Porter Wagoner Biography, discography, life and death, Lung Cancer

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Porter Wayne Wagoner (Aug 12, 1927 – Oct 28, 2007) was an American country music singer. Famous for his flashy Nudie suits and blond pompadour, Wagoner introduced a young Dolly Parton to his long-running television show. Together, "Porter and Dolly" were a well-known duet team for many years. Parton wrote the song "I Will Always Love You" after Wagoner suggested she shift from story songs to focus on love songs.

Early career
His first band, The Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM from a butcher shop in West Plains, Missouri where Wagoner cut meat. Wagoner's big break came in 1951, when he was hired as a performer by station KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. This led to a contract with RCA Records. With lagging sales, Wagoner and his trio played schoolhouses for the gate proceeds.

In 1953, his song entitled "Trademark" became a hit for Carl Smith, followed by a few hits of his own on RCA. He was a featured performer on ABC's Ozark Jubilee and moved to Nashville and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1957.

Television show
The Porter Wagoner Show ran on syndicated television from 1960 to 1981. There were 686 thirty minute episodes filmed, the first 104 being shot in black and white, the remainder in color. At its peak, it was featured in over 100 markets, with an average viewership of over three million. Reruns of the program currently air on the rural cable network RFD-TV.

The regular cast included

• Singer Norma Jean (Beasler) 1960-1967
• Singer Dolly Parton 1967-1974
• Singer Mel Tillis
• Comedian/Stand-up bass Speck Rhodes
• Announcer Don Howser
• The house band, The Wagonmasters
  Buck Trent on banjo and guitar
  George McCormick on rhythm guitar
  Don Warden on steel guitar
  "Little" Jack Little  

replaced by

• Mack Magaha on fiddle
• Michael Treadwell on bass

Chart success
Wagoner was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002. His 81 charted records include "Satisfied Mind" (#1, 1955), “Misery Loves Company” (#1, 1962), “I've Enjoyed As Much of This As I Can Stand” (#7, 1962–1963), “Sorrow on the Rocks” (#5, 1964), “Green, Green Grass of Home” (#4, 1965), “Skid Row Joe” (#3, 1965–1966), “The Cold Hard Facts of Life” (#2, 1967), and “The Carroll County Accident” (#2, 1968–1969). Among his hit duets with Dolly Parton were a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind" (1967), "We'll Get Ahead Someday" (1968), "Just Someone I Used To Know" (1969), "Better Move it on Home" (1971), "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" (#1, 1974) and "Making Plans" (#2, 1980). He also won three Grammy Awards for gospel recordings.

Later career
Wagoner brought James Brown to the Grand Ole Opry, produced a rhythm & blues album for Joe Simon, and appeared in the Clint Eastwood film Honkytonk Man. During the mid 1980s, Wagoner formed an all girl group called The Right Combination which was named after one of Porter and Dolly's hit records. He also hosted "Opry Backstage" during the 1990s on the Nashville Network where he interviewed guests. He also made a guest appearance on the HBO comedy series Da Ali G Show, being interviewed by the fictional character Borat in its second season. Though Parton's departure caused some animosity on both sides, the two reconciled in the late 1980s and have appeared together a number of times in the years since; Parton inducted Wagoner into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002.

On July 14, 2006, Wagoner was hospitalized and underwent surgery for an abdominal aneurysm.

Wagoner was honored on May 19, 2007 at the Grand Ole Opry for both his fifty years of membership and his 80th birthday. This was telecast on GAC's Grand Ole Opry Live that day with artists such as Stuart, Parton, and Patty Loveless. Grand Ole Opry Live host Nan Kelley was part of the birthday celebration as well.

On June 05, 2007, Wagoner released his final album called Wagonmaster. The album was produced by Marty Stuart for the Anti-label. This album received the best reviews ever in Porter's career and briefly charted on the country charts.

Wagoner also toured during the summer of 2007 to promote the album. One of these was opening for the rock group The White Stripes at a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Last illness and death
Wagoner's publicist Darlene Bieber announced on October 19, 2007 that the singer had been hospitalized and was in very serious condition. WSMV-TV reported that Wagoner was admitted earlier that week for observation from an illness. Bieber gave no further information but said that the country star was asking for prayers from his family and fans.

On October 21, 2007, his publicist confirmed that Wagoner had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

On October 26, 2007, Porter was released into hospice care. He died two days later in Nashville, Tennessee.

Up until his illness and death, he appeared regularly on the Grand Ole Opry and toured actively.

