<P> Companies with headquarters in the region include Bank of America, Belk, BellSouth Telecommunications, Bojangles', The Compass Group, Carolina Beverage Corporation Inc. (makers of Sun Drop and Cheerwine), Duke Energy, Family Dollar, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Lance, Inc, LendingTree, Lowe's, Meineke Car Care Centers, Muzak, Nucor, Chiquita Brands International Transbotics, Royal & SunAlliance (USA), SPX Corporation, Time Warner Cable (a business unit of Fortune 500 company Time Warner), and Wells Fargo . </P> <P> Charlotte has gained fame as the second largest banking and finance center in the U.S., and the area's orientation towards emerging industries is seen in the success of the University Research Park (the 7th largest research park in the country) and the redevelopment of part of the Pillowtex site in Kannapolis as a biotech research facility featuring the participation of University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and North Carolina State University . </P> <P> Reflections Studios in Charlotte played an important role in the emergent late - 20th - century American musical underground--R.E.M., Pylon, Let's Active, Don Dixon and Charlotte's Fetchin Bones (among many others) all recorded influential and acclaimed albums there . Charlotte - based Ripete and Surfside Records maintain important catalogs of regional soul and beach music, and the area has also played a role in the history of gospel, bluegrass and country music . The Milestone, one of the first punk clubs in the South, is located in west Charlotte, and in the past hosted legendary appearances from the likes of R.E.M., Black Flag, Nirvana, The Minutemen, D.O.A., Bad Brains, Charlotte's Antiseen, and many others . </P> <Ul> <Li> Artists--Romare Bearden </Li> <Li> Astronauts--Charles Duke and Susan Helms </Li> <Li> Evangelist--Billy Graham </Li> <Li> Musicians--Earl Scruggs, George Clinton, Fred Durst, Prairie Prince, Blind Boy Fuller, Randy Travis, and Scott and Seth Avett </Li> <Li> Independent filmmakers--Tim Kirkman and Ross McElwee, </Li> <Li> Actors--Randolph Scott, Berlinda Tolbert </Li> <Li> Politicians--Sue Myrick, Harvey Gantt, Elizabeth Dole and Jesse Helms, Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk </Li> <Li> Professional wrestlers--Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat </Li> <Li> NASCAR driver--Dale Earnhardt </Li> <Li> R&B singers Fantasia, Anthony Hamilton and K - Ci & JoJo of Jodeci . </Li> <Li> Novelist, playwright and screenwriter--Carson McCullers </Li> </Ul>

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