North Florida Music Hall of Fame

Born James Tennant in Jacksonville, Jimmy Velvet was a Paxon High student of Mae Axton’s; she arranged his appearances on Toby Dowdy’s McDuff Hayride TV show alongside fellow Axton protégé, Johnny Tillotson. Through Axton, Velvet became a friend of Elvis Presley’s and a collector of Presley memorabilia; he later founded the Elvis Museum. As a recording artist for ABC-Paramount in the early to mid-1960s, Velvet remade sappy ballads like “Blue Velvet,”  “(You’re Mine and) We Belong Together,” and  “Teen Angel.” He left music to join the Air Force; returned in 1968 with an album on United Artists. Later acquired Chips Moman’s American Recording studio in Memphis, where Elvis recorded his comeback hits. In 1992, Velvet recorded the Presley tribute album Did You Know Elvis in Nashville with producer/co-writer David Allen Coe, released on Velvet’s own Music City label. He reportedly sold his Elvis collection for $2.4 million. Now living in Nashville, he is curator of the Legends Collection of showbiz memorabilia that includes many priceless artifacts of pop culture.