Music Artists
Brad Arnold
Born: September 27, 1978 in Escatawpa, Mississippi
Brad Arnold grew up in the small Jackson County community of Escatawpa, where the working class culture and rural atmosphere of the Gulf Coast shaped the sound and identity of Three Doors Down. While attending East Central High School, Arnold famously wrote “Kryptonite” during algebra class, a song that would become one of the defining rock anthems of the early 2000s. The band’s rise from a small Mississippi town to international success became one of the Coast’s greatest modern music stories. Arnold’s songwriting blended themes of loyalty, struggle, and resilience that resonated with audiences across the country and helped establish Mississippi as an important contributor to modern rock music.
James Booker
Born: December 17, 1939 Died: November 8, 1983
Born in: New Orleans, Louisiana
Though born in New Orleans, James Booker spent important childhood years in Bay St. Louis, where he received his first formal piano instruction. Often called one of the greatest piano geniuses in American music history, Booker blended jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel, and classical music into a completely unique style.
His extraordinary talent influenced generations of musicians, including artists such as Dr. John and Harry Connick Jr.. The Coast’s connection to Booker highlights how Bay St. Louis helped nurture one of the most innovative musicians the Gulf South ever produced.
Jimmy Buffett
Born: December 25, 1946 Died: September 1, 2023
Born in: Pascagoula, Mississippi
Jimmy Buffett transformed Gulf Coast culture into a worldwide musical identity. Born in Pascagoula and raised along the Gulf Coast and Mobile Bay region, Buffett drew heavily from coastal life, boating culture, seafood communities, and laid back Southern traditions.
His first paid musical performance took place at Trader John’s in Biloxi, connecting his career directly to the Coast entertainment scene. Buffett later built the enormously successful “Margaritaville” empire, but he continued honoring his Mississippi roots in songs such as “The Pascagoula Run.” His success helped introduce Gulf Coast culture to an international audience.
Captain John Handy
Born: May 3, 1900 Died: April 19, 1971
Born in: Pass Christian, Mississippi
Captain John Handy became one of the Mississippi Coast’s most respected jazz musicians during the early twentieth century. Performing with his family orchestra at resort hotels and dance halls, Handy helped connect the Coast’s thriving tourism industry to the larger jazz world developing in nearby New Orleans.
His music reflected the Gulf Coast’s role as a crossroads where African American musical traditions, tourism, rail travel, and port cities all blended together. Handy’s legacy remains an important reminder that the Coast once played a major role in the development of Gulf South jazz culture.
Gwen Dickey
Born: December 1, 1953
Born in: Biloxi, Mississippi
Born in Biloxi, Gwen Dickey rose to international fame as the lead singer of Rose Royce during the height of the disco era. Her powerful vocals on “Car Wash” helped make the song a worldwide hit and earned the group Grammy success.
Dickey became one of the Mississippi Coast’s most successful female recording artists and helped place Gulf Coast talent into the national rhythm and blues and soul spotlight during the 1970s.
Chris LeDoux
Born: October 2, 1948 Died: March 9, 2005
Born in: Biloxi, Mississippi
Born at Keesler Air Force Base, Chris LeDoux became both a world champion rodeo rider and influential country music artist. Unlike many Nashville performers, LeDoux built his career independently, selling albums directly from his truck at rodeos across the country.
His authenticity and cowboy lifestyle inspired artists including Garth Brooks, who later credited LeDoux as a major influence. LeDoux represented the independent spirit often associated with the Gulf Coast and rural South.
Sollie McElroy
Born: July 16, 1933 Died: January 15, 1995
Born in: Gulfport, Mississippi
Born in Gulfport before moving to Chicago as a teenager, Sollie McElroy became the original lead tenor of The Flamingos, one of the most influential vocal harmony groups in American music history.
His lead vocals on “Golden Teardrops” helped define early doo wop music and influenced generations of rhythm and blues performers. McElroy’s success demonstrates how Gulf Coast musicians contributed to major national music movements beyond Mississippi.
Johnny Rivers
Born: November 7, 1942
Born in: New York City, New York
Though born in New York and raised in Louisiana, Johnny Rivers became deeply tied to the Gulf Coast nightclub and supper club circuit during the 1950s and 1960s. He frequently performed at Coast venues and later co owned a Long Beach hotel with Biloxi entertainment promoter Gus Stevens.
Rivers helped define the Gulf Coast’s nightlife and entertainment culture during the supper club era, when national touring musicians regularly performed along the beachfront.
Todd Harrell
Born: February 13, 1972
Born in: Escatawpa, Mississippi
Todd Harrell served as the original bassist and co founder of Three Doors Down. Alongside Brad Arnold and Matt Roberts, Harrell helped build the band’s early identity through its hard driving sound and emotionally grounded songwriting. The success of Three Doors Down reflected the emergence of modern Gulf Coast rock music onto the national stage and showed that internationally successful bands could emerge from small Mississippi communities.
