Early Years
Vincent was born in Kirksville, Missouri, on July 13, 1962 and raised in nearby Greentop, Missouri. She is the oldest of three children, and the only daughter, of Johnny and Carolyn Vincent. Her brother Darrin is a member of the Grammy-nominated bluegrass group Dailey & Vincent. Youngest brother Brian played with the family group for many years but no longer works as a professional musician. A fifth-generation musician, Rhonda's musical career started when her father bought her a snare drum for her sixth birthday. At age eight, Rhonda started playing mandolin. She soon excelled and began guitar lessons at ten years old. Vincent would later add fiddle player to her list of talents. Children of course are used to after-school homework, but Vincent's was a bit different. In an interview with Ingrams magazine she said "Dad used to pick me up after school, and Grandpa would come over and we played until after dinner almost every night. There wasn’t a lot going on in Greentop, but it was always hopping at the Vincent house." Rhonda Vincent recorded her first single, a version of Mule Skinner Blues in 1970. The family, including the younger brothers when they were old enough to play instruments, traveled and performed extensively across the Midwest in the 1970s and early 1980s. Except for living in Texas for a short time in 1974, and two summers (1977, 1978) spent employed as musicians at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, the Vincent family used the Greentop area as home base. The Vincent children all attended Schuyler County R-1 schools, and following high school Rhonda later attended Northeast Missouri State University, majoring in accounting.
Read more about this topic: Rhonda Vincent
Famous quotes containing the words early years, early and/or 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)
“I taught school in the early days of my manhood and I think I know something about mothers. There is a thread of aspiration that runs strong in them. It is the fiber that has formed the most unselfish creatures who inhabit this earth. They want three things only; for their children to be fed, to be healthy, and to make the most of themselves.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“In a famous Middletown study of Muncie, Indiana, in 1924, mothers were asked to rank the qualities they most desire in their children. At the top of the list were conformity and strict obedience. More than fifty years later, when the Middletown survey was replicated, mothers placed autonomy and independence first. The healthiest parenting probably promotes a balance of these qualities in children.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)