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Porter’s broad smile, flashy costume and memorable song was
the very image of a country music star. Indeed, he was a
veritable icon in the country music industry.
Porter’s career had taken him
from strumming a guitar in a grocery store, in his hometown of
West Plains, Missouri, to singing on stages around the world.
He would be the first to tell you that the place he was
proudest to perform was the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville,
Tennessee.
His guitar playing and singing
as a youthful grocery clerk inspired the store owner to
sponsor an early morning radio show featuring Porter. The
store owner’s idea of drawing customers to his store instead
launched a career of amazing accomplishments and longevity.
Porter’s recording career was
launched in 1955 when he signed with RCA Records. Almost
immediately, he had a Number One hit with “A Satisfied Mind.”
Just two years later, in 1957, he was invited to join the
Grand Ole Opry.
Porter was one of the Opry’s
most popular stars. He represented the Opry in many roles (he
once even rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange
on behalf of the Opry’s parent company, Gaylord Entertainment.
Television was a major part of
Porter’s time in the public eye. He started the syndicated
“Porter Wagoner Show” in 1960 and it remained on the air for
21 years. The “Porter Wagoner Show” was a key factor in
popularizing country music across the United States, and it is
easy to think of it and the syndicated country music shows of
that time as predecessors to today's TNN: The Nashville
Network and CMT: Country Music Television.
Although Porter said an
audience’s applause was his greatest reward and
acknowledgment, organizations honored him with numerous
awards.
With singing partner Dolly
Parton, whom he auditioned and made part of his show in 1967,
he won a Grammy Award for “Just Someone I Used To Know” in
1969. Wagoner and Parton were named the Country Music
Association’s “Duo of the Year” for three years in a row.
A big portion of Porter’s life
was told in delightful detail in a biography titled A
Satisfied Mind: The Country Music Life of Porter Wagoner.
Porter was widely acknowledged
by new country performers as the epitome of showmanship. New
performers, trying to learn the business, watched Porter to
see how he put on a total show, how he made everyone in an
audience feel special, how he himself enjoyed performing.
Porter did it without pretense. He was just being himself.
Porter Wagoner died of lung
cancer on October 28, 2007!
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