Changes

==Background==

==Background==

The group was founded in Bastrop in Morehouse Parish, [[Louisiana]], by the [[Pentecostal]] pastor Joel Wesley Hemphill, Sr. (born August 1, 1939) and his [[Alabama]]-born wife, the former LaBreeska Rogers (1940-2015). Joel Hemphill is a native of West Monroe, Louisiana, and himself the son of a pastor, William Tillmon Hemphill (1892-1981), and the father's second wife, the former Beatrice Brown (1918-2008).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?pid=167028322|title=Verba Hemphill Spillers (Half sister of Joel Hemphill, Sr.)|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=September 19, 2013|accessdate=May 16, 2016}}</ref>  

The group was founded in Bastrop in Morehouse Parish, [[Louisiana]], by the [[Pentecostal]] pastor Joel Wesley Hemphill, Sr. (born August 1, 1939), a native of Fresno, [[California]], and his [[Alabama]]-born wife, the former LaBreeska Rogers (1940-2015). Joel Hemphill is a native of West Monroe, Louisiana, and himself the son of a pastor, William Tillmon Hemphill (1892-1981), and the father's second wife, the former Beatrice Brown (1918-2008).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?pid=167028322|title=Verba Hemphill Spillers (Half sister of Joel Hemphill, Sr.)|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=September 19, 2013|accessdate=May 16, 2016}}</ref>  

Joel was the lead singer; LaBreeska sang alto. The couple wed in 1957 and relocated in 1972 to [[Nashville]],  [[Tennessee]], to be near the center of the [[country music]] industry. Their three children, Joel, Jr. (drums), Trent (bass and pianist), and Candy Hemphill Christmas (soprano), sang with the group until 1990, when all left to follow their own paths. There were also non-family member musicians employed for the band. In the early years, Tim McKeithen (baritone), a nephew of Joel Hemphill, and Tim's wife, Dixie (soprano), filled the spots prior to the arrival of the Hemphill children.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-hemphills-mn0000088220/biography|title=The Hemphills Artist Biography|publisher=allmusic.com|accessdate=May 17, 2016}}</ref> Tim and Dixie later formed their own group, The McKeithens.<ref name=sghistory/>

Joel was the lead singer; LaBreeska sang alto. The couple wed in 1957 and relocated in 1972 to [[Nashville]],  [[Tennessee]], to be near the center of the [[country music]] industry. Their three children, Joel, Jr. (drums), Trent (bass and pianist), and Candy Hemphill Christmas (soprano), sang with the group until 1990, when all left to follow their own paths. There were also non-family member musicians employed for the band. In the early years, Tim McKeithen (baritone), a nephew of Joel Hemphill, and Tim's wife, Dixie (soprano), filled the spots prior to the arrival of the Hemphill children.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-hemphills-mn0000088220/biography|title=The Hemphills Artist Biography|publisher=allmusic.com|accessdate=May 17, 2016}}</ref> Tim and Dixie later formed their own group, The McKeithens.<ref name=sghistory/>