James Melton with George M. Cohan

I recently purchased this photo on e-bay.  On the reverse it says: “Intimate shot of George M. Cohan telling a story to James Melton.”  Don’t you wish you knew what that story was?  There’s no date on the photo, but given that Cohan died in 1942 (at the age of sixty-four), and given how young my father looks, the photo has to be from the mid to late 1930s.

Cohan published more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including the standards "Over There," "Give My Regards to Broadway," and "You're a Grand Old Flag."

  

Amazing, there is still Melton memorabilia out there on e-bay! 

The Tenor of His Times

For Immediate Release

Hawk Pine Press is pleased to announce the publication of 

James Melton: The Tenor of His Times, by his daughter, 

Margo Melton Nutt.

The James Melton story is the story of an era—the first half of the twentieth century: from the Roaring Twenties, through the Depression, WWII, and post-war prosperity. It is also a rags-to-riches-to-rags story of a talented, confident young man who raised himself from obscure beginnings in a tiny Florida town to the height of fame on stage, screen and airwaves—but who could not live without the adulation of an adoring public, and who had nothing to fall back on as he aged and musical tastes changed.

The Tenor of His Times is a daughter’s attempt to rediscover the fascinating man who was her father—to understand what motivated his successes and to sympathize with the many pressures that brought him down. 

—Peter Fox Smith, Vermont Public Radio personality and author of A Passion for Opera, has commented:

“Finally, a much needed James Melton biography that is a comprehensive addition to American musical history. This engaging book about one of our most beloved singers will make you want to hear again that beautiful voice. For the author, the researching and writing of this book about her famous father has been a liberating self-discovery of a past both exhilarating and agonizing, told in captivating prose.“

Paperback, 268 pages (with 35 photos), ISBN #1482391449,  April 2013

Copies of the book can be ordered through Amazon.com, or from the author, at a cost of $20.00 plus $3.99 shipping. 

Contact: Margo Melton Nutt, 560 Hawk Pine Road, Norwich, VT 05055 or tenorofhistimes@gmail.com for further information.

Direct link to the book on Amazon: 

http://www.amazon.com/James-Melton-Tenor-His-Times/dp/1482391449/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368660520&sr=1-1&keywords=tenor+of+his+times