Welcome back to Country Music 4 Ever! Yesterday I got the chance to see the special one-day documentary on Minnie Pearl called “Facing the Laughter: Minnie Pearl.” This documentary left me wanting to know more about her because it was so good.

Minnie Pearl was the alter ego of Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon. Sarah always wanted to become an actress and star in movies. She got a job with a traveling movie production company. It was while she was traveling with this company, she met a woman from Alabama whose amusing country speech and mannerisms inspired Sarah to create a comic character who eventually became known as Minnie Pearl.

Sarah began to perform as Minnie Pearl, and it wasn’t long until the “Grand Ole Opry” invited her to perform there. After only one performance, Minnie was invited to become a member of the Opry.

Minnie was eventually inducted into the “Country Music Hall of Fame” in 1975. If you would go to the hall of fame, you might notice on Minnie’s hall of fame plaque there is only a date of birth on it, there is no date of death. That is because Sarah always said Minnie’s spirit will live on forever.

Minnie made such an impact on both comedy and country music. It is very rare that a comedian makes such an impact on an industry besides comedy. That tells you how special Minnie was. She played a huge part in the history of country music, and she wasn’t even a singer. She will always be remembered for walking out on stage and greeting the audience by saying “how-dee!”

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think. I’ll be back soon!