Redding was born in the small town of Dawson, Georgia. When he was 5, his family moved to Macon, Georgia. Redding sang in the choir at church, and as a teenager won the talent show at the Douglass Theatre for 15 weeks in a row. His earliest influence was Little Richard. Richard Penniman (Little Richard) was also a Macon resident. Redding said, "If it hadn't been for Little Richard, I would not be here. I entered the music business because of Richard - he is my inspiration. I used to sing like Little Richard, his Rock 'n' Roll stuff, you know. Richard has soul, too. My present music has a lot of him in it." • Otis Redding Website • Otis Redding Discography • Otis Redding Books

Reed was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Robert and Cynthia Hubbard. Reed's grandparents lived in Rockmart, GA. and he would visit them from time to time. He was quoted as saying as a small child, while running around strumming his guitar, "I am gonna be a star. I'm gonna go to Nashville and be a star." Reed's parents separated four months after his birth, and he and his sister spent 7 years in foster homes or orphanages. Reed was reunited with his mother and stepfather in 1944. Music and impromptu performances helped ease the stressful times the new family was under. • Jerry Reed Books • Jerry Reed Discography •

Reynolds's parents were Burton Reynolds, who was of Cherokee and English descent, and his wife, Fern. Reynolds states in his autobiography that his family was living in Lansing when his father was drafted into the United States Army. Reynolds, his mother and his sister joined his father at Fort Leonard Wood, where they lived for two years. Reynolds has stated that his first memories are of playing in the Ozark woods at Fort Leonard Wood. When Reynolds's father was sent to Europe, the family returned to Lansing, Michigan. After a short while, the Reynolds family moved to northern Michigan, across the road from his maternal grandparents' farm. Reynolds started attending school in Merritt, Michigan, where he felt he did not belong among the Native American, farm and backwoods children who made up most of the student body. • Burt Reynolds Books • Burt Reynolds Movies

Roe was raised in Atlanta where he attended Brown High School. Influenced by the sounds of the late Buddy Holly, Roe developed a unique style that, combined with his all-American clean-cut image, made him a popular musical performer throughout the 1960s. His first break came when, like Bobby Vee, he was asked to stand in on a date which Buddy Holly had been booked for, and a year later Roe recorded and released "Sheila" on the tiny Judd Records label in Atlanta. The record failed to attract any interest, but within two years Roe had signed a recording contract with ABC-Paramount Records who re-recorded and re-released the song. Roe then had a Billboard #1 hit record in the United States and Australia in 1962 with the track. A build up of global sales of "Sheila" meant that the R.I.A.A. did not present the gold record until 1969. • Tommy Roe Books • Tommy Roe Discography

Dean Rusk was born a poor farm boy in Cherokee County, Georgia. Son of Robert Hugh and Frances Elizabeth (Clotfelter) Rusk. He was educated in Atlanta's public schools. After graduation from Boys High School in 1925 he worked two years for an Atlanta lawyer. Rusk then worked his way through Davidson College. Rusk lettered in football, coached by William "Monk" Younger. Rusk was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order Sigma chapter,, Cadet Lieutenant Colonel commanding the ROTC battalion, and was graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1931. While attending St. John's College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, he received the Cecil Peace Prize in 1933.

From 1934 to 1940 he taught at Mills College in Oakland, California, and earned a law degree at the University of California, Berkeley in 1940. • Dean Rusk books

Stevens's music seems to be mostly influenced by traditional country-and-western and gospel music, but in his earlier material, heavy influences from R&B groups can be heard. He has done a few satire songs using other styles such as "I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow;" "Ned Nostril," and "Surfin' USSR." Many of his novelty songs include long sections of dialog between two people, both played by Stevens, such as in "The Streak," or between him and an unheard character over the telephone, such as in "Shriner's Convention" or "It's Me Again, Margaret." Unlike some novelty artists, such as "Weird Al" Yankovic, Stevens has had some successful serious songs, such as "Mr. Businessman," "Everything Is Beautiful," "Turn Your Radio On," and "Misty." • Ray Stevens Books • Ray Stevens Discography

Janelle Diane Williams was born June 28, 1944 in Athens, Georgia. She graduated from Athens High School in 1962, and spent the next three years as an orthodontic nurse in Athens. In 1965 she married Michael Taylor. They have two daughters, Angela and Alisha.

Taylor went back to work as an orthodontic nurse from 1969 through 1972. In 1977 she decided she would like to try to write a book. Even as she was attempting to break into publishing, Taylor decided to further her education. She trained to be a Medical Research Technologist at the Medical College of Georgia from 1977 through 1979, and then immediately began to further her studies at Augusta State University. In 1981, Taylor sold her first book. After the sale of her second book shortly thereafter, she withdrew from college to become a full-time writer.

Taylor and her husband live on a seventy-nine acre retreat in Georgia. • Janelle Taylor Books

Thomas grew up in Georgia and was educated at the College of the Holy Cross and at Yale Law School. In 1974, he was appointed an Assistant Attorney General in Missouri (primarily handling tax matters), and subsequently practiced law there in the private sector. In 1979, he became a legislative assistant to Missouri Senator John Danforth and in 1981 was appointed Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. In 1982, Thomas was appointed Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and served in that position until 1990, when President George H. W. Bush nominated him for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

After one year of judicial experience, Bush nominated Thomas to fill the seat on the United States Supreme Court vacated by Thurgood Marshall. Thomas's confirmation hearings were bitter and intensely fought, centering around accusations that he had sexually harassed a subordinate at the EEOC, attorney Anita Hill. Thomas was ultimately confirmed by a vote of 52–48, the narrowest Supreme Court confirmation vote of the 20th century • Clarence Thomas Books

Woodward was born in Thomasville, Georgia, daughter of Elinor Gignilliat (nιe Trimmier) and Wade Woodward, Jr., who at one point was vice president of publisher Charles Scribner's Sons. Her middle name, "Gignilliat", originates from distant Huguenot ancestry. She was influenced to become an actress by her mother's love of movies. Her mother named her after Joan Crawford, using the Southern pronunciation of the name - "Joanne". Attending the premiere of Gone with the Wind in Atlanta, nine-year-old Woodward rushed out into the parade of stars and sat on the lap of Laurence Olivier, star Vivien Leigh's husband. She eventually worked with Olivier in 1979, in a television production of Come Back, Little Sheba. • Joanne Woodward Books • Joanne Woodward Movies

Originally discovered by Garth Brooks in the late 1980s, Trisha Yearwood signed with MCA Records in 1990. She came to prominence with her debut single, "She's in Love with the Boy" which became a #1 hit on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1991. Her second album release, Hearts in Armor (1992) reflected Yearwood's own personal issues, which won her widespread critical acclaim among music critics and further success in country music. Her later album releases such as, The Song Remembers When (1993), Thinkin' About You (1995), and Everybody Knows (1996) also demonstrated her creative control, featuring collaborations from Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson, and Garth Brooks. • Trisha Yearwood Website • Trisha Yearwood Discography • Trisha Yearwood Books