Johnny Russell, a popular country recording artist and star of the Grand Ole Opry, is best remembered as the author of “Act Naturally.” The song became a hit for both Buck Owens and the Beatles, selling more than twenty million […]
Fiddler William T. Narmour and guitarist Shellie W. Smith became an influential duo with forty-eight recordings for Okeh and Bluebird records from 1928 to 1934 that often emphasized their home base – including “Carroll County Blues” and “Avalon Quick Step.” […]
Mississippi Country Music Trail – Steve Azar
Greenville
Steve Azar burst onto the national country scene in 2001 with his album “Waitin’ on Joe,” which featured the No. 2 hit “I Don’t Have to Be Me (‘Til Monday).” […]
Appearing on the country charts over 50 times, Elvis Presley’s music pushed traditional country towards the more modern Nashville Sound. […]
Jerry Lewis’ 1956 rock ‘n’ roll classics “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On” and “Great Balls of Fire” topped the country charts. The rockabilly singer and pianist produced a streak of country hits including the No. 1 records “To Make […]
Jim Weatherly is best known for writing the hit song “Midnight Train to Georgia,” a No. 1 hit for R&B group Gladys Knight and the Pips. The Pontotoc native also saw success performing his own songs throughout his fifty-year recording […]
Mac McAnally wrote and recorded hit songs with insightful lyrics that expanded the popularity of country music. He was also a producer and an award-winning guitar player in Nashville from the 1970s into the twenty-first century. […]
O. B. McClinton found his first musical success as a songwriter for 1960s Memphis soul labels. During the 1970s and ‘80s, McClinton would become one of the most successful African American artists in the field, with fifteen chart hits. […]
