JACKSON – The late country music singer and songwriter O.B. McClinton was recently honored at a ceremony in Senatorbia with a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail.
Much like the Mississippi Blues Trail, which now garners 130 markers, the Mississippi Country Music Trail celebrates Mississippi’s rich heritage of country music legends and chart toppers.
The trail will feature a variety of country music artists that hale from Mississippi, including Jimmie Rodgers, Marty Stuart, Mac McAnally, Conway Twitty, Faith Hill, Paul Overstreet and others to comprise the first 30 markers across the state.
McClinton’s marker was placed at Gabbert Park on Tate Street in Senatobia.
McClinton, also known as the “Chocolate Cowboy,” was a country music singer and songwriter who marketed his album, “The Only One,” on television long before the practice was popular. The album featured his first country chart single, “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You,” which became a Top 40 song in 1972.
Obie Burnett McClinton was born in Senatobia, Miss., in 1940 and was the second-youngest child of Rev. G.A McClinton, a clergyman and farmer who owned his own 700-acre ranch.
McClinton grew up listening to Hank Williams, which sparked his interest in performing country music. Before beginning his country music career, McClinton attempted to break into the rhythm & blues music market.
Although he was unable to secure a recording contract as a soul singer, he penned several songs recorded by James Carr, including the title songs to Carr’s albums “You Got My Mind Messed Up” and “A Man Needs a Woman.”
McClinton died on Sept. 23, 1987 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 47.
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