Five-year-old Robert Cheney, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest A. Cheney of Winslow Street, Sanford, posed for the Portland Sunday Telegram in a cowboy outfit holding his instrument. The newspaper feature, published on May 16, 1936, praised Cheney as "one of the talented young musicians of this town, possessing a very strong and sweet singing voice."

In March of 1931, Cheney performed "It ain't gonna rain no more" at a Gleaner Society event at the First Baptist Church of Sanford.