Vocalists
Dan Hein joined the rock band, The Flippers, in the early 1960s just as the group was starting out. With a strong influence from jump blues and soul bands, they added a horn section and changed their name to The Fabulous Flippers. Dan believes they were among the first all white bands to add horns...
Betty Bennett was inspired to pursue a career in music when she was brought along to gigs by her mother and was allowed to sing with her. After Betty’s first paying gig, making 50 cents for singing a song, she would continue singing throughout her high school and college years, hitting it big when...
Bonnie Guitar produced a series of hit recordings for her label, Dolton, in the 1950s and 60s. Among the labels most popular acts were the Fleetwoods and the Ventures. Bonnie even recorded a few of her own songs for her label, including “Candy Apple Red.” As a recording artist, Bonnie topped the...
John Conlee was not even a teenager when he joined a barbershop quartet in Versailles, Kentucky where his father ran a tobacco farm. He was often heard singing and playing his guitar and decided to try his hand as a musician in Nashville. He moved to the music city in 1971 to work in radio and...
Byron Walls is a singer/songwriter who began his career during the folk music boom of the early 1960s. He sang in a number of groups during his career, including The Travellers, for which Byron was a founding member. The group opened for Phyllis Diller at the Purple Onion in San Francisco and later...
Jim Peterik was just a teenager when he joined a rock band and knew what he wanted to do when he grew up! He began writing songs and formed several bands including The Ides of March, which scored a couple of hit recordings on songs Jim wrote including “Vehicle”. He also formed the band Survivor and...
Diane Sparks and her brother, Donnie, formed a successful singing group in the 1960s. Donnie & Diane performed and recorded a string of hits, most written by Donnie. Diane's husband, Roger Sparks, played lead guitar in the Donnie and Diane band from 1968 to 1974. The Donnie and Diane band was...
Donna Jean Godchaux was the only female singer with the Grateful Dead (on stage and on recordings) from 1971 until 1979. In fact, she was the first female singer with the group and was once married to the band's keyboard player. When she was just nine years old, she met Rick Hall before he opened...
Charley Pride was born one of 11 children in Sledge, Mississippi. Although he enjoyed music as child and learned to pick out songs on guitar by ear, Charley had a desire to be a professional baseball player. Charley played for the Memphis Red Sox in the Negro American League and was shopped around...
Crystal Gayle had a string of hit country songs in the 1970s including her big number one crossover pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blues." The recording provided Crystal the opportunity to record in many of the top studios in Nashville as well as several noted television appearances. During...