Mississippi (Pussycat song)

"Mississippi" is a song by Dutch country pop band Pussycat. Written by Werner Theunissen and produced by Eddy Hilberts, "Mississippi" was the group's first number-one single in their home country, as well as their only number-one single in most countries worldwide. In New Zealand and South Africa, "Mississippi" was their first of two number-one singles; it was the best-selling single of 1977 in the latter nation.

"Mississippi"
One of the Dutch artwork variants
Single by Pussycat
from the album First of All
B-side	"Do It"[1]
Released	April 1975 (1975-04)
Length	4:33
Label	EMI (Europe) Sonet (UK) Private Stock (US)
Songwriter(s)	Werner Theunissen
Producer(s)	Eddy Hilberts
Pussycat singles chronology
"Mississippi" (1975) "Georgie" (1976)

History

Werner Theunissen wrote "Mississippi" in 1969 after being inspired by the Bee Gees song "Massachusetts". The song grabbed EMI Bovema's attention, and they decided to sign the band. By December 1975, the song had topped the Dutch Singles Chart.^[2] Its international success came in 1976, when it reached number one in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as number two in Australia, number four in Austria, and number six in Sweden. In South Africa, "Mississippi" was the highest-selling single of 1977.^[3] It is estimated to have sold five million copies worldwide.^[4] Outside the Netherlands, Pussycat would later achieve more number-one singles in New Zealand and South Africa,^[5][6] but in most territories, "Mississippi" was their highest-charting effort.

In the UK, the song was promoted by John Saunders Hughes through a Liverpool radio station.^{[citation needed]} The lyrics are about the history of music, and how rock music became more popular than country music.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1975–1977) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 1 Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[10] 4 Denmark (Denmark Radio)[11] 9 Ireland (IRMA)[12] 1 Israel (Israel Broadcasting Service)[13] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[2] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[16] 1 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[6] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 6 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[19] 1 Germany (GfK)[20] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1975) Position Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 77 Chart (1976) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[22] 13 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] 18 Belgium (Ultratop)[24] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 56 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 3 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 5 UK Singles (OCC)[28] 3 Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 2 Chart (1977) Position South Africa (Springbok Radio)[3] 1

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[30]	Gold	500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[31]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Covers

Swedish dansband Vikingarna covered the song in Swedish, with lyrics by Margot Borgström, in April 1976, less than six months after the original release. The Swedish song title was also "Mississippi", and it appeared on the band's album Kramgoa Låtar 3 the same year.^[32]

References

1. Mississippi (Dutch 7-inch single sleeve). Pussycat. EMI. 1975. 5C 006-25 312.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
2. "Pussycat – Mississippi" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
3. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1977". South African Rock Lists. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
4. Kutner, Jon; Leigh, Spencer (2005). 100 UK Number One Hits. London, England: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-360-2.
5. "Search for: Pussycat". charts.nz. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
6. "SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Acts P". South African Rock Lists. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, New South Wales, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-64611-917-5.
8. "Pussycat – Mississippi" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
9. "Pussycat – Mississippi" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
10. Brazilian Singles Sales - Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. 8 October 1976.
11. "Hits of the World – Denmark" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 30. 24 July 1976. p. 72. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mississippi". Irish Singles Chart.
13. "Hits of the World – Israel" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 88, no. 45. 6 November 1976. p. 66. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 50, 1975" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
15. "Pussycat – Mississippi". Top 40 Singles.
16. "Pussycat – Mississippi". VG-lista.
17. "Pussycat – Mississippi". Singles Top 100.
18. "Pussycat – Mississippi". Swiss Singles Chart.
19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
20. "Pussycat – Mississippi" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Pussycat"
21. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1975" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
22. "National Top 100 Singles for 1976". Kent Music Report. 27 December 1976. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
23. "Jahreshitparade 1976" (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2018.
24. "Jaaroverzichten 1976" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
25. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1976" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
26. "End of Year Charts 1976". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
27. "Swiss Year-End Charts 1976" (in German). Retrieved 30 June 2018.
28. "Top 50 Singles of 1976". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications: 25. 25 December 1976.
29. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1976" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
30. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Pussycat; 'Mississippi')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
31. "British single certifications – Pussycat – Mississippi". British Phonographic Industry.
32. "Kramgoa låtar". Discogs. 1976. Retrieved 23 February 2024.