Porter Wagoner with guest vocalist Merle Haggard

Porter Wagoner, the Thin Man from the West Plains, is a case of an artist often ahead of his time who always appeared hopelessly behind the times. He's among the most immediately recognizable figures in country music, largely due to his exploitation of TV -- and flashy costumes -- a good 20 years before the video boom. And while he's forever perceived as the man who tried to hold Dolly Parton back from pop success, he was also responsible, in many ways, for putting her in a career position where the issue could even arise. As for his music, after signing with RCA in 1952 he pr...