The brothers were born and raised in West Hickory, North Carolina, as the fourth and fifth siblings in a family of six children.
[1][2] Their parents, who were deeply religious and belonged to the First Church of God,[3] taught them to sing hymns and gospel music.
[3] Six months later, in June 1936, the Bolick brothers moved to Atlanta, Georgia to perform at radio station WGST.
Some of their sides featured fiddle playing from Leslie Keith, Sam "Curly" Parker, Joe Tyson and Richard Hicks.
They enjoyed a number of hits just after the war, but disliked the burgeoning honky tonk style and refused to record it.
Following this, Bill moved back to his birthplace and lived in Longview, North Carolina, while Earl retired to Tucker, Georgia.