Our Small Town, Big House vacation rental was built in 1968 by mid-century country swing musician Jimmy Heap as his personal home.

Check out some of his music below!

When we bought this house, one of the bedrooms was soundproofed and had a window looking into the garage. For the last part of his life, this room served as Heap’s recording studio, while the garage was the rehearsal location for his band. We keep a small but growing collection of Jimmy Heap memorabilia in this room.

Born in 1922, Heap signed with Lasso Records in 1949, and later with Capitol Records. With his band The Melody Masters, featuring notables like “Butterball” Harris and “Perk” Williams, Heap wrote and recorded several hits, including “Release Me” and “The Wild Side of Life”. After years of touring Texas, he established a residency in Las Vegas, where in collaboration with Ken Idaho he developed a titillating stage show, leading to a number of racy comedy albums.

According to Heap’s son, The Melody Masters “performed 6 days a week for 25 years” and regularly graced such venues as Gilley’s, Dessau Hall, and Longhorn Ballroom.

Heap co-owned a local construction company, specializing in building large ranch-style houses like this one, which can be found throughout Taylor. He died in a boating accident on Lake Buchanan in 1977, and is buried in the Taylor City Cemetery. In 2001, Texas governor Rick Perry named March 9 to be “Jimmy Heap Day”.