The Essential Porter Wagoner

Amazon.com
Few remember that Porter Wagoner was actually signed and then dropped by RCA before he ever scored a single country hit. It took two independently financed and produced cuts to turn the tides: "Company's Comin'" broke the top 10 and convinced RCA execs to re-sign him. Once they did, they released the classic moral tale "A Satisfied Mind," which would sit atop the charts for a month in 1955. The two gems that kicked off his career also kick off this fine 20-song collection, which ranges up through Wagoner's 1976 duet with Merle Haggard. Wagoner offers brilliant hardcore barroom honky-tonk such as "Misery Loves Company" (written by Jerry Reed), "Sorrow on the Rocks," and "I'll Go Down Swinging" (written by Bill Anderson), but shows himself capable of sentimental balladry and saga songs as well. Even without the classic Dolly Parton duets--found instead on its own collection--Wagoner proves there's strong substance behind the Opry fame and the Nudie suit. --Marc Greilsamer

The Essential Porter Wagoner,Porter Wagoner,RCA,Country,Country & Western,Country-Pop,Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan,Pop,Songwriter,Traditional Country

Average customer rating: Classic The man who took Dolly Parton from obscurity to stardom Classic, gloriously corny country music I dig his sparkly "nudie's of hollywood" suits Classic twangy country

The Essential Porter Wagoner Porter Wagoner Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Nashville Sound | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton Rubber Room: The Haunting Poetic Songs of Porter Wagoner 1966-1977 The Essential Connie Smith The Best of Stonewall Jackson The Essential Carl Smith (1950-1956) ASIN: B000002WZK Release Date: 1997-04-29

Tracks:

1. A Satisfied Mind
2. Company's Comin'
3. Eat, Drink And Be Merry (For Tomorrow You'll Cry)
4. What Would You Do (If Jesus Came To Your House)
5. Tryin' To Forget The Blues
6. I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name
7. Your Old Love Letters
8. Misery Loves Company
9. I've Enjoyed As Much Of This As I Can Stand
10. Sorrow On The Rocks
11. Green, Green Grass Of Home
12. I'll Go Down Swinging
13. Skid Row Joe
14. The Cold Hard Facts Of Life
15. The Carroll County Accident
16. Big Wind
17. The Last One To Touch Me
18. What Ain't To Be, Just Might Happen
19. Highway Headin' South
20. I Haven't Learned A Thing

Amazon.com

Few remember that Porter Wagoner was actually signed and then dropped by RCA before he ever scored a single country hit. It took two independently financed and produced cuts to turn the tides: "Company's Comin'" broke the top 10 and convinced RCA execs to re-sign him. Once they did, they released the classic moral tale "A Satisfied Mind," which would sit atop the charts for a month in 1955. The two gems that kicked off his career also kick off this fine 20-song collection, which ranges up through Wagoner's 1976 duet with Merle Haggard. Wagoner offers brilliant hardcore barroom honky-tonk such as "Misery Loves Company" (written by Jerry Reed), "Sorrow on the Rocks," and "I'll Go Down Swinging" (written by Bill Anderson), but shows himself capable of sentimental balladry and saga songs as well. Even without the classic Dolly Parton duets--found instead on its own collection--Wagoner proves there's strong substance behind the Opry fame and the Nudie suit. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

Classic.......2005-09-04

Porter Wagoner can be described with simply one word: "Class". And we certainly lack class in country music today. Forget the sequin covered suits, and listen to the honest to goodness "country" coming out in Porter's voice. I doubt anyone will ever fill Porter's niche (maybe Alan Jackson?), but this album will show you just how much he has contributed to Country Music.....and this doesn't include his great duets with Dolly. This is one album you do not want to pass up; it is extremely well recorded and mixed, and the sound is incredibly crisp. A+

The man who took Dolly Parton from obscurity to stardom.......2003-12-08

Porter was a successful country singer of the fifties and sixties but unlike (say) Jim Reeves or Don Gibson, he made no attempt to soften his music in any way to please pop audiences. He had American number one country hits with A satisfied mind (1955) and Misery loves company (1962) and had many other country top ten hits, among them being Carroll county accident (a number two hit in 1969) and Green green grass of home, which provided Porter with a top five country hit in 1965. This song became famous in 1967 when Tom Jones covered it and had an international pop hit with it, going all the way to number one in the UK.

Despite Porter's success with his own recordings and as an American TV host, he will be best remembered as the man who gave Dolly Parton her big break. Dolly was struggling for recognition when Porter selected her as a replacement for Norma Jean on his TV series and persuaded RCA to sign her up, backing his judgement by agreeing to stand any losses. He further backed his judgement by recording a lot of duet albums with Dolly and by covering many of her songs on his solo albums. Those duets are not featured on this collection but can be found on a separate collection in this series, The essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, which I've already reviewed. His uncompromising attitude to country music probably contributed to the break-up of his singing and recording partnership with Dolly seven years after it began. By that time, Dolly was the star and Porter was known mainly as her duet partner. To this day, most people first come across Porter's name via Dolly's music. While all of Dolly's fans (including me) are grateful to Porter for his part in Dolly's career, his music stands on its own merit.

