North Carolina was inhabited by Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan speaking tribes of Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans. The fate of the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke Island in NC remains one of the most widely debated mysteries of American history. Virginia Dare, the first English person to be born in North America, was born on Roanoke Island on August 18, 1587.
NC was the site of the first successful sustained flight, by the Wright brothers, near Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903.
Seagrove is the handmade-pottery capital of the U.S.
NC boasts a large number of noteworthy jazz musicians, including John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Nina Simone. James Taylor grew up around Chapel Hill, and his 1968 song “Carolina in My Mind” has been called an unofficial anthem for the state. Other famous musicians from NC not played on this episode include J. Cole, Roberta Flack, Clyde McPhatter, Link Wray, Future Islands, Randy Travis, Ryan Adams, and Charlie Daniels.
By far the biggest city is Charlotte. However, Asheville (more recently) and Chapel Hill are the traditional homes of more experimental music (I believe).
NC is the home of more American Idol finalists than any other state.
In South Carolina at the time Europeans arrived, there were many separate Native American tribes, the largest being the Cherokee and the Catawba, with a total population being up to 20,000. The state has a lot of lakes and a lot of the Blue Ridge mountains.
Soul/jazz musicians from SC include James Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Chubby Checker, Eartha Kitt and Peabo Bryson. Band of Horses are from SC – and we’ve played them elsewhere. So are Hootie and the Blowfish but we haven’t played them.
Sorry, South Carolina; there doesn’t seem too much more to say about you.
