section_path: Early life
section_name: Early life
paragraph_text: Early life
  
  Howard was born in Athens, Alabama, one of two daughters born to Christi (née Carter) and K. J. Howard. Her mother is white, of English and Irish ancestry while her father is African American. The family's home was in a junk yard and it once burned down due to a lightning strike. She learned to write poetry and play the piano from her older sister Jaime, who died from retinoblastoma in 1998; Howard had the same affliction but survived with partial blindness in one eye. Her parents separated soon after that. She began playing the guitar at age 13; she was enamored with albums by Dionne Warwick and Elvis Presley, which she listened to repeatedly, and was inspired to write song lyrics.
  
  Howard attended East Limestone High School, where she met future Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell. In high school, Howard began listening to 1970s rock music, such as Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. "I’d be in the back of this Buick and be like ‘What's this? This is really cool’ and my friends told me it was Pink Floyd and I was like ‘Whoa’, it blew my mind. I started getting into all the classic rock stuff, like Yes, Cream, all that stuff."
  
  After high school, Howard worked for the United States Postal Service until becoming a full-time musician as lead singer of Alabama Shakes.
  
  Howard was born in Athens, Alabama, one of two daughters born to Christi (née Carter) and K. J. Howard. Her mother is white, of English and Irish ancestry while her father is African American. The family's home was in a junk yard and it once burned down due to a lightning strike. She learned to write poetry and play the piano from her older sister Jaime, who died from retinoblastoma in 1998; Howard had the same affliction but survived with partial blindness in one eye. Her parents separated soon after that. She began playing the guitar at age 13; she was enamored with albums by Dionne Warwick and Elvis Presley, which she listened to repeatedly, and was inspired to write song lyrics.
  
  Howard attended East Limestone High School, where she met future Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell. In high school, Howard began listening to 1970s rock music, such as Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd. "I’d be in the back of this Buick and be like ‘What's this? This is really cool’ and my friends told me it was Pink Floyd and I was like ‘Whoa’, it blew my mind. I started getting into all the classic rock stuff, like Yes, Cream, all that stuff."
  
  After high school, Howard worked for the United States Postal Service until becoming a full-time musician as lead singer of Alabama Shakes.