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- Ed Sprouse was born on September 20, 1923 on a farm in Lamar County, Alabama located about 10 miles south of Vernon, Alabama. At an early age it seemed he was talented in singing gospel songs at church. By the time he was 4 years of age, he was singing solos in his sunday school class. Later, at 5 or 6 he attended some local singing schools during the summer months and learned to read shaped note music. Our family was a singing family. We owned an organ. You had to pedal the bellows to get the sound going. His father, 2 sisters and 1 brother would stand around the organ and sing while one of the sisters played the organ. At the age of 13 or 14, the Lamar County Quartet asked him to sing high tenor in their group. He tried it and enjoyed it very much. For the next 4 years he sang with the group in many all day singings and did a few concerts. The members of the group were: Ed Sprouse, first tenor; Junie Harper, lead; Jeff Finch, baritone; Noah Pennington, bass; Adine Cross, piano.
Ed attended Lamar County public schools and graduated from Millport High School in April of 1941 at the age of 17. Shortly after graduation, he won first prize in a contest that Stamps Baxter Music & Printing Company was promoting. The winner received a free trip to Dallas, Texas for the Music School which they had going for 3 weeks in June each summer. He received FREE, all the charges for the 3 weeks tuition, plus all the private lessons he could get in his schedule. In addition, his room rent and food was FREE. He estimated the monetary value to him was worth about $ 400.00. That was a very big amount in 1941. Many people were working at that time for a whole year for around $ 800.00.
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