Mississippi Chris Sharp makes no bones about his roots heritage. “I cut my teeth on Jimmie Rodgers records,” says Sharp, who learned his first Jimmie Rodgers tunes at the hands of Mrs. Elsie McWilliams, the sister-in-law of Rodgers, a member of the songwriter’s hall of fame, and the writer of such classic tunes as “Frankie and Johnny”

Also taking his first guitar lessons from Mrs. Virginia Shine, a first cousin of Rodgers and a talented songwriter in her own right, Chris got a double dose of old time country. “Add the musical raisin’ I got from Raymond E. Huffmaster, and you’ll understand how I got my start,” says Chris.