marie Osmond, Bill Anderson, Charley Pride, Dean Martin, and many others.

Jim and his family reside in Nashville, TN.