On October 21,1917,John Birks Gillespie was born in Cheraw,South Carolina.He was the youngest of 14 childern.His father was a poor farmer and a skilled amateur musician.He played bass in his own band and owned all the instruments because most of the other players were so poor that they would sell the instruments for money to buy food if they had them.The town of Cheraw was primarily black town and was very poor.By the time John was 7,he was beginning to learn that noone would take care of him,and that the world was harsh.John looked back on his father as a disciplinarian,others just reguarded him as mean.He would come home and beat his childre