Gene Watson's Peers: Porter Wagoner
Gene Watson's peers within the country music
industry believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas,
so much so that Gene is regarded by many of them as 'the singer's singer' -
and rightly so!
All of Gene's Peers who were contacted in 2006 were most
gracious with their time & words. It is here, within this special part of
gene-watson.com, that you have an opportunity to read a quote from
Porter Wagoner, which he submitted to
this site on Wednesday 22 March 2006.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you'
to
Porter Wagoner who has made a special
contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star
Hero'.
Porter Wagoner
This quote was submitted on Wednesday 22 March 2006
'I am proud to send a quote about my friend Gene
Watson.
Gene is a singers singer. I'm so glad that he recorded one of my songs
('Tennessee sunshine') during his career.
It's always a thrill to introduce Gene Watson at the Grand Ole Opry'.
Thank you, Porter Wagoner, for
your support of Gene Watson.
About Porter Wagoner...
Porter Wagoner was born Porter
Wayne Wagoner on (12 August 1927) of Irish-German heritage in the Ozark
Mountains of Missouri near the Arkansas border & is a country music icon.
The 'Thin Man from West Plains' (Missouri) is renowned for his grand
showmanship, his rhinestone suits, his loyalty to the Grand Ole Opry, his
championing of Dolly Parton,
his unique singing voice, his exquisite recitations, his song-writing & his
record production.
Porter's first band, the Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM
from a butcher shop in his native West Plains, Missouri where Wagoner cut
meat. Wagoner's big break came in 1951, when he was hired as a
performer by radio station KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. This led to
a contract with RCA Records. With lagging sales, Wagoner & his trio
played schoolhouses for the gate proceeds.
In 1953, Porter's song 'Trademark' became a hit for Carl Smith on Columbia
Records in 1955, which was followed by a few hits of his own on RCA Records.
Porter was a featured performer on ABC-TV's 'Ozark Jubilee' & moved to
Nashville, joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1957.
Porter Wagoner's 81 charted records include 'Satisfied mind' (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' (No.4, 1965), 'Skid row Joe' (No.3, 1965–1966), 'The cold
hard facts of life' (No.2, 1967), & 'The Carroll County accident' (No.2,
1968–1969).
Among Porter Wagoner's hit duets with Dolly Parton were a cover of Tom
Paxton's 'The last thing on my mind' (No.7, 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' (No.1
for 1 week in October 1974) & 'Making plans' (No.2, 1980). Porter also
won three Grammy Awards for his gospel recordings.
In 1967, Dolly Parton became a member of Porter Wagoner's entourage and they
immediately became a major force within country music. They charted 21
singles on the Billboard country music singles chart between October 1967 &
October 1974, fourteen of which reached the Top 10.
'The Porter Wagoner Show' ran on syndicated television from 1960 until 1981.
There were 686 thirty-minute episodes filmed, the first 104 being shot in
black & white, the remainder in colour. At its peak, it was featured
in over one hundred markets, with an average viewership of over three
million. Porter's stage alter ego was Skid Row Joe. The regular
cast included singer Norma Jean Beasler (1960-1967), singer
Dolly Parton (1967-1974),
singer Mel Tillis, comedian/stand-up bass
player Speck Rhodes, announcer Don Howser & the house band, the Wagonmasters.
Porter
Wagoner brought James Brown to the Grand Ole Opry, produced a rhythm & blues
album for Joe Simon & appeared in the
Clint Eastwood film 'Honkytonk
Man'.
During the mid 1980s, Porter Wagoner formed an all girl group called The
Right Combination, which was named after one of Porter & Dolly Parton's
hit records. He also hosted 'Opry Backstage' during the 1990s on
the
Nashville Network where he interviewed guests.
Mandy Barnett
recorded Porter Wagoner's 'Trademark' (co-written with Gary Walker) &
included the track on 'I've Got a Right to Cry' (Sire Records, 1999)
Though Dolly Parton's departure
caused some animosity on both sides, the two reconciled in the late 1980s
& appeared together a number of times in the following years; Dolly Parton
inducted Porter Wagoner into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002.
In
January 2006, Porter's saw the release of his 'Gospel 2006' album.
The single, 'The
dream (a true story)' received great reviews, along with airplay from many
of the top classic & Christian country radio stations across the United States.
On 14 July 2006, Porter Wagoner was hospitalized & underwent surgery for an
abdominal aneurysm.
Wagoner was honoured on 19 May 2007 at the Grand Ole Opry for both his fifty
years of membership & his 80th birthday. This event was telecast on GAC's
'Grand
Ole Opry Live' that day with artists such as
Marty Stuart, Dolly Parton
& Patty
Loveless. Grand Ole Opry Live host Nan Kelley was part of the birthday
celebration as well.
On 5 June 2007, Porter Wagoner saw the release of his final album; 'Wagonmaster'
was produced by Marty Stuart for the Anti
record label, received
the best reviews of his career & briefly charted on the country charts.
Porter
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.
On 19 October 2007,
Wagoner's publicist Darlene Bieber announced that the
singer had been hospitalized & 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 & fans.
On 21 October 2007, his publicist confirmed that Porter Wagoner had been diagnosed
with lung cancer. On 26 October 2007, Porter was released into hospice care.
He died two
days later in Nashville.
Porter Wagoner's funeral was held on
1 November 2007 at the Grand Ole Opry House & was followed by internment at the
Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.
Up until his illness & death, Porter Wagoner had appeared regularly on the Grand Ole Opry
& had toured actively. Porter's long-time duet partner & friend, now the legendary (with much thanks
to him) Dolly Parton, performed a concert at her Tennessee theme park Dollywood in his honour after his death.
Gene Watson recorded Porter Wagoner's 'Tennessee sunshine' & included the
track on 'Paper Rosie' (Capitol Records,
1977).
Visit Porter Wagoner's
Official MySpace Site
