Jesse Frederick - Early Years

Early Years

Frederick was born Jesse Frederick James Conaway in Salisbury, Maryland and was raised in Seaford, Delaware. He was the youngest of two children. His brother, Everett Thomas (Tommy) Conaway, Jr., 4 years his senior, died of Cystic Fibrosis at 12 years of age. In his early childhood, Jesse was familiarly known as "Freddy" before legally dropping the James Conaway from his name in his later teens. This was done in an attempt to distinguish himself from the legacy of his father, Everett T. "Conny" Conaway, Sr. (1915-2010). Conny was a prominent figure in the poultry processing industry. During his unprecedented 70-year career, the senior Conaway designed and built some of the earliest processing plants for Allen Family Foods, Frank Perdue and Preston Townsend, all of which are still operating today. In early adolescence, Frederick attended Massanutten Military Academy for two years. Once he entered high school, his father put him to work, hoping to groom a protege in the industry. Frederick learned about the processing of poultry first hand as a plant laborer at many of his father's factories on the East Coast.

In high school, Frederick was a bright, multi-talented, popular student; he starred in many school plays and although his primary musical instrument was classical trumpet, he demonstrated from his youth a talent for mastery of a variety of musical instruments. He graduated Seaford High School in 1966, before attending Shenandoah College and Conservatory Of Music. Under his father's tutileage, he studied mechanical drafting, and eventually worked as his apprentice in plant overhead conveyor layout designs. All the while, the young musician continued writing and composing his own work, while pursuing aspirations to make it in the music industry.