University of Wyoming
James Melton, 1904-1961, was a professional vocalist, a popular tenor whose career in radio, television, concert, opera, and motion pictures extended from the late 1920s through the 1950s. He began in radio with NBC in "Roxy's Gang" in 1927. He toured Europe with the Reveler's Quartet and in 1934 toured 28 cities with George Gershwin. His operatic debut was in 1938 as Pinkerton in "Madam Butterfly". In the 1940s he was a leading tenor on network shows such as "Texaco Star Theater", "The Telephone Hour", and the "Harvest of Stars". Though he sang leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, 1942-1950, he was best known for his performances on weekly radio shows like the "Ford Festival TIme", 1951-1952, singing with the Dave Brockman Orchestra among others. His repertoire, a mixture of popular songs, arias, ballads, and folk songs, was said to consist of more than 2,200 selections. He collected many of the original orchestrations for his songs.
The collection contains approximately 850 hand-written orchestrations of American popular songs from the turn of the 19th century to the late 1950s. Included are pop standards, tin pan alley classics, Broadway music, and semi-classical selections. An alphabetical index on 3 x 5 cards with assigned numbers per arrangement folder is included.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
There are no known other archival collections created by James Melton at the date of processing.
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
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