This is an outstanding collection of Porter's own recordings, reminding us just what real country music was like in the fifties and sixties. On this occasion, the title Essential is appropriate. There are other songs I'd like to see made available on CD but this set contains everything you need of his solo music.

Classic, gloriously corny country music.......2002-09-26

Wahoo! Nashville really needs to start putting out more reissues that are as good as this one! Wagoner was the last of the unreformable hicks, gloriously corny, yet country to the bone. This disc covers a lot of his best material, including the absurdly maudlin recitations such as "Skid Row Joe" and "What Would You Do If Jesus Came To Your House?" People eat those novelty tracks up with a spoon, but you should also check out his awesome weepers, such as "I'll Go Down Swinging" and "Satisfied Mind." One of the best CDs in this series -- highly recommended.

I dig his sparkly "nudie's of hollywood" suits.......2002-04-10

Not only that I dig his music. Porter and Lil Jimmy Dickens are the sharpest dressing country singers around today. Of course these new guys out today don't stand a chance with there blue jeans and t-shirts. I still believe that old adage that a great custom made outfit ( suit and pants matching that is- not the tight fittin holey jeans with fancy coat look) is 80 percent of your act-plus you look like a star. This is a fantastic greatest hits package from Porter. And Porter don't you ever dare stop wearing those pretty suits.Misery loves company and The Carrol County Accident are pure country classics and are personal faves.

Classic twangy country.......2002-02-03

Though his flashy Nudie suits (and ongoing presence at the Opry) may have subsumed his musical identity for younger audiences, there's no doubt that Wagoner was a towering country hitmaker. From his debut in the late '50s until well into the '70s his solo career yielded one-of-a-kind hits ranging from the hillbilly thrill of "Company's Comin'," to the down-on-his-luck tale of "Skid Row Joe" and the eerie storytelling of "Carroll County Accident."

He sang songs that would become chestnuts ("Green, Green Grass of Home") and balanced his secular works with tough, faith-based tunes like "What Would You Do (If Jesus Came to Your House)." His duets with Dolly Parton (anthologized on a companion volume) produced parallel artistic and commercial success.

Throughout the late-50s and early-60s, as Nashville was smoothing the twang out of their productions, Wagoner held fast to the fiddle- and steel-backed productions with which he'd started. And despite the prevailing musical tides, he continued to have hits. RCA's generous twenty-track collection is a great place to start one's journey beyond the rhinestone image to find the stellar musical performer who wore the suits.

Average customer rating: More of Their Greatest HIts than--Their "Greatest Hits"!! A stunning collection The best available introduction to Porter and Dolly's duets Very Very Good An unamtched duo

The Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton Porter Wagoner , and Dolly Parton Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Nashville Sound | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Essential Porter Wagoner The Best of the Best RCA Country Legends Just Because I'm a Woman The Essential Connie Smith ASIN: B000002WXA Release Date: 1996-06-18

Tracks:

1. The Last Thing On My Mind
2. Holding On To Nothin'
3. We'll Get Ahead Someday
4. Yours Love
5. Always, Always
6. Just Someone I Used To Know
7. Tomorrow Is Forever
8. Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man
9. Better Move It On Home
10. The Right Combination
11. Burning The Midnight Oil
12. Lost Forever In Your Kiss
13. Together Always
14. We Found It
15. Say Forever You'll Be Mine
16. If Teardrops Were Pennies
17. Please Don't Stop Loving Me
18. Is Forever Longer Than Always
19. If You Go, I'll Follow You
20. Making Plans

Amazon.com essential recording

Before George (Jones) and Tammy (Wynette), before Conway (Twitty) and Loretta (Lynn), there was Porter and Dolly (1967-1974), originally brought together on Porter's laxative-sponsored TV show. With Wagoner's steady baritone anchoring Parton's gossamer soprano, the two breathed such emotional life into their songs of heated love and marital strife that many of their fans thought the pompadoured Porter and the cantilevered Dolly were husband and wife. While the majority of their duet albums included a dead-baby-gone-to-Jesus special, this compilation happily eschews all religious references except Dolly's gospelish tribute to her grandfather, "Daddy Was an Old-Time Preacher Man." What satisfies most is the carefully constructed harmonies, the two voices sliding in and out of prominence, then launching into a thrilling mix and breaking and gliding again. When they hit their stride on "Holding on to Nothin'," the most dramatic and cathartic performance here, they take a back seat to no other duet team in history. -Alanna Nash

Customer Reviews:

