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Aileen Thomas began piano studies at age
eight. Her formal training on keyboards continued for thirteen years. She
studied voice for five years at Settlement Music School in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, winning many prestigious awards, including the Tri-State Music
Competition. While still in high school, Aileen formed a folk trio, called the
Cloverlies, that opened for such artists as the Lettermen and Oscar Brand.
Aileen majored in theatre at Northwestern University with an emphasis on
musical theatre, an interest she later pursued as a member of professional
companies in both Washington, D. C. and New York City. In 1967, she performed
at the White House for President and Mrs. Johnson. Aileen made the move to
contemporary popular music as a member of the musical ensemble, "The
Groop," that recorded for Bell Records and was featured on the sound track
of the film, "Midnight Cowboy." Aileen and Elkin met in Nashville
while doing studio work, recording with artists such as Leonard Cohen, Pete
Seeger and Waylon Jennings. She is a member of Actors Equity and The American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).
Elkin Thomas started his musical career on piano at the age of seven. He attended The Old-Fashioned Country Music School in Florida and studied with an emphasis on shaped-note singing while still in elementary school. He studied cornet in junior and senior high school and was first chair/featured soloist his junior and senior years. While still in high school, Elkin attended Florida State University Music School for two summers studying cornet, music theory,, arranging and conducting. He won a music scholarship and attended college for five years completing his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Education. He traveled with a brass ensemble for four summers during his college years touring Cuba, Mexico, Central America, the Mid-West, and Eastern United States. In 1964, Elkin formed a folk trio, "The Bordermen," playing banjo and guitar, and recorded one album. The group became "The Avant-Garde," recording an additional album, and making many national television appearances, including the Jimmy Dean Show and American Bandstand. They went on to chart two hit singles with Columbia Records. In addition, Columbia Records released a solo album on Elkin in 1970. Working as a studio musician in Nashville, Elkin recorded with Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Flatt & Scruggs, Pete Seeger, and Johnny Cash including the movie sound track for "I Walk the Line." He wrote a hit single for Marty Robbins entitled "Joli Girl" and received writer and publisher awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). Elkin is a member of American Federation of Musicians (AFofM Local #257/Nashville, Tennessee), the American Federation of Television and Recording Artists (AFTRA) and a writer and publisher member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
