Bill Neely

Music was the magic that transformed Bill Neely from a poor sharecropper's son during the Depression era into a respected entertainer with a career that spanned decades. It transported him from his humble roots in Texas to such worldly cities as Paris and Washington, D.C., leading the singer and composer to play esteemed venues that included the Smithsonian Institution. Not too shabby for a Collin County boy who had been forced to leave school in the eighth grade and seek employment when he was just 15 years old. His early forays into the work force of the 1930s began on train...