It started as a youth in Tampa, Florida, performing in roadside talent contests to win loaves of Wholesome Bread to feed the family. It continued as a teenage prodigy, where he recalls singing in traveling in road shows on the Chitlin’ Circuit that included the likes of B.B. King, Sam Cooke and James Brown. It was the notoriety from those shows that helped a 15-year-old Mitchell make history in his new home of Gainesville, Florida.