James Phillip Valentine

Long-time Austinite, James Phillip Valentine (Jim), died January 5, 2006. Jim was born August 26, 1916 to John Leslie Valentine and Wilma Davis Valentine, fifth generation Texans, in San Antonio. The family moved to Austin in 1932, and Jim graduated from Austin High School in 1934. He entered the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity and well-known for his beautiful singing voice. He began a distinguished musical career in Austin, singing with local radio station KNOW and with area dance bands. At UT Austin, he captivated his audiences at campus shows and was featured with Paul Whiteman's orchestra at the inauguration of Governor James Allred. He performed at the Texas Centennial in Dallas, in 1936. Jim's first big break came when he sang with Jimmy Dorsey in Austin in 1940. “I'll never forget it”, [Bob] Eberly [Dorsey's own vocalist] said later, as recounted by the music critic George Simon in his 1967 book The Big Bands. “We were playing in Austin and I thought I was doing pretty well for myself. Then, along about the middle of the dance, some of 'em started calling for Jimmy Valentine. So this quiet fellow comes up to the bandstand and sings 'Stardust.' Well, I was just a has-been after that. Jim made his New York debut at the New York Paramount Theatre along with Dinah Shore and Ken Murray, performing with the Will Bradley/ Ray McKinley band. Altogether he recorded 25 songs on Columbia records, including the war-time hit Stardust. Canadian music aficionado, Tom Appleby, who produced a CD of Jim's songs and Big Band reminiscences, recalls, "His soft tonality, hovering between tenor and baritone, was perfectly modulated and inflected....perfectly suited to the romantic songs of that era." In 1941 he was called to serve in the Army and was assigned to the Special Services Office, in charge of entertainment. In August 1943, he married Mary Alice Gilchrist of Buffalo, New York. After the war ended, Jim returned to school and graduated from Indiana University in 1948 with a degree in Business Administration. He worked for the Texas Auto Dealers Association and then joined the Texas Health Department in 1957. After that, he worked in the Governor's Office of Community & Regional Planning, studied for a master's in urban planning, and retired in 1982. He was a member of St. David's Episcopal Church for 50 years and sang in the choir for 8 years. Highly intelligent, and a kind and gentle man, he loved his family wholeheartedly and was greatly loved in return. He is survived by Mary Alice, his wife of 63 years, daughters Julie Valentine of Austin and Leslie Valentine of Brooklyn, New York, son James W.G. Valentine of Austin, two sons-in-law Stephen Hollahan and Les Bourne, daughter-in-law Susan Valentine, and four beloved grand-daughters, Julie Catherine Puentes, Emily Valentine Luce, Katherine Valentine, and Gabriela Bourne, and by his sister Marjorie Adams of Austin. A memorial service is planned for January 21, 2006, 2 pm, at St. David's Episcopal Church; in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice Austin/Christopher House or the Austin Humane Society. Obituary and guestbook online at wcfish.com