At the age of 8, Sims played ragtime and waltzes and by age 11, he was accompanying church singers and playing the theatre organ for silent movies. At 14, he played at the Majestic Theater in LaSalle, Illinois. While still in his teens, he went to work for a pipe organ builder. At age 22, Sims started recording piano rolls and later records for Brunswick. He also became a radio studio manager. He founded the Lee Sims School of Music. He published several courses on modern piano and numerous arrangements of popular tunes of the day. Sims appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra to play the tone poem "Blythewood," he composed, with an orchestration by Ferde Grofe. This wonderful record was made in 1926.