The Porter Wagoner Show was the last in a Saturday evening block of country music shows on Channel 3. Click to enlarge.
Though a native Tennessean, it wasn’t until a few years ago that I attended my first Grand Ole Opry performance. I know - I should be ashamed of myself for not going sooner. I recall that the show was in November, and that the Opry had begun returning to the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville for concerts during the colder months.
Getting to see the Opry in person was very entertaining. One can see the performers entering and leaving the stage, singing while surrounded by guitars, and reading commercials of sponsors.
Each half-hour segment is hosted by one of the legends of country music. That night, one of the hosts was Porter Wagoner, who proudly showed off his lavender twinkling suit to Opry attendees taking photographs. A memory of childhood came back to me – seeing the Porter Wagoner Show each Saturday night on television.
Though my family didn’t attend the Opry when I was growing up, we had our own weekly Saturday night country music event. In the 1960’s, Channel 3 had a block of four half-hour shows beginning at 5:30pm – Flatt and Scruggs, the Wilburn Brothers, the Arthur Smith Show, and Porter Wagoner. If it was Saturday night, the television at our house would be tuned to those shows, and you'd better leave the channel right where it was.
The Porter Wagoner Show captured the viewer’s attention in several ways. Porter’s trademark suits seemed to give off powerful light rays as he moved about the stage. He and the Wagonmasters band entertained on a set that resembled a cowboy bunkhouse, complete with a loose wagon wheel that was propped up in the background. Porter just seemed like someone who wasn’t pretentious; someone who just might sit and talk with you on your front porch without looking at his watch a single time.
The show had a similar agenda each week that viewers loved. Porter would open the show with an up-tempo number, such as “Company’s Comin’” or “Ole Slew Foot” or “Y’all Come to See Us Now and Then.” That would be followed by a song from “Pretty Miss Norma Jean.” We hardly ever, or maybe never, heard her full name of Norma Jean Beasler.
Similarly, viewers didn’t know that the name of the comedian/string bass player on the show was the late Gilbert Ray 'Speck' Rhodes. Porter would often play straight man to Speck and his corny jokes. Speck’s loud plaid suits were as hard to ignore as Porter’s were, and we always waited for Speck to grin and show his missing teeth.
The Wagonmasters band was top-notch, and included some performers who later left for bigger stardom. There was banjo-player Buck Trent, who eventually joined the Hee-Haw cast. The late Mack Magaha was an animated fiddle-player on the stage. Stars from the Opry were frequent guests on the show. Porter served as the enthusiastic emcee for his show, as well as his segment of the Opry show, with a “How ‘bout it?” to encourage applause.
Porter would often close his show with a spirtual number. Many of the songs were thought-provoking. “What Would You Do (If Jesus Came to Your House)” asked if we would have to burn some of our magazines, and replace their spot with the Bible. “Trouble in the Amen Corner” told the story of Brother Ira, who loved the Lord, and loved to sing in church but whose vocal skills weren’t up to the standards of the church choir members and a committee. The pages of “The Family Bible” were worn, but showed that it had been often read.
On Saturday night, while Porter Wagoner’s show was on, my father would be sitting in his favorite chair with a floor lamp on beside it, reading his Bible, and preparing to teach the Sunday School lesson. To this day, I associate Porter’s gospel songs with that image of my father.
For Chattanoogans, the Porter Wagoner Show had a special connection to us. The sponsor was the Chattanooga Medicine Company, now known as Chattem. Each week, Porter would hold a box of Soltice, and tell us how that it helped to ease tired, aching muscles. Knowing that the products were made just a mile from our house in St. Elmo brought a special sense of pride.
At about the same time that the Porter Wagoner Show went from black-and-white to color, we said goodbye to Norma Jean (who left the show) and hello to Dolly Parton. I remember that fans were slow to warm up to Dolly, but soon became devoted fans of her solos and duets with Porter.
In addition to singing, Dolly helped Porter to pitch Breeze detergent, which came with a lovely towel “inside each and every box.” I believe that Porter also advertised Gingham Girl flour, another Chattanooga-based product.
The Saturday night block of country shows eventually gave way to local news and the syndicated Hee-Haw. On trips between Nashville and Chattanooga, I often listened to the Grand Ole Opry on AM radio, where clear channel WSM beams its signal across the country after sunset. My ears perked up whenever Porter Wagoner would be on the Opry. On one trip to the Opryland theme park, we caught a show by Porter and the Wagonmasters near the park entrance.
The news of the recent passing of Porter Wagoner again stirred memories of watching his show with my family. If you also have memories of the Porter Wagoner Show, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.
The Chattanooga Medicine Company sponsored the Porter Wagoner Show. Click to enlarge.