Don Warden (March 27, 1929 – March 11, 2017) was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

steel guitarist A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

best known for his years on ''The

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Por ...

Show'' and as the manager of Wagoner and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

Biography

Early life

Born to Reverend and Mrs. Charles Warden in Mt. Grove, Missouri, Warden grew up singing in church. A self-taught player, he was influenced by Leon McAuliffe with Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys. Warden formed his own band during high school, The Rhythm Rangers, playing steel guitar and singing. He also had an afternoon radio show on KWPM-AM in

West Plains, Missouri West Plains is a List of cities in Missouri, city in and the County seat#United States, county seat of Howell County, Missouri, Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 12,184 at the 2020 census. History The history of West Pl ...

. The band gained popularity, moving on to

Kennett, Missouri Kennett is a city in and the county seat of Dunklin County, Missouri, United States. The city is located in the southeast corner (or " Bootheel") of Missouri, east of Arkansas and from the Mississippi River. It had a population of 10,515 at th ...

's KBOA-AM and KHWN-AM in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

, and gigs in East Texas

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

s; eventually leading to ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' is a radio and later television country music show that was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana; during its heyday from 1948 to 1960, it helped to launch the careers of some ...

'', backing The Wilburn Brothers and

Red Sovine Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine (July 7, 1917 – April 4, 1980) was an American country music singer and songwriter associated with truck-driving country songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. His most noted examples ar ...

. Warden left the show in 1951 for a two-year stint with the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. Returning to the ''Hayride'' after the Army, the Rhythm Rangers continued to back Red Sovine until Sovine left to join the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

in Nashville, leaving his band behind. Warden moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, where he attended flight school and played local clubs in his spare time.

With Porter Wagoner

While visiting his parents in West Plains, Warden met Porter Wagoner at KWTO-AM in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. With Speedy Haworth, they formed the Porter Wagoner Trio and were regulars on ABC television's ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s American television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ''Country Mu ...

'' broadcast from Springfield. In 1957, Warden joined the Grand Ole Opry with Wagoner, and in 1960 began a 14-year television run on the syndicated program, ''The Porter Wagoner Show''. In 1966, singer Dolly Parton joined the show and Wagoner and Parton, backed by the Wagonmasters, became one of country music's most popular duos. Parton left the show in 1974 to pursue a solo career, and Warden joined her as her full-time manager, a job he held until his death. Warden was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2008.Steel Guitar HoF inductees
/ref> Warden had been in failing health and died on March 11, 2017, sixteen days before his 88th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warden, Don 1929 births 2017 deaths American music managers Guitarists from Missouri Steel guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians