Capers was born in
Princeton, New Jersey, and Carson in
McAlester, Oklahoma. They met when both were students at
Whittier College in California. In early 1967 they began performing together, both singing with Capers on guitar and bass, and they married in
San Diego later that year. They played the amateur night at the
Troubadour in
West Hollywood, and as a result club owner
Doug Weston became their manager. In early 1968, a
Billboard reviewer described them as "a class act ... combining expert harmonizing and strong vocal prowess", and they attracted attention as a
mixed race duo. They signed to
Capitol Records and their debut album,
Hedge and Donna (sometimes known as
Love, a title used on the record label but not the
cover), appeared in 1968, followed later the same year by
Hedge & Donna 2. Both albums were produced by
Nick Venet, and contained some self-penned songs with others by
Woodstock singer-songwriter
Billy Batson,
Donovan,
Tim Buckley,
Nina Simone, and
Jackson Browne. The pair played the
Philadelphia Folk Festival in 1968, 1969 and 1970. They appeared on the front cover of
Jet magazine in March 1969, with the magazine describing them as working "the gamut of songs from
blues and
soul to
spirituals and folk." The couple had a child, Ethan, in 1972. Capers and Carson divorced in 1976. Carson later worked with special needs children at the
California State Diagnostic School, and as a child advocate supervisor for
Los Angeles County courts. She died on November 21, 2019, aged 73. ==Discography==