Country Singer Porter Wagoner Dies At Age 80
Country music singer Porter Wagoner passed away last week at the age of 80 years old due to lung cancer. Wagoner’s flashy attire and pompadour hair along with his popular country-western tunes turned him into a celebrity. He is credited with introducing Dolly Parton to the world – she appeared on his long-running TV show, “The Porter Wagoner Show,†which ran for over twenty years.
Wagoner had a long, full career starting back in the early 1950s when his first band, “The Blue Ridge Boys†performed on the radio from a butcher shop in Missouri. Soon after Wagoner was hired as a radio performer and began writing and performing songs that gained him recognition. In 1957, he joined the Grand Ole Opry. In 1960, “The Porter Wagoner Show†began airing and included regular cast members Norma Jean Beasler, Dolly Parton and Mel Tillis.
In 2002 Porter Wagoner was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
You can read more about Porter Wagoner on his web site.