More of Their Greatest HIts than--Their "Greatest Hits"!!.......2006-02-09

Porter Wagoner, from West Plains, MO and Dolly Parton, from Sevierville, TN had 20 Billboard duet hits from 1967 to 1980. This CD comprises ALL of those songs. Porter and Dolly were NOT husband and wife. (Combined the two produced 154 (!) chart hits from 1954-1995). The tracks follow in almost the exact sequence of their release. Favorites are always subjective but this reviewer especially liked "If Teardrops Were Pennies", "Is Forever Loner Than Always", "Making Plans" and a wailing "If You Go, I'll Follow You". Those last two were released in late 1980 and were their final duets. This reviewer has an especially warm place in his heart for "We'll Get Ahead Someday". He first heard it in 1970 in an Army barracks in Cam Ranh Bay while listening to AFVN ("from the Delta to the DMZ"). One wonders how many city boys received their introduction to country music by getting shipped to Vietnam! This reviewer could have done without the upbeat tracks of "Better Move It On Home" and "We Found It", but 18 of 20 solid tracks are a high percentage indeed! The only truly negative element is the informational jacket. Set in bizarrely hard to read overlaid typeface it assaults the eye. Whatever useful information contained therein is lost. Those negative points are mere nitpicking and do not merit deducting a star from the rating above. Many country fans would agree that there is something special about male- female duets. Dolly and Porter lasted far longer and produced more hits than icons Tammy/ George or Loretta/ Conway. A final word: The "Essential" series almost always satisfies. These albums can be relied upon to give us well-produced compilations of the best music from our Country heroes and the good old days, long gone. This reviewer has purchased several "Essentials" and has rarely been disappointed. My amazon friends should not be deterred that the CD is only available via a 3rd party purchase. This listener has always been satisfied with how amazon handles such "used" transactions. My CD arrived factory fresh, in perfect condition. There is no reason not to hit that "add to shopping cart" button-right now!

A stunning collection.......2002-09-26

Dolly started off her career as the "girl singer" on the Porter Wagoner show, and he certainly helped her find her voice as a traditonally-oriented artist in a countrypolitan town. The duets they recorded when they were still musical partners are often pretty good, a lot better than you might think... and the song selection on this collection (culled from zillions of duet albums they put out together) is great. Well worth checking out, especially since it isn't likely to stay in print forever.

The best available introduction to Porter and Dolly's duets.......2002-07-27

Dolly has been my favorite singer since I started collecting music seriously, but quite apart from the brilliance of her own music, she also has an outstanding catalog of recordings made with others - in recent years with Kenny, Linda, Emmylou, Tammy and Loretta as well as numerous guest appearances with many different singers. Yet, some of the best recordings Dolly ever made were her duets with Porter.

They recorded a lot of albums, all of which I bought on vinyl. This is the strongest compilation of their music so far released. Fifteen of the tracks can also be found on 20 greatest hits, yet if you use Billboard as a guide, the 20 tracks here were actually their 20 greatest hits. None of their songs about unlucky children are included here, but if you want those, two of them (Silver sandals and Jeannie's afraid of the dark) can be found on the other collection, along with Just between you and me, Before I met you and Forty miles from Poplar Bluff. To make may for those without increasing the number of tracks, they dropped Always always, The right combination, Together always, We found it and Say forever you'll be mine.

Many of the songs Porter and Dolly recorded were written by Dolly, including (on this set) Tomorrow is forever, Daddy was an old time preacher man, Lost forever in your kiss, Together always, Say forever you'll be mine. Porter also contributed by writing The right combination, Burning the midnight oil and We found it. Two of their biggest hits (Please don't stop loving me and If you go I'll follow you) were written by Porter and Dolly together.

They also recorded covers - not as many as was the custom in those days, but always well chosen. They had hits with The last thing on my mind (Tom Paxton), Yours love (previously a hit for Waylon), Just someone I used to know (originally a hit for George Jones, but titled A girl I used to know), If teardrops were pennies (first a hit for Carl Smith) and Making plans, written by Johnny Russell (who later also did a duet with Dolly on the song).

The other songs are excellent originals, written by a variety of writers. Every song on this collection is a masterpiece. Anybody who claims to be a true Dolly fan needs some of her duets with Porter, a fine singer with a nice baritome voice, but who will be forever remembered for his work with Dolly, despite being the first to have a hit with Green green grass of home and making many other wonderful records.

Very Very Good.......2001-12-29

Listening to this album, you can see in your head Dolly and Porter singing on the stage. The voices are a perfect match. Many of these songs tell wonderful stories, While others are about love, such as Dolly's "Lost Forever In Your Kiss". A wonderful album and a joy to listen to.

An unamtched duo.......1999-06-29

In August of 1999, TNN will present Dolly Parton and Vince Gill paying tribute to Porter Wagoner. In spite of Dolly's tumultuous relationship with Porter, these two created a snappy, in sync sound that would in many ways foreshadow modern country. One of my favorite songs on the album is "Better Move It On Home," a song in which Dolly and Porter create an image of the modern couple that resonated with working class families to the point that many who watched THE PORTER WAGONER SHOW thought that they were married.

Dolly would eventually write "I Will Always Love You," to explain her feelings to Porter once she left the show.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable compilation!

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