Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer known for his flashy Nudie and

Manuel Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...

suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer

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 ...

on his television show, ''The Porter Wagoner Show''. She became part of a well-known vocal duo with him from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Known as Mr.

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 ...

, Wagoner charted 81 singles from 1954 to 1983. He was elected to the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

in 2002.

Biography

Early life and career

Wagoner was born 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 ...

, United States, the fifth and last child, and second son, of Bertha May (née Bridges) and Charles E. Wagoner, a farmer. His first band, the Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM-AM from a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

shop in his native West Plains, where Wagoner cut meat. In 1951, he was hired by

Si Siman Si Siman (born Ely E. Siman Jr.; January 17, 1921 – December 16, 1994) was an American country music executive as a radio producer, talent agent, songwriter, record producer, television producer and music publisher who helped transform the ...

as a performer on KWTO 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 ...

. This led to a contract with

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

. With lagging sales, Wagoner and his trio played schoolhouses for the gate proceeds; but in 1953 his song "Trademark" became a hit for Carl Smith, followed by a few hits of his own for RCA Victor. Starting in 1955, he was a featured performer on ABC-TV'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 ...

'' in Springfield. He often appeared on the show as part of the Porter Wagoner Trio with

Don Warden Don Warden (March 27, 1929 – March 11, 2017) was an American country steel guitarist and manager best known for his years on ''The Porter Wagoner Show'' and as the manager of Wagoner and Dolly Parton. Biography Early life Born to Reverend ...

and

Speedy Haworth Herschel Haworth Jr. (May 16, 1922 – February 26, 2008), better known as Speedy Haworth, was an American guitarist and singer who was involved with the golden age of country music broadcasting in the Ozarks. He was a featured cast member ...

. Warden, on steel guitar, became Wagoner's long-time

business manager The Oxford English Dictionary defines a business manager as "a person who manages the business affairs of an individual, institution, organization, or company". Compare manager. Business managers drive the work of others (if any) in order to op ...

. In 1957, Wagoner and Warden moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, joining the ''

''.

Chart success

Wagoner's 81 charted records include "

A Satisfied Mind "A Satisfied Mind" is a country music song written by Joe "Red" Hayes and Jack Rhodes. Hayes explained the origin of the song in an interview: "The song came from my mother. Everything in the song are things I heard her say over the years. I put ...

" (No. 1, 1955), " Misery Loves Company" (No. 1, 1962), "I've Enjoyed as Much of This as I Can Stand" (No. 7, 1962–1963), "Sorrow on the Rocks" (No. 5, 1964), "

Green, Green Grass of Home "Green, Green Grass of Home", written by Claude "Curly" Putman Jr., and first recorded by singer Johnny Darrell in 1965, is a country song made popular by Porter Wagoner the same year, when it reached No. 4 on the Country chart. It was also re ...

" (No. 4, 1965), "Skid Row Joe" (No. 3, 1965–1966), "The Cold Hard Facts of Life" (No. 2, 1967), and "

The Carroll County Accident "The Carroll County Accident" is a 1968 country song written by Bob Ferguson, and recorded by Porter Wagoner that year. It was a hit for Wagoner and became one of his signature songs. "The Carroll County Accident" won CMA's Song of the Year in ...

" (No. 2, 1968–1969). Among his hit duets with

were a remake of

Tom Paxton Thomas Richard Paxton (born October 31, 1937) is an American folk singer-songwriter whose career spans more than sixty years. In 2009, Paxton received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

's "

The Last Thing on My Mind "The Last Thing on My Mind" is a song written by American musician and singer-songwriter Tom Paxton in the early 1960s and recorded first by Paxton in 1964. It is based on the traditional lament song "The Leaving of Liverpool". The song was rele ...

" (1967), "We'll Get Ahead Someday" (1968), "Just Someone I Used to Know" (1969), "Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man" (1970), "Better Move it on Home" (1971), "The Right Combination" (1972), " Please Don't Stop Loving Me" (No. 1, 1974) and "Making Plans" (No. 2, 1980). He also won three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s for gospel recordings.

Television series

His syndicated television program, ''The Porter Wagoner Show'', aired from 1960 to 1981. There were 686 30-minute episodes taped, the first 104 (1960–66) in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

and the remainder (1966–81) in color. At its peak, his show was featured in over 100 markets, with an average viewership of over three million. Reruns of the program air on the rural

cable network Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

RFD-TV RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United St ...

and its sister channel in the UK

Rural TV Rural TV was a rural lifestyle and culture television channel, broadcast internationally. It was launched on March 2, 2009, replacing Pulse +45mins. It merged with FamilyNet in 2013. Background Rural TV, known as "The World's Rural Channel", wa ...

.The shows usually featured opening performances by Wagoner with performances by Norma Jean, or later Dolly Parton, and comedic interludes by

Speck Rhodes Gilbert Ray "Speck" Rhodes (July 16, 1915March 19, 2000) was an American country music comedian and entertainer. Speck Rhodes came from a musical family. He and three of his siblings, Slim, Dusty, and Bea, known as The Junior Arkansas Travelers p ...

