Porter Wagoner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Porter Wagoner
Wagoner at the Grand Ole Opry in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Porter Wayne Wagoner
Also known as	Mr. Grand Ole Opry
Born	(1927-08-12)August 12, 1927 West Plains, Missouri, U.S.
Died	October 28, 2007(2007-10-28) (aged 80) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country music, gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, musician
Years active	1951–2007
Labels	RCA Victor (1951–1980) Shell Point (2000–2002) TeeVee (2003–2006) Anti (2007)
Associated acts	Dolly Parton, Norma Jean, Mel Tillis, Marty Stuart, Johnny Paycheck, George Jones

Porter Wayne Wagoner (born August 12, 1927 – died October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer. He was famous for his bright, fancy suits and his blond pompadour hairstyle.

In 1967, he introduced a young singer named Dolly Parton on his TV show. They became a very popular singing duo. They sang together from the late 1960s to the early 1970s.

Porter Wagoner was known as Mr. Grand Ole Opry. The Grand Ole Opry is a famous country music show. He had 81 hit songs between 1954 and 1983. In 2002, he was chosen to be in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Biography

Early life and music career

Porter Wagoner was born in West Plains, Missouri, in the United States. His father, Charles E. Wagoner, was a farmer. Porter's first music group was called the Blue Ridge Boys. They played on a radio station called KWPM-AM. At that time, Porter also worked in a butcher shop.

In 1951, he got a job as a performer on another radio station, KWTO, in Springfield, Missouri. This led to him signing a contract with RCA Victor, a big record company.

At first, his music sales were not very good. Porter and his group played in schoolhouses to earn money. But in 1953, a song he wrote, "Trademark," became a hit for another singer, Carl Smith. After that, Porter had some hit songs of his own.

Starting in 1955, he became a regular performer on a TV show called Ozark Jubilee. He often appeared with his group, the Porter Wagoner Trio. Don Warden, who played steel guitar, later became Porter's long-time business manager. In 1957, Porter and Don moved to Nashville, Tennessee. There, they joined the famous Grand Ole Opry show.

Hit songs

Porter Wagoner had many songs that became hits. Some of his most famous songs include "A Satisfied Mind" (which was #1 in 1955) and "Misery Loves Company" (which was #1 in 1962). Other hits were "Green, Green Grass of Home" (1965) and "The Carroll County Accident" (1968–1969).

He also had many hit songs with Dolly Parton. These include "The Last Thing on My Mind" (1967), "Just Someone I Used to Know" (1969), and "Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man" (1970). Their song "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" was a #1 hit in 1974. Porter Wagoner also won three Grammy Awards for his gospel music recordings.

Television show

Porter Wagoner had his own TV show, The Porter Wagoner Show. It was shown across the country from 1960 to 1981. They filmed 686 episodes. The first 104 shows were in black-and-white, and the rest were in color. At its most popular, the show was seen in over 100 cities. It had more than three million viewers on average.

Wagoner and Dolly Parton in May 1969

The show usually started with Porter singing. Then, Norma Jean or Dolly Parton would perform. There were also funny parts with comedian Speck Rhodes. When Dolly Parton was on the show, she and Porter often sang a song together. Each episode also had a guest singer. A gospel song was almost always sung near the end of the show.

The shows felt very friendly and relaxed. Porter would joke with his band members and with Dolly Parton. In 1974, Dolly Parton wrote her famous song "I Will Always Love You" about leaving Porter's show to start her own career. The song became a #1 hit.

Some of the main performers on the show included:

• Singer Norma Jean (1960–1965)
• Singer Jeannie Seely (1965–1966)
• Singer Dolly Parton (1967–1974)
• Comedian/stand-up bass Curly Harris (1960–mid 1960s)
• Announcer Don Howser

The Wagonmasters

The Wagonmasters was the name of Porter Wagoner's band. The musicians in the band changed over the years. Some of the members included Don Warden on steel guitar and Speck Rhodes on stand-up bass. Later, Buck Trent played banjo and guitar.

Later work

Porter Wagoner did many interesting things later in his career. He brought James Brown to the Grand Ole Opry. He also appeared in the movie Honkytonk Man with Clint Eastwood. In the mid-1980s, he started an all-girl singing group called The Right Combination.

Even though Dolly Parton left his show, they became friends again in the late 1980s. They appeared together many times after that. Dolly Parton was the one who welcomed Porter into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 2004, Porter Wagoner was a guest on the TV comedy show Da Ali G Show. He was interviewed by the character Borat Sagdiyev.

On August 12, 2007, Porter Wagoner celebrated his 80th birthday at the Grand Ole Opry. This special event was shown on TV. Many artists, including Dolly Parton, came to celebrate his 50 years as a member of the Opry.

On June 5, 2007, Porter released his last album, called Wagonmaster. This album received very good reviews. He went on tour in the summer of 2007 to promote the album. He even opened a concert for the rock group The White Stripes in New York City.

Personal life

Porter Wagoner was married twice. His first marriage to Velma Johnson lasted less than a year in 1943. He was married to Ruth Olive Williams from 1946 to 1986. They had three children: Richard, Denise, and Debra.

Porter Wagoner passed away from lung cancer in Nashville on October 28, 2007. His family and Dolly Parton were with him. His funeral was held at the Grand Ole Opry House. He is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.

Legacy

Dolly Parton held a concert at her theme park, Dollywood, to remember Porter after he died.

A road in his hometown of West Plains, Missouri, is named Porter Wagoner Boulevard in his honor.

Discography

Studio albums

Awards

See also

In Spanish: Porter Wagoner para niños