[Deathwatch] Porter Wagoner, country music legend, 80

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Country Legend Porter Wagoner Dead At 80
Entertainer Died In Hospice Care

POSTED: 4:54 pm CDT October 26, 2007
UPDATED: 11:39 pm CDT October 28, 2007

http://www.wsmv.com/entertainment/14434398/detail.html

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Porter Wagoner, the rhinestone-clad Grand Ole Opry
star who helped launch the career of Dolly Parton by hiring her as his
duet partner, died Sunday. He was 80.

Wagoner, who had survived an abdominal aneurysm in 2006, was
hospitalized again this month and his publicist disclosed he had lung
cancer. He died at 8:25 p.m. CDT in a Nashville hospice, a spokeswoman
for the Grand Ole Opry said.

"The Grand Ole Opry family is deeply saddened by the news of the
passing of our dear friend, Porter Wagoner," said Pete Fisher, vice
president and general manager of the Opry. "His passion for the Opry
and all of country music was truly immeasurable. Our thoughts and
prayers go out to his family at this difficult time."

His illness came after a comeback that saw him recording again and
gaining new fans even as he reached his 80s.

In May 2007 he celebrated his 50th year in the Opry. After years
without a recording contract, he also signed with ANTI- records, an
eclectic Los Angeles label best known for alt-rock acts like Tom Waits,
Nick Cave and Neko Case.

The CD "Wagonmaster," produced with Marty Stuart, was released in June
2007 and earned Wagoner some of the best reviews of his career. Over
the summer, he also was the opening act for the influential rock duo
White Stripes at a sold-out show at New York's Madison Square Garden.

"I was thinking while on stage last night, 'This is the biggest, most
well-known arena in the country, and here I am performing at it,'" he
told The Associated Press at the time.

The Missouri-born Wagoner signed with RCA Records in 1955 and joined
the Opry in 1957. "It's the greatest place in the world to have a
career in country music," he said in 1997.

His showmanship, rhinestone suits and pompadoured hair made him famous,
with his own syndicated TV show, "The Porter Wagoner Show," for 21
years beginning in 1960. It was one of the first syndicated shows to
come out of Nashville, and it set a pattern for many others.

"Some shows are mechanical, but ours was not polished and slick," he
said in 1982.

Among his hits, many of which he wrote or co-wrote, were "Carroll
County Accident," "A Satisfied Mind," "Company's Comin'," "Skid Row
Joe," "Misery Loves Company" and "Green Green Grass of Home."

The songs often told stories of tragedy or despair. In "Carroll County
Accident," a married man having an affair is killed in a car crash;
"Skid Row Joe" deals with a once-famous singer who's lost everything.

In 2002, Wagoner was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

To many music fans, though, he was best known as the man who boosted
Parton's career. He had hired the 21-year-old singer as his duet
partner in 1967, when she was just beginning to gain notice through
songs such as "Dumb Blonde."

They were the Country Music Association's duo of the year in 1970 and
1971, recording hit duets including "The Last Thing on My Mind."

Parton's solo country records, such as her autobiographical "Coat of
Many Colors," also began climbing the charts in the early 1970s. She
wrote the pop standard "I Will Always Love You" in 1973 after Wagoner
suggested she shift from story songs to focus on love songs.

The two quit singing duets in 1974 and she went on to wide stardom with
pop hits and movies such as "9 to 5," whose theme song was also a hit
for her. Wagoner sued her for $3 million in assets, but they settled
out of court in 1980. He said later they were always friendly, "but
it's a fact that when you're involved with attorneys and companies that
have them on retainer, it makes a different story."

At a charity roast for Wagoner in 1995, she explained the breakup this
way: "We split over creative differences. I was creative, and Porter
was different."

He said in a 1982 Associated Press interview that his show "was a
training ground for her; she learned a great deal and I exposed her to
very important people and the country music fans."

She was present at the ceremony in May 2007 honoring Wagoner on his
silver anniversary with the Opry. At the time, he called Parton "one of
my best friends today." She also visited him in the hospital as he
battled cancer.

Wagoner was born in West Plains, Mo., and became known as "The Thin Man
>From West Plains" because of his lanky frame. He recalled that he spent
hours as a child pretending to be an Opry performer, using a tree stump
as a stage.

He started in radio, then became a regular on the "Ozark Jubilee," one
of the first televised national country music shows. On the Opry since
1957, he joined Roy Acuff and other onetime idols.

At one point his wardrobe included more than 60 handmade rhinestone
suits.

"Rhinestone suits are just beautiful under the lights," he said.
"They've become a big part of my career. I get more compliments on my
outfits than any other entertainer ? except for Liberace."

While he continued with the Opry, and even had a small part in the 1982
movie "Honky Tonk Man" starring Clint Eastwood, his recording career
dried up in the 1980s.

"I stopped making records because I didn't like the way they were
wanting me to record," he said. "When RCA dropped me from the label, I
didn't really care about making records for another label because I
didn't have any say in what they would release and how they would make
the records and so forth."

After his New York show in 2007, tears came to his eyes as he recalled
the reaction.

"The young people I met backstage, some of them were 20 years old. They
wanted to get my autograph and tell me they really liked me. If only
they knew how that made me feel, like a new breath of fresh air. To
have new fans now is a tremendous thing."

Many thanks to TheLenGuy for posting this obituary