Editing Jon Hendricks (section)

==Early years==
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Born in 1921 in [[Newark, Ohio]], Hendricks and his 14 siblings moved many times, following their father's assignments as an [[African Methodist Episcopal Church|AME]] pastor, before settling permanently in [[Toledo, Ohio|Toledo]]. The house was often full of visiting jazz musicians, for whom Jon's mother provided meals.<ref name="thisisbop">{{Cite book|last=Jones|first=Peter|title=This is Bop: Jon Hendricks and the Art of Vocal Jazz|publisher=Equinox Publishing|year=2020|isbn=978-1-78179-874-4|pages=96–98}}</ref>

Hendricks began his singing career at the age of seven. He has said: "By the time I was 10, I was a local celebrity in Toledo. I had offers to go with [[Fats Waller]] when I was 12, and offers to go with [[Ted Lewis (musician)|Ted Lewis]] and be his shadow when I was 13. He had that song '[[Me and My Shadow]]'. And he had this little Negro boy who was his shadow, that did everything he did. That was his act."<ref>Peter B. King, [http://www.peterbking.com/portfolio/articles/hendricks.php "Jon Hendricks still treasure of jazz world"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120905215740/http://www.peterbking.com/portfolio/articles/hendricks.php|date=September 5, 2012 }}, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', April 12, 1994. Retrieved February 1, 2012.</ref> The Tatum family lived on the same street as the Hendrickses. Jon Hendricks received his early musical training from piano prodigy [[Art Tatum]], and the two of them began appearing together around town.

As a teenager, Jon made good money from singing on the radio with a harmony group, The Swing Buddies. This earned him enough money to support his entire family. He continued performing around Toledo and Detroit until he was drafted into the US Army.<ref name="thisisbop" />