Notable Grenadians - Visit Grenada

Notable Grenadians

Big George Brock

Blues singer and harp player who has recorded five CDs. Known to wear flashy and colorful suits and hats at shows. Brock cut the title song for the film “M For Mississippi: A Road Trip Through The Birthplace Of The Blues.”

Phillip Alford

Actor, best known for his role as Jem in the 1962 movie To Kill A Mockingbird. He also appeared in Shenandoah, and various other movies and TV series. Philip was born in Alabama, but now calls Grenada home.

Chris Avery

Former fullback and linebacker in the Arena Football League. He played from 2001 to 2008 during his career with the Grand Rapids Rampage and Kansas City Brigade.

Genard Avery

Linebacker for the Cleveland Browns. He chose #55 because of I-55 that runs through Grenada, to represent Grenada running through his veins. He played college football at Memphis.

Kristian Damrino

Miss Mississippi 2005. She is a singer/songwiter and has performed alongside Morgan Freeman, Sela Ward, and others.

Jake Gibbs

All American Quarterback for the Ole Miss Rebels and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. His skills as a baseball player at Ole Miss led him to be drafted by the New York Yankees where he played catcher from 1962 to 1971.

Mississippi John Hurt

American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, MS, Hurt taught himself how to play guitar around age nine. Hurt passed away in Grenada in 1966.

John Marascalco

Songwriter born in Grenada in 1931. Some of his most notable songs include “Good Golly Miss Molly”, “Ready Teddy” and “Rip it Up” made famous by Little Richard.

Greg Robinson

Former professional NFL football player who played running back for the St. Louis Rams and the Los Angeles Raiders.

Magic Sam

Samuel “Magic Sam” Gene Maghett was an American Chicago blues musician. He learned to play from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter.

Magic Slim

Morris Holt, known as “Magic Slim” was an American Blues singer and guitarist. Born in Torrence and the son of sharecroppers, he followed blues greats such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf to Chicago. 

Donna Tartt

Born in Greenwood and raised in Grenada, Donna Tartt is a New York Times Best Selling author of The Secret History, The Little Friend, and Pulitzer Prize winner The Goldfinch. Tartt has won many other literary awards and was also included in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” list in 2014.

Eddie Willis

Eddie “Chank” Willis is a Grammy Award-winning soul musician who played electric guitar for Motown’s in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1959 to the early 1970’s. His accompaniments can be heard on Motown hits by Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, Temptations, Four Tops and others.

Charlie Worsham

Country music Singer, Player and Songwriter signed to Warner Brothers Records for whom he has recorded 2 critically acclaimed albums. He has toured with Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Kenny Rogers, Lee Ann Womack, and others.

William Winter

58th Governor of Mississippi from 1980 to 1984. A Democrat, he is known for his strong support of public education, freedom of information, racial reconciliation, and historic preservation. He was born in Grenada in 1923.