Pussycat – Mississippi

Pussycat were originally a band formed by the three Kowalczyk sisters – Tonny, Betty and Marianne – called Sweet Reaction. They were joined by Tonny’s husband, Lou Wille, Theo Wetzels, Theo Coumans and John Theunissen. After signing to the EMI label their producer Eddy Hilberts asked the band to change their name to Pussycat and record a country-rock song,

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.

It became a massive seller for the group, selling 5 million copies worldwide. The song’s follow-up “Smile” peaked at #24 in the UK, their only other chart entry, but on continental Europe Pussycat continued to enjoy some success releasing 17 albums in total.

The song is an appreciation of old time country music and how rock music took its soul.

When this hit the top spot in 1976, Pussycat became the first Dutch group to achieve a UK #1.

“Mississippi” – Single by Pussycat from the album First of All
Released in April 1975
Songwriter Werner Theunissen
Producer Eddy Hilberts
Charted No.1 UK; No1. West Germany; No.1 Netherlands; No.1 Belgium; No.1 Norway; No.1 New Zealand; No.2 Australia; No.1 Switzerland ; No.6 Sweden, No.1 South Africa.