. During Parton's tenure, she and Wagoner usually sang a duet. Each episode also featured a guest who would usually perform one or two songs. A spiritual or gospel performance was almost always featured toward the end of the show, generally performed by either Wagoner or Parton or the show's guest star, or occasionally the entire cast. After Parton left the show, Porter began taping the show at

Opryland USA Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially known as Opryland) was a amusement park, theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The park was located between the Cumberland River and Tennessee State Route 155, Briley Pa ...

in various locations around the park. The shows had a friendly, informal feel, with Wagoner trading jokes with band members (frequently during songs) and exchanging banter with Dolly Parton and Don Howser. In 1974, Dolly Parton's song "

I Will Always Love You "I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career ...

", written about her professional break from Wagoner, went to number one on the country music chart. Wagoner's stage alter ego was Skid Row Joe. The cast included: * Singer Norma Jean (1960–1965) * Singer

Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song " Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-ins ...

(1965–1966) * Singer

(1967–1974) * Singer Barbara Lea (1974–1976) * Singer Linda Carol Moore (1976–1978) * Singer

Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, ...

(1968 regular) * Comedian/stand-up bass Curly Harris (1960–mid 1960s) * Announcer Don Howser

The Wagonmasters

1961

on steel guitar : "Little" Jack Little on fiddle : Benny Williams on banjo and guitar (1961) :

Comedian/stand-up bass

Mid 1960s

Buck Trent Charles Wilburn "Buck" Trent (February 17, 1938 – October 9, 2023) was an American country music instrumentalist. He played the five-string banjo, dobro, steel guitar, mandolin, electric bass and guitar. Biography Charles Wilburn Trent was ...

on banjo and guitar : George McCormick on rhythm guitar :

Mack Magaha Mack Magaha (August 1, 1929 – August 15, 2003) was an American bluegrass fiddler best known as a member of Porter Wagoner's band and a long-time backup player in the pioneering bluegrass band Reno and Smiley. Music career In 1955, Magaha ...

on fiddle : Ray Downs on rhythm guitar and vocal : Michael Treadwell on bass guitar : Shannon Randolph Porter on lead guitar

After 1974

: Bruce Osborn on lead guitar : Fred Newell on banjo/guitar/mandolin : Dave Kirby on guitar : Stu Basore on steel guitar/dobro : Bobby Dyson on bass : Jerry Carrigan on drums : Mack Magaha on fiddle : Colene Walters on vocals/harmonica : Mike Pearson on lead guitar

Later work

Wagoner brought

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

to the

, produced a

rhythm & blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

album for

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books ...

, and appeared in the

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

film ''

Honkytonk Man ''Honkytonk Man'' is a 1982 American musical western comedy-drama film set in the Great Depression. Clint Eastwood, who produced and directed, stars with his son, Kyle Eastwood. Clancy Carlile's screenplay is based on his 1980 novel of the sa ...

''. During the mid 1980s, Wagoner formed an all-girl group, The Right Combination, named after one of his hit records with Parton, and toured with them for several years. He also hosted ''Opry Backstage'' during the 1990s on

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

. Though Parton's departure was difficult for both, the two reconciled in the late 1980s and appeared together a number of times in the following years. Parton inducted Wagoner into the

in 2002. Wagoner made a guest appearance on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

comedy series ''

Da Ali G Show ''Da Ali G Show'' is a British satirical sketch comedy television series created by and starring British comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh ...

'' in 2004, its second season, interviewed by

Borat Sagdiyev Borat Margaret Sagdiyev (, ) is a satirical fictional character created and performed by Sacha Baron Cohen. Depicted as a Kazakh television journalist, the character serves as the main protagonist of the mockumentary '' Borat! Cultural Learning ...

. Wagoner was honored on August 12, 2007, his 80th birthday, at the Grand Ole Opry for his 50 years of membership. It was telecast on GAC's ''Grand Ole Opry Live'' that day with artists including Parton,

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country music, country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before be ...

and

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

. ''Grand Ole Opry Live'' host Nan Kelley was part of the birthday celebration. On June 5, 2007, Wagoner released his final album, called '' Wagonmaster''. Produced by Stuart for the Anti- label, the album received the best reviews of Wagoner's career and briefly appeared on the country chart. A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was also produced of one of the tracks, a cover of

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

's "Committed to Parkview". He toured during the summer of 2007 to promote the album, including a late-July appearance on ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

''. One of these performances was to open for the rock group

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

at a sold-out concert at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Personal life

Wagoner was married twice, to Velma Johnson for less than a year in 1943 and to Ruth Olive Williams from 1946 to 1986, though they separated 20 years before the divorce. He fathered three children, Richard, Denise, and Debra. Wagoner died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in Nashville on October 28, 2007, Wagoner's funeral was held November 1, 2007, at the Grand Ole Opry House. He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville.

