News — nashville

“There were three of us, eighteen months apart” says Brenda Kippa, sister of Dan Folger. “My first brother was born in 1941, then came Dan (b. 1943 d. 2006) and finally me. We lived in La Honda, a suburb of San Francisco. We were comfortable financially and lived in a lovely home. However, there was great trouble in the marriage between our parents, and finally my mother called her father who came to California and brought us all (except my father) back to Texas. My mother couldn't find work, so she initially left us with her parents and found work...

  Olene Gaines, the wife of Earl Gaines (b.1935, d. 2009) recalls that he was raised partly by his mother in between Alabama and Nashville. His father was in the picture, though he was never really mentioned as being involved in his upbringing. His first singing experience was with his uncle in Alabama, as part of a gospel quartet. Early life consisted of helping the family pick cotton and raising cattle during the day, and listening to blues singers on WLAC at night. As a teenager Earl moved permanently to Nashville to live with his mother, and became good friends...