Sisters seek singing careers together

By Dwight Dana
Morning News reporter
Published: July 25, 2008

Chelsey and Casey Mozingo are about as close as sisters can get.

Chelsey, 17, and Casey, 15, have been singing together for years. Both would like careers as singers/models, but they know they need something to fall back on in the event their singing/modeling endeavors don’t bear fruit.

“I’m definitely going to college,” Chelsey said. “I’m probably going to get a degree that will allow me to go into law enforcement.”

“I’m going to go to college, too,” Casey chimed in. “I’m going to be a registered nurse.”

“That’s cool,” Chelsey said. “It’s just like I was telling Casey, I can shoot the people and she can take care of them.”

Although the shooting part is pure jest, it’s typical of how the sisters get along with and look out for each other.

Take the first time Casey sang with Chelsey.

“Here’s the story behind that,” Chelsey said. “When I was about 7 years old, I went to sing ‘Amazing Grace’ at my church. I started crying. I just busted out in tears.”

Casey saw the problem and leaped to her sister’s rescue.

“I just stood up there, got the mic and we started blending perfectly together,” Casey said. “Nobody knew I could sing because I was so shy.

“But I saw Chelsey crying and felt bad. So I got up there with my little nervous self and started singing. And the next thing you know, it just took off from there.”

The Mozingo sisters have been singing in churches and other places since then.

They always try to do a few Christian songs. “Amazing Grace” and “How Do I Live?” by Leann Rimes are their signature songs. They also do some country crooning.

“We love country,” Chelsey said. “LeAnn Rimes is the first one we heard. She’s our inspiration.”

“So is Martina McBride,” Casey added. “She sings ‘Happy Girl’ and that’s another song everybody wants us to sing. It’s a good, peppy song that gets you in the mood.”

And if there are older people in the audience, they pick out “a really old song” by the Judds titled “Love Can Build A Bridge.”

The sisters are working at Darlington Country Club this summer. Chelsey is a lifeguard and waitress, while Casey is a waitress.

Their mom, Brenda Mozingo, is the country club’s bookkeeper.

“Working out here is a lot of hard work,” Chelsey said. “We are committed to doing our best because that’s what we’ve been taught to do and we are totally devoted to our mom.”

But it’s not all work and no play, even if they do have to work until 1 a.m. to help clean up after parties at the club.

“We hang out with our friends whenever we can,” Casey said. “Our mom makes sure we have time to spend with our friends.”

Chelsey and Casey will perform at the annual Sweet Potato Festival in Darlington in October. They also sing at church functions and other festivals, as long as the engagements are approved by their mother.