Early Years
Rosan Gallimore was born December 26, 1941. She was raised near Puryear, Tennessee on a cotton and tobacco farm. Her great-great-grandmother was Cherokee, a tribe which considered the rattlesnake a symbol of healing. As a child, Rattlesnake had no fear of snakes, and her grandmother often called her "rattlesnake".
Rattlesnake's father had been a country and blues singer, and she was learned to play guitar at an early age. She earned her first paycheck from singing at age 8, and from then on her goal in life was to earn a living while making music. When she was 12, Rattlesnake and two of her cousins formed a band called the Gallimore Sisters. They performed locally and won a statewide talent contest in 1954 landing them an appearance in Nashville on the Jr. Grand Ole Opry and a live television performance.
At age 16, Rattlesnake moved to Memphis and then on to Huntsville, Alabama. In the early 1960s she moved to Texas, where she met and married Max McGowan. The couple purchased 200 acres (81 ha) of land along the Brazos River. The land had never been cleared or lived on.
Read more about this topic: Rattlesnake Annie
Famous quotes related to early years:
“Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)