James Arthur Heap was born on March 3, 1922, in Taylor, TX and died on
December 4, 1977. Western swing bandleader Jimmy Heap led the Melody
Masters for over three decades. He worked on KTAE in Taylor, Texas from
1948 1958 and on the Big D Jamboree, KRLD, Dallas, Texas. He formed the
Melody Masters just after his service in World War II, with sidemen
Arlie Carter, Louie Rincon, Bill Glendining, and Horace Barnett.
A
continuing spot on local radio gave the Melody Masters a bit of renown
around central Texas, and Imperial Records signed the band in 1949. Some
time before the initial recordings, Heap who played lead guitar, hired
Houston "Perk" Williams to provide vocals along with his fiddling
duties. Though Williams had never sung before, his good performance on
their debut release, "Today, Tonight, and Tomorrow," guaranteed him the
spot ever after another song, "Haunted Hungry Heart," was covered by
Slim Whitman. However, it was "The Wild Side of Life" that provided
Jimmy Heap & the Melody Masters with their big break. Hank Thompson
& the Brazos Valley Boys took it to number one in March 1952, and
the single spent 15 weeks there.
But even before Thompson had
borrowed the biggest hit of his career, the country star had advised
Capitol Records to sign Heap. Over five years the Melody Masters
recorded 32 sides for Capitol, including their big hit "Release Me,"
which reached the No. 5 position on Billboard in 1954. The song was
written by Edie Miller, Dub Williams and Robert Yount in 1946. Ray Price
charted the song that same year and it peaked at No. 6 on Billboard.
Englebert Humperdinck took the song to No 4 on the pop charts in 1967.
"Release
Me" was Heaps only Billboard single on the country charts and Heap left
Capitol Records in the mid-'50s to form Fame Records. The Melody
Masters recorded for Fame throughout the 1950s and '60s and even
integrated rock & roll inspirations. Heap disbanded the group in
July 1977 and drowned in a boating accident before the year was over.
RJB, Country Music Historian
Nashville, TN USA.
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