Porter Wagoner
Encyclopedia
Porter Wayne Wagoner was a popular American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel
Manuel Cuevas
Manuel Arturo José Cuevas Martínez or just Manuel is a designer for Rock and Roll and Country acts.-History:...

 suits and blond pompadour
Pompadour (hairstyle)
Pompadour is a tall style of men's haircut which takes its name from Madame de Pompadour.There are Latin variants of the hair style more associated with European and Argentine tango fashion trends and occasionally with late 20th century musical genres such as rockabilly and country.The pompadour...

. He introduced the young Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

 near the beginning of her career on his long-running television show, and they were a well-known duet throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. Known as Mr. Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...

, Wagoner charted 81 singles from 1954–1983. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Early career

Wagoner's first band, The Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM-AM
KWPM
KWPM is a radio station licensed to serve West Plains, Missouri. The station was created in 1947 by Robert Neathery. KWPM signed on for the first time on July 15, 1947. KWPM is now owned by Central Ozark Radio Network, Inc...

 from a butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...

 shop in his native West Plains, Missouri
West Plains, Missouri
West Plains is a city in Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,866 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Howell County. The West Plains Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Howell County.-Geography:...

 where Wagoner cut meat. In 1951, he was hired by Si Siman as a performer on KWTO-AM
KWTO
KWTO refers to two radio stations in Springfield, Missouri, USA. On AM, KWTO can be found at 560 kHz, where it airs a news-talk format. On FM, KWTO operates at 98.7 MHz and carries a sports talk format....

 in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

. This led to a contract with RCA Victor.

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
Carl Smith (country musician)
Carl Milton Smith was an American country music singer. Known as "Mister Country," Smith was the husband of June Carter and Goldie Hill, the drinking companion of Johnny Cash, and the father of Carlene Carter...

, followed by a few hits of his own on RCA. Starting in 1955, he was a featured performer on ABC-TV's
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...

in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

. He often appeared on the show as part of the Porter Wagoner Trio with Don Warden
Don Warden
Don Warden is an American country musician and manager best known for his years on The Porter Wagoner Show and as the manager of Wagoner and Dolly Parton.-Early life:...

 and Speedy Haworth
Speedy Haworth
Herschel Haworth, Jr. , 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...

. Warden, on steel guitar, became Wagoner's long-time business manager
Business manager
In a general context, a business manager is a person who manages the work of others in order to run a business efficiently and make a large profit...

. In 1957, Wagoner and Warden moved to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, joining the Grand Ole Opry.

Like many of his contemporaries in country music, Wagoner toured and performed outdoors for fans at American Legion houses in rural towns. Fans sat on wooden benches facing what was often a makeshift stage. Wagoner would mingle with the audience during performance breaks and usually remembered the names of the towns he visited.

Chart success

Wagoner's 81 charted records include "A Satisfied Mind
A Satisfied Mind
A Satisfied Mind is a compilation of 9 of the 12 songs from the 1962 Capitol album Big Bluegrass Special plus "A Satisfied Mind" which was previously released as flipside of Glen Campbell's 1966 Capitol single "Can’t You See I’m Trying"....

" (No. 1, 1955), “Misery Loves Company
Misery Loves Company (Porter Wagoner song)
"Misery Loves Company" is a 1962 song by Jerry Reed, recorded first by Porter Wagoner. The single became the second number one country song of his career staying at the top spot for two weeks. "Misery Loves Company' spent twenty-nine weeks on the chart ....

” (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” (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
"The Carroll County Accident" is a 1968 country song written by Bob Ferguson, and recorded by Porter Wagoner. It was a hit for Wagoner and became one of his signature songs.-Content:...

” (No. 2, 1968–1969).

Among his hit duets with Dolly Parton were a cover of Tom Paxton
Tom Paxton
Thomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...

's "The Last Thing on My Mind
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, which Paxton first recorded in 1964...

