Porter Wagoner Dies

Porter Wagoner, the country singer who rose to fame in the 50s with tight three-part harmonies and became a major figure with his syndicated television program in the 1960s, died Sunday (October 28) at a Nashville hospice. He was 80.

On Friday Wagoner was released from a hospital, where he had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, and transferred to hospice care according to a spokesman for the Grand Ole Opry. Wagoner was hospitalized October 13. The Grand Ole Opry announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer on October 15.

In 2006, Wagoner was hospitalized for two weeks with a stomach aneurysm.

Porter Wagoner was born in West Plains, Missouri in 1927. He became an instant star in 1954 with his hit, "Company's Comin'" and scored his first #1 hit a year later with "A Satisfied Mind." Other major hits throughout Wagoner's career include "Misery Loves Company," "Your Old Love Letters," "The Carroll County Accident," "Sorrow on the Rocks," and "Green, Green Grass of Home."

Wagoner hosted a popular syndicated television show, The Porter Wagoner Show, in the 1960s and 70s. The show is best remembered for its featured "girl singer," Dolly Parton (although Parton was not the first featured female on that program, Norma Jean was Wagoner's first "girl singer"). In 1967, Wagoner and Parton began recording a series of duets. Their recordings, 21 of which hit the Billboard singles chart from 1967 to 1980, won them three Country Music Association (CMA) Awards from 1968-1970.

Wagoner was a popular host on the Grand Ole Opry, where he entertained audiences with his hits, humor, and flashy clothing. Many of his sequin jackets had the word "HI" printed in large letters on the inside liner, and he would open his jacket to reveal the word to people taking his photograph as he sang.

The Americana Music Association had announced a "salute to Porter Wagoner" on the opening night of its upcoming annual conference in Nashville on October 31 prior to the announcement of Wagoner's diagnosis. The salute is to be hosted by Jim Lauderdale and Marty Stuart, who produced Wagoner's critically-acclaimed new album, Wagonmaster, which was released in June of this year.

Wagoner joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1957, and celebrated his 50th anniversary with the Opry in May. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002. A street in his hometown of West Plains was named in his honor.

Steve Eng wrote a biography on Wagoner, A Satisfied Mind, in 1992. Wagoner's ads for the book warned that "asbestos gloves" were required because it revealed "the cold hard facts of my life," including his numerous romantic encounters.