Discography

Albums
Year Title US Country US
1956 Satisfied Mind  
1962 A Slice of Life  
1962 Sing Duets (with Skeeter Davis)  
1963 The Porter Wagoner Show 13 
1963 A Satisfied Mind  
1963 Y'All Come 17 
1963 In Person 5 
1964 The Bluegrass Story  
1965 An Old Log Cabin for Sale  
1965 The Thin Man From West Plains  
1965 Grand Old Gospel (with The Blackwood Brothers)  
1966 Your Old Love Letters  
1966 On the Road  
1966 The Best  
1966 Confessions of a Broken Man 6 
1966 I'm Day Dreamin' Tonight  
1967 Soul of a Convict 7 
1967 The Cold Hard Facts of Life 4 199
1967 More Grand Old Gospel (with The Blackwood Brothers)  
1968 Green, Green Grass of Home  
1968 Just Between You and Me (with Dolly Parton) 8 
1968 The Bottom of the Bottle 19 
1968 In Gospel Country (with The Blackwood Brothers)  
1968 Just the Two of Us (with Dolly Parton) 5 184
1969 The Carroll County Accident 4 161
1969 Country Feeling  
1969 Me and My Boys 38 
1969 Always, Always (with Dolly Parton) 5 162
1970 Howdy Neighbor Howdy  
1970 You Gotta Have a License 9 
1970 Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca (with Dolly Parton) 4 137
1970 The Best 2 31 
1970 Skid Row Joe/Down in the Valley 22 
1970 Once More (with Dolly Parton) 7 191
1971 Country  
1971 Two of a Kind (with Dolly Parton) 13 142
1971 Simple As I Am 11 
1971 The Best of Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton (with Dolly Parton) 7 
1971 Sings His Own 29 
1971 Blue Moon of Kentucky  
1972 The Right Combination/Burning the Midnight Oil (with Dolly Parton) 6 
1972 What Ain't to Be Just Might Happen 29 
1972 Ballads of Love 26 
1972 The Silent Kind  
1972 Together Always (with Dolly Parton) 3 
1972 Experience 37 
1972 We Found It (with Dolly Parton) 20 
1973 I'll Keep on Loving You 42 
1973 Love and Music (with Dolly Parton) 8 
1973 The Farmer 34 
1973 Tore Down 28 
1974 Porter 'n' Dolly (with Dolly Parton) 8 
1974 Highway Headin' South 28 
1975 Sing Some Love Songs Porter Wagoner 48 
1975 Say Forever You'll Be Mine (with Dolly Parton) 6 
1977 Porter  
1979 Today  
1979 When I Sing For Him  
1980 Porter & Dolly (with Dolly Parton) 9 
1982 Porter Wagoner  
1982 Down Home Country  
1982 Viva  
1983 One for the Road  
1986 Porter Wagoner  
1993 Thin Man From the West Plains  
2007 Wagonmaster 72 

