J. J. Shea

J. J. Shea has been writing and recording music since he was a teenager growing up in Toronto, Canada. He is a former Canadian Foreign Service Officer whose diplomatic postings spanned the globe, from Europe to Asia, Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean and the United States. Shea's global experience inspired his musical compositions and allowed him to record songs in a range of wonderful studios around the world, including South Africa, Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. Shea's four-year assignment to New York City was particularly inspiring. While posted there he wrote his songs New York is Falling in Love, Manhattan Girl and Liberty.

J.J. Shea's family has a distinguished history in the entertainment world: Shea's Theatres in Toronto were built and operated by Michael & Jeremiah Shea (J.J. Shea's grandfather), major figures in vaudeville/early cinema. Michael Shea built a host of theatres in Western New York, including Shea's Buffalo, a designated American National Historic Site. Shea's Buffalo is currently undergoing major upgrades (see photo taken just prior to New York Governor Hochul's 16 March 2026 announcement about the $34.6 million expansion of Shea' Buffalo). In addition to Western New York, over the years three Shea's theatres were built in Toronto: one on Young Street, a second at Victoria and Richmond Street, and a third, the largest, Shea's Hippodrome, situated west of Toronto's Old City Hall. The Hippodrome was the most celebrated of Shea's Toronto theatres. On the musical front, the Hippodrome hosted numerous iconic artists, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. The former site of Shea's Hippodrome now holds Toronto City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square.

J. J. Shea continues to write and record songs at his residence in Canada. His songs have very high ratings in SHAZAM. For example, Earthly Heaven, Till the End of Time, New York is Falling in Love, Daddy's Car and California Girl all receive top-ratings for "Melodicness" – catchy tunes and lyrics, with singable and memorable melodies.