Портер Вагонер: Кантри музыкасының жұлдызы

American country singer songwriter and entertainer 1927–2007)

Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, The Porter Wagoner Show. She became part of a well known vocal duo with him from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Known as Mr. Grand Ole Opry, Wagoner charted 81 singles from 1954 to 1983. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002.

Wagoner was born in West Plains, Missouri, United States, His first band, the Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM AM from a butcher shop in his native West Plains, where Wagoner cut meat. This led to a contract with RCA Victor. He also won three Grammy Awards for gospel recordings.

Wagoner brought James Brown to the Grand Ole Opry, produced a rhythm & blues album for Joe Simon, and appeared in the Clint Eastwood film Honkytonk Man. During the mid 1980s, Wagoner formed an all girl group, The Right Combination, named after one of his hit records with Parton, and toured with them for several years. Wagoner died from lung cancer in Nashville on October 28, 2007, with his family and Dolly Parton at his side. Wagoner's funeral was held November 1, 2007, at the Grand Ole Opry House. He is buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville.

Dolly Parton performed a concert at her theme park Dollywood in Wagoner's memory after his death. Porter Wagoner Boulevard, a road in his native West Plains, Missouri, is named in his honor. In 2013, the television show Drunk History presented a brief summary of Wagoner's relationship with Parton. Dan Cooper at AllMusic noted, "As for his music, after signing with RCA in 1952 he produced a wealth of superb hard country, and just as much of the most wretchedly oversentimentalized tripe you'll ever want to hear. The latter, of course, is half the reason he's loved".