" (1967), "We'll Get Ahead Someday" (1968), "Just Someone I Used to Know" (1969), "Better Move it on Home" (1971), "The Right Combination" (1972), "Please Don't Stop Loving Me
Please Don't Stop Loving Me
"Please Don't Stop Loving Me" is a 1974 duet by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" would be Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton's sixteenth country hit and their only number one on the country chart...

" (No. 1, 1974) and "Making Plans" (No. 2, 1980). He also won three Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

s for gospel recordings.

Television series

His syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

 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
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...

 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 network
A cable channel is a television channel available via cable television. Such channels are usually also available via satellite television, including direct broadcast satellite providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and BSkyB...

 RFD-TV
RFD-TV
RFD-TV, or Rural Free Delivery TV, is a United States satellite and cable television channel devoted to rural issues, concerns, and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United States Postal Service's system of delivering mail directly to rural patrons...

 and its sister channel in the UK Rural TV
Rural TV
RURAL TV is the Rural lifestyle and culture television channel and brand, broadcast in the United Kingdom. In addition, the channel broadcast free-to-air throughout Europe on the Eurobird 1 satellite...

.

The shows usually featured opening performances by Wagoner with performances by Norma Jean, or later Parton, and comedic interludes by Rhodes. During Parton's tenure, she and Wagoner usually sang a duet (Wagoner did not perform any duets with Norma Jean). 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.

The shows had a friendly, informal feel, with Wagoner trading jokes with band members (frequently during songs) and exchanging banter with Parton and Howser. Parton wrote the song "I Will Always Love You
I Will Always Love You
"I Will Always Love You" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton in 1973, who first released the song as a single in 1974.-Dolly Parton version:...

" after Wagoner suggested she shift from story songs to focus on love songs.

Wagoner's stage alter ego was Skid Row Joe. The cast included:
  • Singer Norma Jean
    Norma Jean (singer)
    Norma Jean Beasler , better known as Norma Jean, is an American country music singer who was a member of The Porter Wagoner Show from 1961–1967. She had a number of country singles in the Top 10 and Top 20 between 1963 and 1967, including "Go Cat Go" and "The Game of Triangles", and was...

     (1960–1967)
  • Singer Dolly Parton
    Dolly Parton
    Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

     (1967–1974)
  • Singer Mel Tillis
    Mel Tillis
    Lonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....

  • Comedian/stand-up bass Curly Harris (1960–mid-60s)
  • Comedian/stand-up bass Speck Rhodes
    Speck Rhodes
    Gilbert Ray 'Speck' Rhodes was a country music comedian and entertainer.Rhodes was best known for his appearances on the Porter Wagoner television show....

     (mid-1960s onward)
  • Announcer Don Howser
  • The house band, The Wagonmasters:
Benny Williams on guitar
Buck Trent
Buck Trent
Charles Wilburn "Buck" Trent is an American country music instrumentalist. He invented the electric Banjo and also plays the five-string Banjo, Dobro, Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Electric Bass and Guitar.-Biography:...

 on banjo and guitar
George McCormick on rhythm guitar
Don Warden
Don Warden
Don Warden is an American country musician and manager best known for his years on The Porter Wagoner Show and as the manager of Wagoner and Dolly Parton.-Early life:...

 on steel guitar
"Little" Jack Little on drums
Mack Magaha
Mack Magaha
Mack Magaha was a 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:...

 on fiddle
Ray Downs
Ray Downs
Raymond W. Downs is an American author as well as a former country music singer.Ray was most notably known for his appearances on the syndicated Porter Wagoner television show. Downs also played for a couple of years with Country Music legend Marty Robbins opening shows on the road...

 on rhythm guitar and vocal
Michael Treadwell on bass guitar

After 1974:
Fred Newell on banjo/guitar/mandolin
Dave Kirby on guitar
Stu Basor on steel guitar/dobro
Bobby Dyson on bass
Jerry Carey on drums
Mack Magaha
Mack Magaha
Mack Magaha was a 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:...

 on fiddle
Linda Carol Moore vocals

Later career

Wagoner brought James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

 to the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...

