Cephas & Wiggins

Both musicians were born in Washington D.C.[3] Cephas, who was 24 years older than Wiggins, grew up in Bowling Green, Virginia.

[3] They first met at a jam session at the Smithsonian's Festival of American Folklife in 1976[3] and played together in Wilbert "Big Chief" Ellis's band.

[6] These recordings, their first as a duo, were released the following year as a part of the Living Country Blues USA series on the German label L+R.

[7] They also appeared around Washington, D.C., with the Travelling Blues Workshop, which included John Jackson, Archie Edwards, Flora Molton, and Mother Scott.

Until the late 1980s, Cephas made his primary living as a carpenter at the D.C. National Armory,[9] playing music on the side.