Jimmy Heap (March 3, 1922 - December 3, 1977) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

ian who was popular in the 1950s. He was the original artist for Release Me and "

The Wild Side of Life "The Wild Side of Life" is a song made famous by country music singer Hank Thompson. Originally released in 1952, the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' co ...

Biography

Jimmy Heap was born in

Taylor, Texas Taylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population at the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census was 16,267, up from 15,191 as of 2010. History In 1876, the Texas Land Company auctioned lots in anticipation of the ar ...

on March 3, 1922. Heap became interested in music when musician "Slim" Gensler would stop at the gas station where Heap worked and play his guitar. He was enlisted in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

, where he was stationed in

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 ...

. It was here he met his future wife. After his military service ended, he formed the Melody Masters, which included Horace Barnett, Arlie Carter, Bill Glendining, and Louie Rincon. Starting 1948 they had a radio show on KTAE (AM). The group made their first records for Lasso Records of

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

shortly thereafter. Based on radio exposure and performances at dance halls, and particularly Dessau Dance Hall, he gained a regional following in Texas and was signed to

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

in 1949. In some time before his first Imperial recordings he hired fiddle player Perk Williams. Perk became the band's vocalist, even though he had no previous experience singing, but it was with Perk the band was associated during its period of greatest success. Heap and the Melody Masters were the first to record "Wild Side of Life", and when Hank Thompson took the song to #1 in March 1952 it provided Heap and his band their big break. In 1954 Jimmy Heap and the Melody Masters had a #5 hit with "Release Me". It was recorded at the

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded by David S. Gold ...

in Houston. Heap and the Melody Masters served as the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

at KTAE (AM) in 1955. In 1956 he had a minor country hit (chart position #96) with a song called "Butternut". The Melody Masters released 32 sides for Capitol in all. There were no other hits for Capitol, and Heap began releasing material on his own record labels. Trying to adapt to changing musical tastes, Heap parted ways with Perk Williams in 1957 because Perk would not change his style. Heap signed to D Records in 1958. He abandoned the honky-tonk style and attempted to become a rock band, using new vocalists and a saxophonist. Heap released additional records on Fame after his association with D ended. In the 1960s the group had a residence at the Golden Nugget, an act that included sexual material. A number of party records by the group were released at this time. Heap made one last solo album for Crazy Cajun Records in 1977, after which he retired from the music business. Heap died on December 3, 1977, when he drowned while fishing.

Style and influence

Jimmy Heap and the Melody Masters have been proffered as "one of the best exemplars of the post-World War II-era style of honky-tonk music." Although primarily associated with honky-tonk country, he also performed music considered pop and rock and roll. Heap and his band was an early influence on Sonny Rhodes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heep, Jimmy 1922 births 1977 deaths Country musicians from Texas People from Taylor, Texas United States Army Air Corps Deaths by drowning in Texas