[4] Young Dale began piano lessons in sixth grade, but family financial difficulties halted his training after three months and he was self-taught from then on, honing his skills by playing and singing in church.

Montel approached Houston about teaming up with a female singer, Grace Broussard (born 1939) of Prairieville, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge.

Both had been singing in area bistros for several years - Grace with her brother, Van Broussard (who later released an album on the Bayou Boogie label).

[10] The popularity of The Beatles, combined with personal problems between the two performers, Broussard's homesickness, and a serious illness which landed Houston in the hospital, caused the duo to separate in 1965.

[11] Houston died on September 27, 2007, of heart failure at the Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at the age of 67.

[1] At his funeral, his friend, Troy Shondell gave a musical tribute, and interment was in Smyrna Cemetery in Collins, Mississippi.

In 1995, Dale and Grace, having been reunited, were honored in Mississippi through resolutions of the Covington County Board of Supervisors and the Town of Seminary.

[1] In 2007, newly elected Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne announced that Houston and Broussard, along with John Fred and the Playboys, were being named to the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame.

To garner such an honor, one must have national or international recognition, said the museum director, Judith Bingham.