In 1946, in a post-war America where anything is possible,  Jiles Perry (Jape) Richardson starts his last year in a Texas high school.  A gifted music composer, singer and musician, his skills are not valued by a father who makes his living through tough physical labor in the oilfields.  Eager to fit in somewhere, Jay goes out for the football team and makes the cut, leaving his old friends Bubba and Billy behind.  At first, the other football players withhold their respect until Jape catches the eye of the most popular girl in school, Jody.  Jape's skill on the football field and Jody's affections give him confidence to be himself and he wins the school talent competition with an original composition. 

However, Jody is fickle and his desire to make music sends her into the arms of an assistant jewelry store manager. whose prospects for the future appear brighter.  Devastated, Jape finds solace in his music and reunites with his old buddies, who take him out to a still in the woods to help him forget his broken heart.  After graduation, Jape goes off to college but is inspired to work in radio when he hears the owner of a local station speak on campus.  He becomes a popular deejay and keeps writing those songs, but is reluctant to love again.  Finally, taking a chance, he goes on a blind date with a teenage fan and falls in love at first sight - although the road to the altar and to fame as a singer still has a few bumps along the way.