Karen’s musical roots run deep, all the way back to her great-grandmother, Hattie Bell, who was a shape note singer who lived in Rome, Georgia. This all but lost, musical style was considered to be the defining style that influenced African American spirituals.

Karen’s gift of song was a melodic musical legacy that she discovered very early on as she performed the Battle Hymn of the Republic for her kindergarten graduation, which was a very mature song for someone at such a tender age.