100 Greatest Men: #42. Porter Wagoner

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List

Known affectionately as the Thin Man from the West Plains, Porter Wagoner was a steadfast champion for the traditions of country music, even as he used forward-looking methods of delivering it to the masses.

Wagoner was  a self-taught singer and musician, and first gained notoriety as a singing grocer.  The store manager thought his young worker had great potential, and arranged for him to perform on the radio in West Plains, Missouri.   This led to his own radio show in 1951, and then a high-profile stint onOzark Jamboree, a television show spearheaded by Red Foley.

His success on radio and television landed him a contract with RCA records, a label he would stay with for more than two decades.  At his time with the label, he would be a pioneer for the genre in many ways.  While recording popular country hits like “A Satisfied Mind” and “Misery Loves Company”, he also produced powerful spiritual numbers, including the evocative “What Would You Do? (If Jesus Came to Your House)”, helping to mainstream a southern Baptist perspective to the masses.

He also was an innovator both in album concepts and album artwork, creating bold designs for his LPs that explored themes like adultery, poverty, and alcoholism.    His arresting visual style made him an ideal fit for television, and his wildly popular syndicatedThe Porter Wagoner Show made him a household name.  It also led to his most high-profile musical partnership when he invited Dolly Parton to join the cast.

Wagoner’s show peaked in popularity with Parton as a cast member, and their memorable duet singles and albums kept him on the upper echelon on the country charts throughout the mid-seventies.  While his solo career was cooling off at the same time, he remained a major presence in the Southern gospel market, the area which earned him multiple Grammy awards.

He left RCA in the early eighties, following a successful final duet album with Parton.   By then, his show was also off the air, but as cable television began filtering into homes, Wagoner’s hosting duties on the Grand Ole Opry made him a familiar figure to a new generation of country music fans.   He recorded sporadically for the next two decades, but received overwhelming critical accolades when he released Wagonmaster. Produced by Marty Stuart, his final album was a powerful swan song in 2007, and gave him one more moment in the spotlight, the same year that he passed away at the age of eighty.

Essential Singles:

• Company’s Comin’, 1954
• A Satisfied Mind, 1955
• What Would You Do? (If Jesus Came to Your House), 1956
• Misery Loves Company, 1962
• Green, Green Grass of Home, 1965
• The Cold Hard Facts of Life, 1967
• The Last Thing on My Mind (with Dolly Parton), 1967
• The Carroll County Accident, 1968

Essential Albums:

• Satisfied Mind, 1956
  
• Confessions of a Broken Man, 1966
• The Cold Hard Facts of Life, 1967
• The Bottom of the Bottle, 1968
• What Ain’t to Be, Just Might Happen, 1972
• Wagonmaster, 2007

Next: #41. Ronnie Milsap

Previous: #43. Roger Miller

100 Greatest Men: The Complete List