 He was born at Danville Regional Medical Center in Danville, Virginia, United States, to Jenks and Eloise Shelton in 1952, but was raised in Grit, Virginia, and went to High school in Gretna, Virginia.Although "Van" is a common portion of surnames derived from people of Dutch origin, "Van" in this case is Shelton's middle name.Shelton's father sang gospel music while he was still a child, and from this Shelton also sang gospel, but he also liked pop music.