Best Betts: A Porter Wagoner Tribute

10/29/2007 Stephen L. Betts I only interviewed Porter Wagoner once, as he kicked back in a tattered recliner in his smoke-filled Opry dressing room. The walls of the dressing room were covered with so many photos, and his mind was so full of memories, that what was supposed to be a 15-minute chat turned into a 45-minute history lesson. One I’ll never forget. Although it’s quite possible to have been blinded by the sight of one of Porter Wagoner’s shimmering, colorful Manuel-designed suits, it would be criminal for the singer’s flashy façade, or his connection to a certain “girl singer,” to outshine his role as one of the world’s most important ambassadors of country music. With that in mind, I’d like to offer a special edition of “Best Betts” – a collection of all things Porter Wagoner that should be part of any tribute to “The Thin Man from West Plains.” Wagonmaster CD, Anti/Epitaph, 2007 Kicked off with a fierce fiddle tune and closing with Porter singing the heartbreaking “I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow” with only an acoustic guitar accompaniment, Wagonmaster is an instant classic. Porter was never a slick, polished vocalist, but that just gave his songs, even the weakest of them, more character. And what of the weak tunes on this record? I can almost hear Porter himself saying, “Son, there ain’t none.” And he’d be right! The sparkling production of Marty Stuart, and the backing of his band, the Fabulous Superlatives, moves the record along at an impressive, and now all too-quick pace. Even more impressive, though, is the youthfulness with which Porter approaches these tunes, which he recorded at just shy of 80 years old. Sounding like someone half (OK, maybe two-thirds) his age, it’s just a tremendous gift to have this one last collection of Porter’s music to savor, there is a reason you will see this album on nearly every best-of list at the end of 2007. And that reason is not that Porter Wagoner has passed away.   The Essential Porter Wagoner and The Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, RCA, 1997/1996 You want the hits? How about 40 of them? Between these two must-haves that’s how many genuine hit songs you’ll find. And don’t let the cheesy production on some of Porter’s later hits deter you (this was the mid- to late-70s after all!) It’s actually kind of endearing. As for the Porter/Dolly duets disc, the reasons they were multiple winners of the CMA’s Vocal Duo award are abundantly clear in each and every “were they or weren’t they?” track. Whatever the true nature of the relationship, the chemistry is undeniable, and at times combustible. A Satisfied Mind, by Steve Eng, Rutledge Hill Press, 1992  This exhaustive biography is a fascinating read, although most readers at the time the book came out no doubt flipped right to its many candid recollections of Porter’s relationship with Dolly Parton. Theirs was, after all, still a somewhat tenuous relationship at the time the book was published, and Dolly’s own autobiography a few years later told a pretty different account of many of the events covered here. Yet, among the most compelling stories recounted having nothing to do with Dolly is Porter’s controversial 1979 invitation to soul singer James Brown to perform on the Grand Ole Opry. It was a move that angered more than a few Opry regulars at the time, including Roy Acuff. But it’s also a move that demonstrated how, in many ways, Porter Wagoner was a man ahead of his time.     The Cold Hard Facts of Life, RCA album, 1967 The material on this 1967 album is straight-ahead, classic country that cuts right to the bone. The title track, even if you know from the start just where it’s headed, still packs a mighty wallop. And the album cover is by far the best one ever conceived for any country album – ever. (As an interesting personal side note, the apartment building on the cover still stands in Nashville. It’s where Porter lived at the time the album was being made, and where I first lived when I moved to Music City in 1981. And, most interestingly of all - considering the success Porter achieved on the Americana music charts with his final album, Wagonmaster – the building is called the Americana Apartments! - SB)