David W. Emerson was born in Littleton, Massachusetts. His father, a mining engineer, moved the family to Mexico twice, once when he was one year old and again when he was seven. In 1938, his father retired to work on his apple orchard in

Littleton. Emerson helped with pruning, spraying and dusting for insects, and hauling apples to the cider mill.

Award-winning poet and musician Norman Kaye was born Norman Kaaihue on September 22, 1922. He and his sister, Mary, were born into a Hawaiian show-business family, and played in their father's band, Johnny Kaaihue's Royal Hawaiians. After serving in the army during World War II, Kaye and his sister formed a group that evolved into the Mary Kaye Trio. They first played Las Vegas, Nevada in 1947.