Carvel Lee Ausborn (born 1923), better known by his stage name,
Mississippi Slim, is a
hillbillyHillbilly is a term referring to people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia and the Ozarks. Due to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of Ozarkan and...
singer who had a radio show on
TupeloThe tupelos , or pepperidge trees, genus Nyssa , are a small genus of about 9 to 11 species of trees with alternate, simple leaves. Most are highly tolerant of wet soils and flooding, some needing to grow in such environments...
's
WELOWELO is a radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards format. Licensed to Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, the station serves the Tupelo area. The station is currently owned by Jmd, Inc..-History:...
during the later 1940s.
Ausborn was born in
Smithville, MississippiSmithville is a town in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 882 at the 2000 census. Smithville was the birthplace of Rod Brasfield, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.-Geography:...
. According to
Peter GuralnickPeter Guralnick is an American music critic, writer on music, and historian of US American popular music, who is also active as an author and screenwriter. He has been married for over 45 years to Alexandra...
, he had taken up guitar at the age of 13 to pursue a career in music. He was inspired by
Jimmie RodgersJames Charles Rodgers , known as "Jimmie," was a country singer in the early 20th century known most widely for his rhythmic yodeling...
, Hank Williams,
Ernest TubbErnest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
and Ausborn's cousin
Rod BrasfieldRodney Leon Brasfield was an American comedian who was featured on the Grand Ole Opry from 1947 until his death in 1958.-Biography:...
, a then prominent country
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
who toured with Hank Williams.
Slim travelled all over the country with Goober and His Kentuckians and the Bisbee's Comedians tent show and even joined the
Grand Ole OpryThe Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music radio program and concert broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee, every Friday and Saturday night, as well as Tuesdays and Thursdays from March through December...
once or twice, largely on the strength of his cousin's connections.
Carvel Lee Ausborn (born 1923), better known by his stage name,
Mississippi Slim, is a
hillbillyHillbilly is a term referring to people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia and the Ozarks. Due to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of Ozarkan and...
singer who had a radio show on
TupeloThe tupelos , or pepperidge trees, genus Nyssa , are a small genus of about 9 to 11 species of trees with alternate, simple leaves. Most are highly tolerant of wet soils and flooding, some needing to grow in such environments...
's
WELOWELO is a radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards format. Licensed to Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, the station serves the Tupelo area. The station is currently owned by Jmd, Inc..-History:...
during the later 1940s.
Ausborn was born in
Smithville, MississippiSmithville is a town in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 882 at the 2000 census. Smithville was the birthplace of Rod Brasfield, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.-Geography:...
. According to
Peter GuralnickPeter Guralnick is an American music critic, writer on music, and historian of US American popular music, who is also active as an author and screenwriter. He has been married for over 45 years to Alexandra...
, he had taken up guitar at the age of 13 to pursue a career in music. He was inspired by
Jimmie RodgersJames Charles Rodgers , known as "Jimmie," was a country singer in the early 20th century known most widely for his rhythmic yodeling...
, Hank Williams,
Ernest TubbErnest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
and Ausborn's cousin
Rod BrasfieldRodney Leon Brasfield was an American comedian who was featured on the Grand Ole Opry from 1947 until his death in 1958.-Biography:...
, a then prominent country
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
who toured with Hank Williams.
Slim travelled all over the country with Goober and His Kentuckians and the Bisbee's Comedians tent show and even joined the
Grand Ole OpryThe Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music radio program and concert broadcast live on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee, every Friday and Saturday night, as well as Tuesdays and Thursdays from March through December...
once or twice, largely on the strength of his cousin's connections. He also became known as one of
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
's first musical heroes and critics.
According to
Bill MitchellWilliam L. Mitchell was an important General Motors designer from the late 1930s to 1977 per GM's mandatory 65 age retirement....
, Slim "was a good entertainer" who put on a "pretty lively show," primarily "love songs with comedy. The people really enjoyed it."