The Rhodes Kids

The Rhodes Kids was a family band from Texas that existed from 1970-1977. The members of this band were Gary, Paul, Ron, Brett, Mark, Marsha, Patty, and Rick. Their mom was a virtuoso pianist while their dad was a chemical engineer for Exxon. Their mom trained all of them in piano early. They also trained under other teachers in the instruments of their choice. It was inevitable that they would start a band. They called themselves "The Rhodes Kids." They started out just for fun, performing in a local talent show. Eventually, they signed a contract with a manager and agent, and before long they were on the fast-track. They performed in lots of exciting places, such as the International Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas with B.B. King. During that gig, Elvis Presley was in the Main Room at the same hotel. It was fun for them to see him almost every night-though he always had his "posse" of bodyguards around him. Soon, they graduated to the Main Show Room and did 40 shows with Ann Margret. While there, Bob Hope came to see their show and graciously paid a visit to their dressing room. They also enjoyed performing at the Main Room at the Flamingo Hilton with Barbara Eden ("I Dream of Genie"). During the years that followed, they performed concerts at Disneyland, Disneyworld, state fairs, concert venues, and various entertainment centers. Additionally, in the 1970s they appeared on numerous network television shows, including the Merv Griffin Show, Mike Douglas Show (along with Richard Chamberlain), Dinah Shore Show (along with Jackie Gleason), American Bandstand with Dick Clark, Jerry Lewis Telethon (with Wayne Newton and Sammy Davis Jr.), a Walt Disney Special with Luci Arnaz, an Easter Seal Telethon with Peter Falk, and many others. These TV shows opened up a world of opportunity as they performed from New York to California. They now each have families of their own with children (21 in total) who are also quite musically talented.