Legacy

performed a concert at her theme park

Dollywood Dollywood is a theme park that is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her entertainment company, Dolly Parton Productions. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pig ...

in Wagoner's memory after his death. Porter Wagoner Boulevard, a road in his native West Plains, Missouri, is named in his honor. In 2013, the television show ''

Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's executive p ...

'' presented a brief summary of Wagoner's relationship with Parton. Dan Cooper at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted, "As for his music, after signing with RCA in 1952 he produced a wealth of superb hard country, and just as much of the most wretchedly oversentimentalized tripe you'll ever want to hear. The latter, of course, is half the reason he's loved".

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Satisfied Mind ''Satisfied Mind'' is the sixth album by American rock band the Walkabouts, released in 1993 on Sub Pop. It consists entirely of covers of roots music and compositions by modern singer-songwriters, including songs authored by the Carter Family, ...

'' (1957) *''A Slice of Life: Songs Happy 'n' Sad'' (1962) *''Porter Wagoner and Skeeter Davis Sing Duets'' (1962) *''Y'all Come'' (1963) *''The Bluegrass Story'' (1964) *''The Thin Man from West Plains'' (1965) *''The Grand Ole Gospel'' (1966) *''Confessions of a Broken Man'' (1966) *''Soul of a Convict and More Great Prison Songs'' (1967) *''

The Cold Hard Facts of Life ''The Cold Hard Facts of Life'' is a studio album by country music singer Porter Wagoner. It was released in 1967 by RCA Victor (catalog no. LSP-3797). The album debuted on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Country Albums chart on June 10, 1967, peak ...

'' (1967) *''More Grand Ole Gospel'' (1967) *'' Just Between You and Me'' (1968) *''The Bottom of the Bottle'' (1968) *'' Just the Two of Us'' (1968) *''In Gospel Country'' (1968) *''The Carroll County Accident'' (1969) *''

Always, Always ''Always, Always'' is the third collaborative studio album by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on June 30, 1969, by RCA Victor. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Top Country A ...

'' (1969) *''Me and My Boys'' (1969) *''You Got-ta Have a License'' (1970) *'' Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca'' (1970) *'' Once More'' (1970) *''Skid Row Joe Down in the Alley'' (1970) *'' Two of a Kind'' (1971) *''Simple as I Am'' (1971) *''Porter Wagoner Sings His Own'' (1971) *''

The Right Combination • Burning the Midnight Oil ''The Right Combination / Burning the Midnight Oil'' is the seventh collaborative studio album by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on January 3, 1972, by RCA Victor. The album was made available as a digital download on January ...

'' (1972) *''What Ain't to Be, Just Might Happen'' (1972) *''Ballads of Love'' (1972) *''

Together Always ''Together Always'' is the eighth collaborative studio album by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on September 11, 1972, by RCA Victor. The album was released as a digital download on January 4, 2019. Content The album consists ...

'' (1972) *''Experience'' (1972) *'' We Found It'' (1973) *'' Love and Music'' (1973) *''I'll Keep on Lovin' You'' (1973) *''The Farmer'' (1973) *''Tore Down'' (1974) *''

Porter 'n' Dolly ''Porter 'n' Dolly'' is the eleventh collaborative studio album by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on August 19, 1974, by RCA Victor. Though they had each topped the U.S. country singles chart individually many times, " Please D ...

'' (1974) *''Highway Headin' South'' (1974) *''Sing Some Love Songs, Porter Wagoner'' (1975) *''

Say Forever You'll Be Mine ''Say Forever You'll Be Mine'' is the twelfth collaborative studio album by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on August 18, 1975, by RCA Victor. It would be their last album of new material together until 1980. Critical reception ...

'' (1975) *''Porter'' (1977) *''Today'' (1979) *''When I Sing for Him'' (1979) *'' Porter & Dolly'' (1980) *''Porter Wagoner's Greatest'' (1981) *''Natural Wonder'' (1982) *''Viva'' (1983) *''Porter Wagoner'' (1986) *''The Best I've Ever Been'' (2000) *''Unplugged'' (2002) *''22 Grand Ole Gospel 2004 (2003) *''Something to Brag About'' (2004) *''18 Grand Ole Gospel 2005'' (2005) *''Gospel 2006'' (2006) *''The Versatile Porter Wagoner'' (2006) *''Wagonmaster'' (2007) *''Best of Grand Ole Gospel 2008'' (2007)

Awards

References

External links

Porter Wagoner at the Country Music Hall of Fame

in ''The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagoner, Porter 1927 births 2007 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Country musicians from Missouri Deaths from lung cancer in Tennessee Grammy Award winners Grand Ole Opry members Members of the Country Music Association People from West Plains, Missouri RCA Records Nashville artists Singer-songwriters from Missouri 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American male singers Anti- (record label) artists Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery (Nashville, Tennessee)