James Melton
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James Melton (January 2, 1904, in Moultrie, Georgia – April 21, 1961 in New York City, New York) was a popular singer in the 1920's and early 1930's who later began a career as an operatic singer when tenor voices went out of style in popular music around 1932-1935. His singing talent was similar to that of Richard Crooks, John Charles Thomas or Nelson Eddy.
Melton usually catered to what has been described as a "musically middlebrow audience," emitting romantic airs and popular ballads with sugary precision. He was born in Moultrie, Georgia but was raised in Citra, Florida, where his parents grew melons and handled hogs.
In 1920, he graduated from high school in Ocala, Florida and then attended a series of colleges in three different states: Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. He received vocal instruction from Gaetano de Luca in Nashville from 1923 to 1927 before moving to New York where he studied with Beniamino Gigli's teacher, Enrico Rosati. Melton also worked in dance bands, playing saxophone in a college jazz ensemble and performing with Francis Craig's Orchestra in Atlanta in 1926.
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[edit] Radio
The following year, he began singing on New York radio for no pay. He joined "Roxy's Gang", a cabaret group led by Samuel Roxy Rothafel, who worked with the Sieberling Singers. He made records for Victor Records, singing as one of the tenors with The Revelers and for Columbia Records with the same group under the pseudonym of The Singing Sophomores.
Melton had recorded his first songs under his own name for Columbia in the autumn of 1927. He quickly became a popular singer and made numerous vocal recordings as well as singing vocal choruses for dance records. By 1931, the Great Depression along with the rise of conservatism and a religious revival initiated a movement to more masculine sounding voices in popular music. Singers such as Franklyn Baur, Nick Lucas, Harold Scrappy Lambert, etc. saw their careers end while singers with baritone voices such as Bing Crosby and Russ Columbo quickly became popular. Tenor voices quickly became viewed as outdated in popular music. Melton was forced to change paths and decided to try to continue his career with classical music. He began to train his voice with help from the pianist Michael Raucheisen in Berlin, and gave his first concert performance at Town Hall on April 22, 1932, in New York and embarked on an American and Canadian concert tour along with songwriter George Gershwin in 1934.
Melton continued to perform on the radio, as a Voice of Firestone on The Firestone Hour beginning in 1933, on Ward's Family Theater in 1935, The Sealtest Sunday Night Party (1936), The Palmolive Beauty Box Theater (1937), The Song Shop (1938), the Bell Telephone Hour (1940), Texaco Star Theater (1944) and Harvest of Stars (1945).
[edit] Films
Although not distinguished as a dramatic actor, he also appeared in movies, including Stars Over Broadway (1935), Sing Me a Love Song (1936), Melody for Two (1937), and the MGM revue, Ziegfeld Follies (1946).
[edit] Opera
After voice training with Angelo Canarutto, Melton's operatic singing career took off in 1938 when he appeared with the Cincinnati Zoo Opera Company as Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and also with the St. Louis Opera Company as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata. He worked with the Chicago Civic Opera from 1940 to 1942, appearing with Helen Jepson in Butterfly, with Lily Pons in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and in Flotow's Martha. On 7 December 1942, Melton debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Tamino in Mozart's The Magic Flute. He continued to perform at the Met through 1947, Melton spent the 1950s making records, singing in nightclubs, appearing on television and collecting rare automobiles. His last stage production was Sigmund Romberg's The Student Prince.
He established an auto museum in Hypoluxo, Florida, which he called the Autorama. Ken Purdy interviewed him on his collection and wrote a book about it. The museum was dispersed after his death. Melton has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for radio and the other for recording.
