At the top of the list would surely be Bing Crosby, likable, easy-on-the-ears mega star of the 1940s and beyond. What effect might growing up in Spokane have on such famous personalities, if any at all? An appreciation of the simple life? Humility? A sense of colloquial humor? An air of genuine authenticity and good intentions? Who knows.

Spokane’s reputation for being something of a religious hub certainly made its mark on two other lesser known cultural stars, Julia Sweeney of “Letting Go of God” fame and now obscure Wilson McKinley – a pioneering Christian rock group that came of age in the 1970s.

While reading Open Culture the other day we stumbled across this curious holiday video.

We take you back to 1977 and what The Washington Post calls “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history — and surely the weirdest.” … Get the backstory here.

Is it meaningful to think of Spokane’s stars as representatives of the Inland Northwest? Or does this beg the question of why they had to move away to pursue fame and fortune in the first place?

Favorite quote: “It’s a long time since I’ve been the new anything.”

Couldn’t the same thing be said of Spokane?