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MISSISSIPPI CONNECTIONS

© Dorothy Hill

I once believed that my chance for accomplishing anything in life was seriously hampered by my Mississippi connection. Everyone knows that nothing of importance ever came from Mississippi. It's not a secret. It's common knowledge. In case we forget, there're always plenty of people willing to remind us. Strange how we let others shape our opinions of ourselves especially when it is far from the truth. Let the facts speak for themselves.

Someone once made fun of my Southern accent. This person equated speaking slowly with slow thinking. He was probably right about me, but that line of thought can't be applied to everyone from this state. Take a look at a list of this country's best writers. You will find that several have a Mississippi connection. As a matter of fact, based on its population, Mississippi has produced more than its share of writers. Not every state has been able to produce the likes of a William Faulkner, a Richard Wright, a Eudora Welty, or a Tennessee Williams. And that's only the beginning of a list that does not end with John Grisham. Mississippi even loaned its "good ole boys" Turner Catledge and Willie Morris to be the editors of the NEW YORK TIMES and HARPER'S.

It is in the cultural arena that Mississippi has made the greatest contribution to our country. W. C. Handy was drifting around the country when he first heard the blues in 1903 in a railroad station in Tutwiler, Mississippi. He settled in the Mississippi Delta where black sharecroppers had been singing the blues for decades. They didn't know they were originating a new style of music; they were just telling about their troubles and hard times. The "Father of the Blues" would eventually move north from Mississippi along with other blues musicians from the state and Chicago would become the blues capital, but it all still started in Mississippi. Other famous blues musicians with Mississippi connections are Robert Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, B. B. King, and Son Thomas.

Mississippi's contribution didn't stop with the blues. During the depression, Mississippian Jimmie Rodgers introduced a style of music that was a mixture of the blues and cowboy music. Originally referred to as hillbilly music, it would gain a different name and Rodgers would become known as the "Father of Country Music". He was the first person inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Other country musicians with Mississippi connections are Faith Hill, Charlie Pride, LeAnne Rimes, Marty Stuart, Conway Twitty, and Tammy Wynette.

The copyright of the article MISSISSIPPI CONNECTIONS in Mississippi is owned by Dorothy Hill. Permission to republish MISSISSIPPI CONNECTIONS in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.