, produced a rhythm & blues album for Joe Simon
Joe Simon (musician)
Joe Simon is an American chart-topping, Grammy Award winning, soul and R&B musician. Amongst other chart singles, Simon secured three number one hits on the US Billboard R&B chart between 1969 and 1975.-Career:...

, and appeared in the Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

 film Honkytonk Man
Honkytonk Man
Honkytonk Man is a 1982 American 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 novel of the same name...

. During the mid-1980s, Wagoner formed an all-girl group, The Right Combination, named after one of his hit records with Parton. He also hosted Opry Backstage during the 1990s on The Nashville Network. Though Parton's departure caused some animosity on both sides, the two reconciled in the late 1980s and appeared together a number of times in the following years; Parton inducted Wagoner into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002.

Wagoner made a guest appearance on the HBO
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...

 comedy series Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show
Da Ali G Show is the name of two related satirical TV series created by and starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G....

in 2004, its second season, interviewed by Borat Sagdiyev.

On July 14, 2006, he underwent surgery for an abdominal aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...

.

Wagoner was honored on May 19, 2007 at the Grand Ole Opry for both his 50 years of membership and his 80th birthday. It was telecast on GAC's
Great American Country
Great American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....

 Grand Ole Opry Live that day with artists such as Parton, Stuart and Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless , is an American country music singer.Since her emergence on the country music scene in late 1986 with her first album, Loveless has been one of the most popular female singers of the Neotraditional country movement, although she has also recorded albums in the Country pop and...

. Grand Ole Opry Live host Nan Kelley
Nan Kelley
Nan Kelley is a former Miss Mississippi who later became a host and correspondent for the Great American Country cable television network.-Early life and career:...

 was part of the birthday celebration as well.

On June 5, 2007, Wagoner released his final album called Wagonmaster
Wagonmaster
Wagonmaster was released on June 5, 2007 on the ANTI- Records label, and is the final studio album by American country music artist Porter Wagoner, who died on October 28 that year. A music video was made for the album's only single "Committed to Parkview"....

. The album was produced by Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...

 for the Anti- label. The album received the best reviews of Wagoner's career and briefly charted on the country charts. He also toured during the summer of 2007 to promote the album. One of these was to open for the rock group The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...

 at a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

 in New York City.

Family

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

Death

Until his illness and death, Wagoner appeared regularly on the Grand Ole Opry and toured actively. He died from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...

 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 Cemetery
Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery
Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 660 Thompson Lane in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of the largest cemeteries in Nashville.Among those interred or entombed in the cemetery, there are many prominent members of the country music genre and their families.-List:Use the following...

 in Nashville.

Dolly Parton performed a concert at her Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 theme park, Dollywood
Dollywood
Dollywood is a theme park owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood has 3,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in that community....

, in his memory after his death.

Porter Wagoner Boulevard in his native West Plains, Missouri is named in his honor.

Awards

Year Award Awards Notes
2002 Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame  Country Music Hall of Fame
1998 Living Legend TNN/Music City News
1971 Vocal Duo of the Year CMA with Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

1970 Vocal Duo of the Year CMA with Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

1970 Vocal Duet of the Year Music City News Country with Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

1969 Vocal Duet of the Year Music City News Country with Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

1969 Best Gospel Performance
Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance was awarded from 1968 to 1977, and revived for the Grammy Awards of 2005.Through the years, it has had several names:...

 
Grammy
1968 Vocal Duet of the Year Music City News Country with Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

1968 Vocal Group of the Year CMA with Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

1967 Best Gospel Performance
Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance was awarded from 1968 to 1977, and revived for the Grammy Awards of 2005.Through the years, it has had several names:...

 
Grammy
1966 Best Sacred Recording (Musical)
Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance was awarded from 1962 to 1986. During this time the award had several minor name changes:*From 1962 to 1963 the award was known as Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording...

 
Grammy

External links

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