The Mississippi River is the chief river of the largest drainage system on the North American continent. Flowing entirely in the United States (although its drainage basin reaches into Canada), it rises in northern Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for 2,320 miles (3,730 km) to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth longest and ninth largest river in the world by discharge. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

Native Americans long lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Most were hunter-gatherers or herders, but some, such as the Mound builders, formed prolific agricultural societies. The arrival of Europeans in the 16th century changed the native way of life as first explorers, then settlers, ventured into the basin in increasing numbers. The river served first as a barrier – forming borders for New Spain, New France, and the early United States – then as a vital transportation artery and communications link. In the 19th century, during the height of the ideology of Manifest Destiny, the Mississippi and several western tributaries, most notably the Missouri, formed pathways for the western expansion of the United States.

Mississippi ⁱ/ˌmɪsᵻˈsɪpi/ is a state located in the southern region of the United States.

Jackson is the state capital and largest city, with a population of around 175,000 people. The state overall has a population of around 3 million people. Mississippi is the 32nd most extensive and the 32nd most populous of the 50 United States.

The state is heavily forested outside of the Mississippi Delta area. Its riverfront areas were cleared for slave-cultivated cotton production before the American Civil War, but after the war, the bottomlands were cleared mostly by freedmen. African Americans made up two-thirds of the property owners in the Delta by the end of the 19th century, but timber and railroad companies acquired much of the land. Clearing altered the ecology of the Delta, increasing the severity of flooding along the Mississippi. Much land is now held by agribusinesses. A largely rural state with agricultural areas dominated by industrial farms, Mississippi is ranked low or last among the states in such measures as health, educational attainment, and median household income. The state's catfish aquaculture farms produce the majority of farm-raised catfish consumed in the United States.

Mississippi was an Australian band (1972–1975), which featured some big names in Australian rock music including Graeham Goble, Beeb Birtles and Kerryn Tolhurst. The band started as Allison Gros in Adelaide, South Australia in 1970 and moved to Melbourne in 1971 where they recorded as Allison Gros, Drummond and in 1972 became Mississippi which eventually evolved into Little River Band by 1975.

History

1970-1972: Allison Gros and Drummond

"Allison Gross" is a traditional English folk ballad with the most widely recognised version recorded by Steeleye Span on their 1973 album Parcel of Rogues. The Adelaide based folk-rock band Allison Gros is believed to be named after this folk ballad and consisted of Graeham Goble (vocals, guitar), Russ Johnson (vocals, guitar), John Mower (vocals, guitar) and Shane Simons (drums). They recorded one single on independent label Gamba "Naturally" released in 1970. The band moved to Melbourne in 1971 and signed to the Fable Records label and released two singles; "If I Ask You" and "All the Days". Under the pseudonym Drummond they recorded a 'chipmunk' version of the 1950s rock song "Daddy Cool", which spent 7 weeks at the top of the Australian national charts from September 1971. The success of their single rode largely on the back of the success of Australian band Daddy Cool, who had scored a number one hit for 10 weeks with "Eagle Rock", which Drummond's single replaced at #1.

"Mississippi" is the second song on Bob Dylan's 2001 album Love and Theft. The song was originally recorded during the Time Out of Mind sessions (demo sessions in Fall 1996; official album sessions in January 1997), but it was ultimately left off the album. Dylan rerecorded the song for Love and Theft in May 2001. Described as having beauty and gravitas, the song features a pop chord progression and with a riff and lyrical theme similar to "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again".

Three outtakes of the song from the Time Out Of Mind sessions were included in Dylan's 2008 "official" bootleg album Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006 (two versions on the generally released discs and one on a bonus disc included with the Deluxe Edition of the album).

Dylan offered the song to Sheryl Crow, who recorded it for her The Globe Sessions, released in 1998, before Dylan revisited it for Love and Theft. Crow's version reworked the song's melody, phrasing, and arrangement, and has been described contrastingly as "remarkable" and as "forgettable, head-bopping pop".