inah Washington was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1924, as Ruth lee Jones.

She moved to Chicago as a child and played piano and sang at her church. At 15 she began to perform secular music and became one of …

Ralph Stanley was born in 1927 in the Clinch Mountains of Virginia. He learned to play the banjo as a child and, with his older brother, Carter, formed the Stanley Brothers Band in 1947.

They achieved success through radio airplay, …

Dinah Shore was born Frances Rose Shore in Winchester, Tennessee.

She had polio as a baby but recovered to become a cheerleader in high school. She earned a bachelors degree in sociology from Vanderbilt University before launching her career in …

Bessie Smith, known as the “Empress of the Blues” was born in Chattanooga sometime between 1894-1900.

She was discovered by Ma Rainey and became a hit on the vaudeville circuit.  Her first recording ” Downhearted Blues” was released in 1924 …

George C. Scott was born in Wise, Virginia in 1927.

His mother died when he was 8 years old. In 1945 he joined the Marines and served for four years. After his service he attended University of Missouri Journalism School …

Tammy Wynnette, country music’s “Heroine of Heartbreak” was born in 1942 in Itawamba County, Mississippi. Her real name was Virginia Wynette Pugh.

She recorded a string of hits and received two Emmy awards, plus many other honors including a place …

Dolly Parton was born in 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee. She was from a family of twelve children.

She reportedly began to make up songs before she could read or write and has since authored more than 300 songs, many …

Lucille Ball is also known as the “Queen of Comedy”. She was born in 1911 in Jamestown, New York and recounts in her biography stories about her childhood in what was then a rural setting. She became a model and …