The University of Tennessee Press Announces the Publication of “Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story” by Mary Ellen Pethel and Don Cusic
The University of Tennessee Press is proud to announce the forthcoming publication of “Howdy! TheMinnie Pearl Story” by Mary Ellen Pethel and Don Cusic, available in hardcover and ebook formats on
Friday, October 3, 2025.
The performer known as Minnie Pearl was born Sarah Ophelia Colley in 1912 and grew up in Centerville, Tennessee. 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, 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. Years later, Minnie Pearl would be crowned the “Queen of Country Comedy” at the Grand Ole Opry, share the stage with Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, and blaze a trail for generations of female performers who followed in her footsteps.
With “Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story,” authors Mary Ellen Pethel and Don Cusic have delivered the definitive biography of this country legend. Rich with 155 historic photographs and drawing from archives and interviews with those who knew her, “Howdy!” covers the many chapters of Sarah Ophelia ColleyCannon’s life, capturing both her enduring humor and the woman behind the laughter. Sources includeDolly 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.”
Mary Ellen Pethel and Don Cusic’s book is the 18th in UT Press’s Charles K. Wolfe Music Series, edited by Ted Olson. The series was launched in honor of the late Charles K. Wolfe (1943–2006), whose pioneering work in the study of American vernacular music brought a deepened understanding of a wide range of American music to a worldwide audience. In recognition of Dr. Wolfe’s approach to music scholarship, the series includes books that investigate genres of folk and popular music as broadly as
possible.
Previously released titles in the series include “Waylon: A Biography” and “The Story of the Dulcimer.”“Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story” will be available for purchase at utpress.org and wherever books are sold.
