YZ Ealey—“YZ” is his given name—was born in Sibley, about 14 miles south of Natchez on March 8, 1937, and grew up on a self-sufficient farm where his family raised crops and livestock. He is the middle of eleven children. He first began playing guitar as a child by picking up the guitar of his older brother Bubba. YZ would later join his brother’s band The Merry Makers and played at local clubs and became the house band at Haney’s Big House in Ferriday, Louisiana, which featured national acts and was the biggest club in the Miss-Lou region.