Singles
Year Title US Country US Hot 100 Album
1954 "Company's Comin'" 7  Satisfied Mind
1955 "A Satisfied Mind" 1  Satisfied Mind
1955 "Eat, Drink And Be Merry (Tomorrow You'll Cry)" 3  Satisfied Mind
1956 "What Would You Do? (If Jesus Came To Your House)" 8  The Porter Wagoner Show
1956 "Uncle Pen" 14  A Slice of Life
1956 "Tryin' to Forget the Blues" 11  Your Old Love Letters
1957 "I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name" 11  A Slice of Life
1959 "Me and Fred and Joe and Bill" 29  An Old Log Cabin for Sale
1960 "The Girl Who Didn't Need Love" 26  Thin Man From the West Plains
1960 "Falling Again" 26  Country Feeling
1960 "An Old Log Cabin for Sale" 30  In Person
1961 "Your Old Love Letters" 10  The Porter Wagoner Show
1962 "Misery Loves Company" 1  A Slice of Life
1962 "Cold Dark Waters" 10  I'm Day Dreamin' Tonight
1962 "I've Enjoyed As Much of This As I Can Stand" 7  The Porter Wagoner Show
1963 "My Baby's Not Here (In Town Tonight)" 20  In Person
1963 "In the Shadows of the Wine" 29  The Bottom of the Bottle
1964 "Howdy Neighbor Howdy" 19  In Person
1964 "Sorrow on the Rocks" 5  The Thin Man From West Plains
1964 "I'll Go Down Swinging" 11  The Thin Man From West Plains
1965 "I'm Gonna Feed You Now" 21  The Thin Man From West Plains
1965 "Green, Green Grass of Home" 4  On the Road
1965 "Skid Row Joe" 3  The Best
1966 "I Just Came to Smell the Flowers" 21  Confessions of a Broken Man
1966 "Ole Slew-Foot" 48  Green, Green Grass of Home
1967 "The Cold Hard Facts of Life" 2  The Cold Hard Facts of Life
1967 "Julie" 15  The Cold Hard Facts of Life
1967 "The Last Thing on My Mind" (with Dolly Parton) 7  Just Between You and Me
1967 "Woman Hungry" 24  (Single only)
1968 "Holding on to Nothin'" (with Dolly Parton) 7  Just the Two of Us
1968 "Be Proud of Your Man" 16  Country
1968 "We'll Get Ahead Someday" (with Dolly Parton) 5  Just the Two of Us
1968 "Jeannie's Afraid of the Dark" (with Dolly Parton) 51  Just the Two of Us
1968 "The Carroll County Accident" 2 92 The Carroll County Accident
1969 "Yours Love" (with Dolly Parton) 9  Always, Always
1969 "Big Wind" 3  Me and My Boys
1969 "Always, Always" (with Dolly Parton) 16  Always, Always
1969 "Just Someone I Used to Know" (with Dolly Parton) 5  Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca
1969 "When You're Hot You're Hot" 21  You Gotta Have a License
1970 "Tomorrow Is Forever" (with Dolly Parton) 9  Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca
1970 "You Gotta Have a License" 41  You Gotta Have a License
1970 "Little Boy's Prayer" 43  You Gotta Have a License
1970 "Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man" (with Dolly Parton) 7  Once More
1970 "Jim Johnson" 41  Simple As I Am
1971 "The Last One to Touch Me" 18  Simple As I Am
1971 "Better Move It on Home" (with Dolly Parton) 7  The Best of Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
1971 "Charley's Picture" 15  Simple As I Am
1971 "The Right Combination" (with Dolly Parton) 14  The Right Combination
1971 "Be a Little Quieter" 11  Sings His Own
1971 "Burning the Midnight Oil" (with Dolly Parton) 11  The Right Combination
1972 "What Ain't to Be Just Might Happen" 8  What Ain't to Be Just Might Happen
1972 "Lost Forever in Your Kiss" (with Dolly Parton) 9  Together Always
1972 "A World Without Music" 14  Experience
1972 "Together Always" (with Dolly Parton) 14  Together Always
1972 "Katy Did" 16  Experience
1973 "We Found It" (with Dolly Parton) 30  We Found It
1973 "Lightening The Load" 54  I'll Keep on Loving You
1973 "If Teardrops Were Pennies" (with Dolly Parton) 3  Love and Music
1973 "Wake Up, Jacob" 37  The Farmer
1973 "George Leroy Chickashea" 43  Tore Down
1974 "Tore Down/Nothing Between" 46  Tore Down
1974 "Highway Headin' South" 15  Highway Headin' South
1974 "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" (with Dolly Parton) 1  Porter 'n' Dolly
1974 "Carolina Moonshiner" 19  (Single Only)
1975 "Say Forever You'll Be Mine" (with Dolly Parton) 5  Say Forever You'll Be Mine
1975 "Indian Creek" 96  (Single Only)
1976 "Is Forever Longer Than Always" (with Dolly Parton) 8  (Single Only)
1976 "When Lea Jane Sang" 66  (Single Only)
1977 "I Haven't Learned a Thing" (with Merle Haggard) 76  Porter
1978 "Mountain Music" 64  (Single Only)
1978 "Ole Slew-Foot/I'm Gonna Feed 'Em Now" 31  Today
1979 "I Want to Walk You Home" 34  (Single Only)
1979 "Everything I've Always Wanted" 32  (Single Only)
1979 "Hold On Tight" 64  Porter Wagoner
1980 "Is It Only Cause You're Lonely" 84  (Single Only)
1980 "Making Plans" (with Dolly Parton) 2  Porter & Dolly
1980 "If You Go, I'll Follow You" (with Dolly Parton) 12  Porter & Dolly
1982 "Turn the Pencil Over" 53  (Single Only)
1983 "This Cowboy's Hat" 35  Viva
2007 "Committed to Parkview"   Wagonmaster

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
1970 Vocal Duo of the Year CMA with Dolly Parton
1970 Vocal Duet of the Year Music City News Country with Dolly Parton
1969 Vocal Duet of the Year Music City News Country with Dolly Parton
1969 Best Gospel Performance Grammy
1968 Vocal Duet of the Year Music City News Country with Dolly Parton
1968 Vocal Group of the Year CMA with Dolly Parton
1967 Best Gospel Performance Grammy
1966 Best Sacred Recording (Musical) Grammy

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