Chapman dropped out of school in 1966 to pursue playing in a rock and roll band. In 1968, his band, The Bluesmen Revue, signed a recording contract with Columbia Records in the U.S. that saw the release of "Spin the Bottle". The band split up in early 1969 after their record deal ended following a disagreement with their U.S. management company and their dissatisfaction with Columbia's plans for the band. In 1970, Chapman joined Canadian showband Leather and Lace and eventually played bass for rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins in 1972. In 1972,

Chapman and partners started a musician management company and opened Springfield Sound Studios, where, among others, folk musician Stan Rogers recorded his albums Turnaround and Fogarty's Cove.

After having toured with his own band in the early 1980s, in 1986 Chapman returned home to London and built another recording studio. He started a second jingle company where he wrote and recorded the "Tear 'Em Up Tigers" theme song for the London-based Detroit Tigers farm team. It gained international recognition as an anthem for the organization on its way to a US Eastern League baseball championship in 1989, in addition to getting local media coverage and raising thousands of dollars for charity.

In 1988, Chapman was contracted to write novelty songs for Peter Garland's top-rated morning show on CFPL 980 Radio. Some of his songs were heard across Canada on the CBC, including "Stand Up for Canada, Eh!", recorded by the True Grit Band that at times included Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and future City of London Mayor Joe Fontana, and used as the theme for a nationwide campaign to promote Canadian unity during the 1995 Referendum.

In 1992, Chapman was offered a job as a talk show host at London's CJBK Radio. After a year there, and a subsequent two-year stint at CKSL, he returned to CJBK as the host of Talk of the Town. He was later hired as a news commentator on CFPL television and also hosted the thrice-weekly Jim Chapman Show interview show evenings on the Rogers TV Network for several years. He was a columnist with The London Free Press and Business London magazine for two decades, and was the first person in London media to host his own radio and TV shows while also writing regular newspaper and magazine columns.

Chapman had an unsuccessful run in the Ontario Provincial Election for the Progressive Conservatives.

In 2023 Chapman was inducted into the London Music Hall of Fame along with his fellow 1960's Bluesmen Revue band members.

Near-death experience

In 1999, Jim Chapman suffered a fatal heart attack and was left brain-dead in a local ER. He was eventually resuscitated, but not before having a near-death experience. Emergency surgery after a second serious heart attack just days later left him very ill and incapacitated for several months. He used the time to tell the story of what he called his "adventure" in a book, Heart and Soul, that became a regional bestseller and generated thousands of dollars for charity. For the next few years, in addition to his media work, Chapman travelled extensively, speaking about his near-death experience and its aftermath.

After a serious illness in 2005, Chapman was inspired to write another book, Come Back to Life, that related the story of the years since his near-death experience and how his life in the interim had been affected by it.  

www.jimchapman.ca