Famous Mississippians make Rolling Stone “Top 200″ list

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - Rolling Stone magazine published the “Top 200 Singers of All Time.” Mississippi holds claim to at least 10 of the artists listed, including number three, Sam Cooke.

Cooke is a legendary R&B singer from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Cooke is just one of the most recent inductees into the MAX Hall of Fame. News 11 talked with MAX President Mark Tullos to get his take on the list.

“Well, after looking through the list, the first thing that strikes me is that 5% of the people on a list of 200 are from Mississippi, and this is a global list. This isn’t just the United States. Well, you know, we all expect to see people like Elvis and Robert Johnson, but I was really delighted to see Sam Cooke was added. We inducted Sam into the Hall of Fame. I think he’s number two or three, which is really powerful because he was an influencer,” said Tullos.

Not only does Mississippi call many of these singers her own, but Meridian also gets to claim 2 of them as well.

Number 66, David Ruffin, and Number 88, Jimmie Rodgers, The Father of Country Music, were born right here in The Queen City.

Other Mississippians who made the list include Brandy, Mississippi John Hurt, Tammy Wynette, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Elvis Presley.

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