Johnny Rawls is an American soul blues singer, guitarist, arranger, songwriter, and record producer. He was influenced by the deep soul and gospel music of the 1960s, as performed by O. V. Wright, James Carr, and Z. Z. Hill, although his styling, production and lyrics are more contemporary in nature.
Rawls in 2015
Purvis is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Lamar County, Mississippi. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,175 at the 2010 census. The Town of Purvis was incorporated on February 25, 1888 and was founded by and named after Thomas Melville Purves, originally of Marion County, Alabama. Purves, born March 8, 1820, was a second generation Scottish-American; his grandfather emigrated to Charleston, South Carolina in 1765.
Current Lamar County Courthouse in Purvis, Mississippi, circa 1956.
Bust of Purvis' Founder, Thomas Melvill Purves, sculpted by W.N. Beckwith in 1989. See Historic Purvis Depot to left.
New Lamar County Courthouse.
Purvis War Memorial, located on the grounds of the Lamar County Courthouse.