James Melton

With a clean-behind-the-ears demeanor similar to that of Richard Crooks, John Charles Thomas, or Nelson Eddy, concert and operatic tenor James 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 on January 2, 1904, in Moultrie, GA. His parents, who were both musicians, raised him in Citra, FL, where he handled melons and hogs. In 1920, he graduated from high school in Ocala, then attended a series of colleges in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. He received vocal in...