Howdy!: The Minnie Pearl Story

“Take the back roads, 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.

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 ...