Troyce Key

[1] In 1938, the family moved firstly to Bakersfield, California, earning a living picking either cotton or grapes.

[1] His father was musically inclined and Troyce learned to play the guitar in his early teenage years, and quickly developed an interest in the blues, after being inspired by a Lightnin' Hopkins record.

Key spent time in a santorium recovering from his ordeal and he was further influenced by Fats Domino, Johnny Otis, and Muddy Waters recordings, which the sanatorium employees played to their patients.

[1][2] He befriended a fellow patient, and upon discharge in 1956 from medical care, bought a guitar and the pairing tried to learn to play the songs they had heard.

[2] They jointly bought Eli's Mile High Club, a nightclub in north Oakland, California.