Malone is Professor Emeritus of History at Tulane University and now resides in Madison, Wisconsin.
[2] Malone was born on a cotton-growing tenant farm 20 miles west of Tyler, Texas in 1934 and grew up with music as "a constant companion".
[3] After studying at community college, he enrolled in the University of Texas in 1956 and became a well-known singer in the Austin area, due in part to his encyclopedic repertoire of "hillbilly" songs he learned growing up.
[3] He performed at Threadgill's beer joint in Austin and completed his Master's degree.
[3] He was pleased when his faculty advisor suggested he write his doctoral dissertation on something he loved: "hillbilly", i.e., country, music.