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But once I moved away, I realized how valuable that garden<br />
was to my parents and our family for so many reasons. After<br />
my brothers and I moved into our own homes, my parents<br />
worked the garden and would split the harvest evenly between<br />
us siblings. There is no one that can cook green beans and butter<br />
beans like Edna Perry. I do know the secret and I cook them for<br />
my family but they just never seem to be as good as my moms.<br />
When did you know that you wanted to be<br />
a country singer?<br />
I always knew I wanted to sing. Truthfully, there was never any<br />
doubt whatsoever. I just never thought of doing anything else.<br />
It was as if singing chose me. My soul was set on fire every<br />
Sunday with music from the church. That music transformed<br />
me to another place and still does to this very day. The soul of<br />
those old gospel hymns just resonated in me from as far back<br />
as I can remember. After seeing Elvis Presley in Jackson when<br />
I was 12 years old, I knew there would be no other path I could<br />
take but to sing. However, it wasn’t until high school that I<br />
decided country music was the music I wanted to sing. Country<br />
music was not as popular then as it is now, so without question,<br />
I was in the minority when it came to this style of music.<br />
Were your parents supportive of your decision<br />
to move to Nashville?<br />
My parents have always been supportive of all of their children.<br />
They worked hard and instilled in us a strong work ethic that<br />
my brothers and I share. We were taught that nothing comes<br />
without hard work, to treat people with respect and dignity,<br />
and never take one day for granted.<br />
Education was important as well. I begged to move to Nashville<br />
straight out of high school but my mom insisted I go to college<br />
before making my final decision to move away. The fact that I<br />
only attended college for one semester probably broke my mom’s<br />
heart! And as a parent of three teenage daughters, with one in<br />
college, one on the way to college, and another not far behind,<br />
I can only, now, imagine the worry that I must have caused my<br />
mom. However, my parents raised us in faith and I know that<br />
they could not have survived what I put them through without<br />
that faith and without lots of prayer.<br />
24 • <strong>February</strong>/<strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
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