James Melton Biography

Fast Facts

• Attended the University of Florida, the University of Georgia and Vanderbilt University
• Played saxophone in a college jazz ensemble and performed with Francis Craig's Orchestra in Atlanta in 1926
• Intended to become a lawyer, but the president of the college he was attending advised him to pursue music after hearing him singing in chapel
• When the headman at the Roxy refused to give him an audition, Melton sang loudly outside his office until he came out to see what the commotion was about and hired him on the spot
• Gave 30 operatic performances, 100 concert performances and 125 radio broadcasts between 1940 and 1942 alone
• Sang as a tenor with the Cincinnati and Chicago operas, then joined the Metropolitan
• Collected vintage automobiles, and at one time owned 82 in running condition