Martha White

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Martha White is a U.S. brand of flour, cornmeal, cornbread mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes and similar products.

The Martha White brand was established as the premium brand of Nashville, Tennessee-based Royal Flour Mills in 1899. At that time, Nashville businessman Richard Lindsey introduced a fine flour that he named for his daughter, Martha White Lindsey.

The Martha White Brand is probably most associated with its long-term sponsorship of the country music radio program, the Grand Ole Opry. The relationship began in 1948 and has existed continuously since then, making it one of the longest continually running radio show sponsorships known.

The jingle, written by Nashville songwriter Pat Twitty in the 1953, was first performed from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry by bluegrass music artists Flatt and Scruggs. It is still in use today, having become a bluegrass standard and a signature number of Rhonda Vincent & the Rage.

Packaging for Martha White ingredients (flour, cornmeal) feature the likeness of three-year-old Martha White. The commercials for the products stress the fact that they are "self-rising" due to the presence of the patented ingredients "Hot-Rize" or "Hot-Rize Plus". Martha White has expanded its product offering beyond ingredients to include baking mixes.

---

Martha White was also the maiden name of Martha Tabram, a murder victim, possibly of Jack the Ripper.