Torna Sorrento - James Melton

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. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.