Nelson was born in
Abbott, Texas, on January 1, 1931, to Ira Doyle Nelson and Myrle Marie (née Greenhaw). Her mother moved to
Portland, Oregon, soon after her brother
Willie was born in 1933 (Willie later relocated their mother when he reached adulthood). Her father remarried and also moved away, leaving them to be raised by their paternal grandparents. The Nelsons, who taught singing back in
Arkansas, started their grandchildren in music. Nelson's grandmother started instructing her to play
piano on a
pump organ when Nelson was five. Her grandfather took her to singing
gospel conventions that were held on the
courthouse in
Hillsboro, Texas, where she performed for the first time—in front of about a thousand people. When she was six, her grandfather, impressed by her potential talent, bought her a piano for $35 (). Three years later, she started playing with Willie and singing with her grandmother around the house. She began playing in functions at Abbott High School and in church with her brother. When she was fourteen, she began traveling with
evangelists around
Austin and throughout Texas. ==Music career==