Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story
Look at that smile and performing energy! A new biography of Minnie Pearl, Grand Ole Opry’s “Queen of Country Comedy,” tells the compelling story of a trailblazer and much loved performer, drawing from archives and interviews.
Minnie lived a full life. Born Sarah Ophelia Colley in 1912, she grew up in Centerville, Tennessee and moved to Nashville during the Great Depression to study theater at the Ward-Belmont School. After graduation, she joined a touring theater company and performed throughout the Southeast.
In 1936, she met Mattie Burden, who became the inspiration for the iconic persona Minnie Pearl — a witty country girl known for her signature greeting and straw hat with a dangling price tag. On the Grand Ole Opry stage, Minnie shared the stage with Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, inspiring generations of female performers who followed in her footsteps.
With Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story, authors Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel and Dr. Don Cusic have delivered the definitive biography of this country legend, covering the many chapters of Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon’s life, capturing both her enduring humor and the woman behind the laughter.
Sources include Dolly Parton, who says, “Minnie was more than a big laugh. She was a big heart, and I will always love her,” and k. d. lang, who notes, “Minnie understood where country music needed to go and who it needed to embrace. She was a visionary.”
Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story is available for purchase at utpress.org and wherever books are sold.
Meet the authors, buy the book, and get it signed
at the Southern Festival of Books
Saturday, October 18 from 9-10 AM
at the TN State Library and Archives
Caney Fork Room
About the Authors
Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel is an associate professor and academic leader at Belmont University where she directs interdisciplinary initiatives, including the Global Honors Program.
An award-winning author of six books on education, women, and sports, her most recent book is Title IX, Pat Summitt, and Tennessee's Trailblazers. A public historian, she served as a consultant and cast member for the documentary, Facing the Laughter: Minnie Pearl. Dr. Pethel also leads Nashville Sites as Executive Director and serves as an archivist at Harpeth Hall School and on the NHF board.
Dr. Don Cusic is an award-winning American author, songwriter, and record producer, best known as a historian of U.S. popular music. He is the author of more than 30 books, most of them related to country music, including biographies of legendary performers such as Eddy Arnold, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard, and Gene Autry. His most most recent book, Chet Atkins: Mr Guitar was met with wide-acclaim.
Dr. Cusic is a special correspondent for Billboard Magazine, a book reviewer for MusicRow Magazine, and an editor for the trade magazines Record World and Cashbox. He also served as a consultant for Ken Burns’ acclaimed documentary miniseries Country Music.
He holds the position of Curb Professor of Music Industry History at Belmont University. In addition to his teaching and writing, Dr. Cusic is a frequent contributor of liner notes for prominent recording artists and has written numerous encyclopedia entries, magazine articles, and book chapters.
in August, 2025, Don was honored with the Colonal aide de camp Award. In 2022, he was inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame, recognizing his enduring impact on the history and preservation of American music.
