Mariah Carey was named after the song "They Call the Wind Mariah". Mariah Carey's parents divorced when she was three years old. While living in Huntington, racist neighbors allegedly poisoned the family dog and set fire to her family's car. After her parents' divorce, Mariah Carey had little contact with her father, and her mother worked several jobs to support the family. Mariah Carey spent much of her time at home alone and turned to music to occupy herself. Mariah Carey began singing at around the age of three, when her mother began to teach her after Mariah Carey imitated her mother practicing Verdi's opera Rigoletto in Italian.
