Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story

“Take the backroads, not the highways,” Minnie Pearl often said―a sentiment that captures her life’s winding, unpredictable journey. Born Sarah Ophelia Colley in 1912, she grew up in Centerville, Tennessee. This small-town upbringing inspired her imagined hometown of Grinder’s Switch.During the Great Depression, Sarah moved to Nashville to study theater at the Ward-Belmont School. After graduating, she joined a touring theater company and performed throughout the Southeast. It was on the road, in 1936, that she met and stayed with Mattie Burden. Mattie became the inspiration for Minnie Pearl’s iconic persona―a witty country girl known for her signature greeting and straw hat with a dangling price tag.

Minnie Pearl’s big break came in 1940 when a friend of a WSM radio executive saw her perform and recommended her for the Grand Ole Opry. Her debut marked the beginning of a career that spanned more than fifty years. Garth Brooks later remarked, “When she walked out, everybody waited for the ‘How-dee!’ It’s just two syllables, one word, but every time she said it―it felt like it was just for you.”
At the Opry, the “Queen of Country Comedy” shared the spotlight with legends like Patsy Cline and Hank Williams. After World War II, she became a mentor and matriarch, befriending a young June Carter and warming up the crowd for Johnny Cash’s Opry debut in 1955. Throughout her career, Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon skillfully balanced her dual roles as Minnie and Sarah. Whether at the Opry, on the road, or on Hee Haw, Minnie remained a trusted friend to female performers like Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, and Reba McEntire. As k.d. lang noted, “Minnie understood where country music needed to go and who it needed to embrace. She was a visionary.”

Rich with 155 historic photographs, this definitive biography covers the many chapters of Sarah Cannon’s life. Authors Mary Ellen Pethel and Don Cusic draw extensively from archives, interviews, and personal accounts. Through short, thematic chapters, they artfully tell the story of one woman who lived two lives. Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story, captures not only Cannon’s enduring humor and impact, but also the woman behind the laughter.

MARY ELLEN PETHEL is an associate professor and academic leader at Belmont University, where she directs key interdisciplinary and global initiatives. An award-winning author of six books on education, women, and sports, her most recent work is Title IX, Pat Summitt, and Tennessee’s Trailblazers. As a public historian, she served as a consultant and cast member for the documentary Facing the Laughter: Minnie Pearl. Pethel also leads Nashville Sites as executive director and is an archivist at Harpeth Hall School.
DON CUSIC is the Curb Professor of Music Industry History at Belmont University, where he teaches in the music business program and serves as a leading scholar of American popular music. The author of nearly thirty books, his work has shaped the field of country music studies for over three decades. His recent titles include Chet Atkins: Mr. Guitar and The Nashville Sound: An Illustrated Timeline. Cusic also worked on the Ken Burns documentary Country Music and serves as editor of the International Journal of Country Music.
Mary Beth Pruett born in Centerville, Tennessee, she grew up on a farm just outside town, the farm where she lives today. She knew from the time she was a child that she wanted to be a writer. That path diverged into library work, and she was director of the county public library for almost 40 years. In her spare time, she raised and showed Tennessee Walking Horses and continued to write. After retirement and during the pandemic, she renewed her desire to write, using her blog "Sit a Spell with Mary" to communicate with readers. She lives in the old farmhouse she grew up in, where she raises Collies takes care of her horses. She also volunteers with the Hickman County Historical Society and serves as county historian.
This event is part of our TN Writers | TN Stories series. Readings and discussions take place in the Digital Learning Center at the Tennessee State Museum. All events include an opportunity to purchase books through the Museum store and get them signed by the author. If you show your Eventbrite ticket you will receive a 10% discount on your book purchase in the Museum Store.

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