Elvis Presley, born in Tupelo, Mississippi, spent the Summer of ’56 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Gregg Giuffria
Born: July 28, 1951
Born in: Gulfport, Mississippi
Gregg Giuffria became nationally known during the glam rock movement of the 1970s and 1980s as keyboardist for the band Angel before later forming his own successful group, Giuffria. His music reflected the rise of arena rock and MTV era hard rock.
Beyond music, Giuffria later became involved in the development of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Biloxi, tying his entertainment career back to the Mississippi Coast and helping shape the region’s modern tourism industry.
Michael Grimm
Born: December 30, 1978
Born in: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Though born in Colorado, Michael Grimm was raised in Waveland and strongly identified with the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Following Hurricane Katrina, Grimm’s family experienced devastating losses, and his emotional story became part of his national recognition after winning America’s Got Talent in 2010.
Known for his soulful blues influenced vocals, Grimm represented the resilience and rebuilding spirit of the Coast after Katrina and introduced millions of viewers to a modern Mississippi Gulf Coast success story.
Ted Hawkins
Born: October 28, 1936 Died: January 1, 1995
Born in: Biloxi, Mississippi
Ted Hawkins grew up in Biloxi during segregation and hardship, experiences that deeply shaped the emotional power of his music. After years of struggle, homelessness, and street performing in California, Hawkins gained international recognition for his deeply personal blend of soul, folk, and blues music.
Songs such as “Biloxi” reflected his continued emotional connection to the Mississippi Coast. Hawkins became admired by musicians around the world for the honesty and vulnerability in his performances.
Jaimoe
Born: July 8, 1944
Born in: Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Born Jai Johanny Johanson in Ocean Springs and raised in Mississippi City, Jaimoe became one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band, one of the most influential rock bands in American history.
Inspired by Gulf Coast drum corps, rhythm and blues clubs, and local soul bands, Jaimoe helped create the improvisational Southern rock sound that transformed American rock music in the late 1960s and 1970s. His Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction reflects the Coast’s surprising influence on national music history.
Lamar Williams
Born: January 14, 1949 Died: January 21, 1983
Born in: Gulfport, Mississippi
Raised in Handsboro near Gulfport, Lamar Williams became bassist for The Allman Brothers Band during one of the group’s most successful eras. Childhood friends with Jaimoe, Williams grew up playing in Gulf Coast soul and rhythm and blues bands before joining the legendary Southern rock group in 1972.
His work on albums such as Brothers and Sisters helped define the sound of Southern rock during the 1970s. Together, Williams and Jaimoe represent one of the Coast’s most remarkable contributions to American music history.
Jelly Roll Morton
Born: October 20, 1890 Died: July 10, 1941 Born in: New Orleans, Louisiana
Jelly Roll Morton, one of the earliest great jazz composers and performers, spent important years living and performing in Biloxi and Gulfport after leaving New Orleans. During this period, he absorbed the Coast’s blues and dance hall traditions, which influenced his music.
Morton later described the Gulf Coast as a place where “real lowdown blues” were played. His connection to Biloxi and Gulfport highlights the Mississippi Coast’s role in the early development of jazz music.
Ma Rainey
Born: April 26, 1886 Died: December 22, 1939
Born in: Columbus, Georgia
Known as the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey brought traveling blues tent shows to Gulfport during the early twentieth century. At a time when the Coast was growing as a railroad and port destination, these performances helped introduce blues music to broader audiences across the region.
Her appearances contributed to the Mississippi Gulf Coast becoming part of the larger Southern blues circuit that shaped the future of American music.
Paul Overstreet
Born: March 17, 1955
Born in: Newton, Mississippi
Raised in Vancleave, Paul Overstreet became one of Nashville’s most successful country songwriters during the 1980s and 1990s. His songs, including “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “When You Say Nothing at All,” became country music classics recorded by some of the industry’s biggest stars.
Overstreet helped shape modern country songwriting and became the first inductee into the Mississippi Songwriters Hall of Fame, bringing national recognition to Mississippi Coast talent.
Matt Roberts
Born: January 10, 1978 Died: August 20, 2016
Born in: Escatawpa, Mississippi
Matt Roberts co founded Three Doors Down and became one of the primary creative forces behind the band’s sound. His guitar work and songwriting helped shape hits including “Kryptonite,” “Loser,” and “When I’m Gone.”
Growing up in Escatawpa alongside Brad Arnold and Todd Harrell, Roberts helped turn a small Mississippi Coast community into the birthplace of one of the most commercially successful rock bands of its generation.