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Rural churches gave young artists like Elvis
Presley their first opportunities to
sing or perform. Presley, born and reared in Mississippi, is called by some the
greatest single influence on popular culture in the twentieth century.
Others
include: Leontyne Price, James Earl Jones, Eric Roberts, Walter Payton, Gerald
("Major Dad") McRaney, Shelby Foote, Tom Lester ("Eb" on "Green
Acres"), Stella Stevens, Cynthia Geary, Ray ("My Favorite Martian")
Walston, Parker Posey, Brette Favre, Archie Manning, Oprah Winfrey, Conway
Twitty, Tammy Wynette, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Dorothy Moore, B.B. King, Keith Thibodeaux
("Little Ricky on I Love Lucy), Morgan Freeman, Donna Douglas ("Elly Mae
Clampett" of the Beverly Hillbillies), Charley Pride, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker,
Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Mississippi John Hurt, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Buffett, Red
Barber, Netscape President Jim Barksdale, Jerry Clower, Marty Stuart, Jimmie Rogers, Bobbi
Gentry (Ode to Billie Jo), Jeannie C.Riley (Harper Valley P.T.A.), Jerry Rice,
"Jumpin'" Gene Simmons (HauntedHouse), Lake Speed, John Stennis (41 years, 2
months in the U.S. Senate),Barrett Strong (Money), Zig Ziglar, "Fingers" Taylor,
Rufus Thomas (Walkin' the Dog), Ike Turner, Wesley Walls, Sela Ward, Jim Weatherly, Murray
Kellum, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Johnny Winter, Elizabeth Spencer, Dana Andrews, Moe
Bandy, Mayor Marion Barry, The Blackwood Brothers, Blind Melon, Delaney & Bonnie
Bramlett (Bonnie & Delaney),Ace Cannon, The Chambers Brothers, Sam Cooke, Dizzy Dean,
Willie Dixon,Tyrone Davis, Paul Davis, Mike Espy, Marcus Dupree, Steve Forbert, Pete
Fountain, Rowdy Gaines, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Mickey Gilley, Fannie Lou Hamer, Guy
Hovis, Jim Henson, Thelma Houston, Beth Henley, Willie Mitchell, The Mississippi Mass
Choir, Mac McAnally, Thalia Mara, O.B McClinton, Charlie McCoy, Steve McNair, James
Meredith, Medgar Evers, Charles Evers, Diane Ladd, Denise Lasalle, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fred
Knoblock, Albert King, Belle Kearney, Deacon Jones, Charlie Musselwhite, Willie Morris,
Muddy Waters, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Paul Ott, Dunbar Rowland, Jim Buck Ross,
Felder Rushing, David Ruffin (of the Temptations), Jimmy Ruffin (brother of David Ruffin),
Otis Rush, Sid Salter, Johnny Russell, Jimmy Reed, Mary Wilson(of the Supremes), Al
Wilson, Joe Frank Carollo (of Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds), Fred Montalvo
(owner of
ICEE, the world's largest frozen beverage company), Oliver Pollock (inventer of the $
sign), and Resin Bowie (buried in Port Gibson, inventor of the Bowie Knife, and brother to
Jim Bowie), to name a few
A remarkable number of writers have emerged from Mississippi -- William Faulkner, Eudora
Welty, Tennessee Williams, Margaret Walker Alexander, Richard Wright -- and the list is
ever growing. Richard Ford is the state's most recent Pulitzer Prize winner, and John
Grisham is the state's best-selling author of our time.
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