Celebrities

Pig'n Whistle Former Employees and Now Celebrities

Tennessee Williams

Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983) was an American playwright and author of many stage classics. Along with Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller he is considered among the three foremost playwrights in 20th century American drama.

After years of obscurity, he became suddenly famous with The Glass Menagerie (1944), closely reflecting his own unhappy family background. This heralded a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), and Sweet Bird of Youth (1959). His drama A Streetcar Named Desire is often numbered on the short list of the finest American plays of the 20th century alongside Long Day's Journey into Night and Death of a Salesman.

The character of Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" was based on the patriarch of a Macon family with whom Williams spent time during his early writing years. He also washed trays at the Pig'n Whistle during this time. 
Tennessee Williams
Little Richard

Little Richard

Richard Wayne Penniman was born December 5, 1932 in Macon Georgia. Known by his stage name Little Richard. He is the architect of Rock-N-Roll!

An influential figure in popular music and culture for more than six decades, Little Richard's most celebrated work dates from the mid-1950s, when his dynamic music and charismatic showmanship laid the foundation for rock and roll. His music also played a key role in the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. Little Richard influenced numerous singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to hip-hop; his music impacted the rhythm and blues era for future generations to come, and his performances and headline-making thrust his career right into the mix of American popular music.

Along with Leroy and Otis, Richard also worked the curb at the Pig'n Whistle in the early days

Otis Redding

Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger, and talent scout. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul and rhythm and blues. His singing style was powerfully influential among soul artists of 1960s and helped exemplify the Stax sound.
Otis Redding
Otis Redding autograph
Otis has been fondly remembered waiting on cars at the Pig’n Whistle in the early day’s before his career took off
Blind Willie McTell

Blind Willie McTell

Blind Willie McTell (born William Samuel McTier; May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959) 

Blind Willie McTell was a legendary blues singer and guitarist born in Thomson Georgia. McTell's recording career was prolific recording for different labels under different names. While recording for Regal Label in the early days, he adopted the name Pig'n Whistle Red. McTell would frequently play for tips in the parking lot of the Atlanta location and later could be found playing in the parking lot at other well-known locations throughout Georgia. One of his most notable songs that has been covered by several well-known bands is, “Statesboro Blues”.

James "Joseph" Brown 

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. A progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music and dance, he is often referred to as the "Godfather of Soul". In a career that lasted 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. 

James Brown worked many jobs to survive when growing up. If you were fortunate while visiting the Augusta Georgia location of the Pig’n Whistle in the early days, the home of the famous radio station WBBQ, the Godfather of Soul may have been one of the carhops that served you the South’s best BBQ.
James Joseph Brown
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