His first band, The Blue Ridge Boys, performed on radio station KWPM from a butcher shop in his native West Plains, Missouri where Wagoner cut meat. Wagoner's big break came in 1951, when he was hired as a performer by station KWTO in Springfield, Missouri. This led to a contract with RCA Records. With lagging sales, Wagoner and his trio played schoolhouses for the gate proceeds.
In 1953, his song entitled "Trademark" became a hit for Carl Smith, followed by a few hits of his own on RCA. He was a featured performer on ABC's Ozark Jubilee and moved to Nashville and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1957.
Wagoner was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002. His 81 charted records include "Satisfied Mind" (#1, 1955), “Misery Loves Company” (#1, 1962), “I've Enjoyed As Much of This As I Can Stand” (#7, 1962–1963), “Sorrow on the Rocks” (#5, 1964), “Green, Green Grass of Home” (#4, 1965), “Skid Row Joe” (#3, 1965–1966), “The Cold Hard Facts of Life” (#2, 1967), and “The Carroll County Accident” (#2, 1968–1969). Among his hit duets with Dolly Parton were a cover of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind" (1967), "We'll Get Ahead Someday" (1968), "Just Someone I Used To Know" (1969), "Better Move it on Home" (1971), "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" (#1, 1974) and "Making Plans" (#2, 1980). He also won three Grammy Awards for gospel recordings.
The Porter Wagoner Show ran on syndicated television from 1960 to 1981. There were 686 thirty minute episodes filmed, the first 104 being shot in black and white, the remainder in color. At its peak, it was featured in over 100 markets, with an average viewership of over three million. Reruns of the program currently air on the rural cable network RFD-TV.
Wagoner brought James Brown to the Grand Ole Opry, produced a rhythm & blues album for Joe Simon, and appeared in the Clint Eastwood film Honkytonk Man. [1] During the mid 1980s, Wagoner formed an all girl group called The Right Combination which was named after one of Porter and Dolly Parton's hit records. He also hosted "Opry Backstage" during the 1990s on The Nashville Network where he interviewed guests. Though Parton's departure caused some animosity on both sides, the two reconciled in the late 1980s and have appeared together a number of times in the years since; Parton inducted Wagoner into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002.
Wagoner made a guest appearance on the HBO comedy series Da Ali G Show, being interviewed by the fictional character Borat, in its second season.
On July 14, 2006, Wagoner was hospitalized and underwent surgery for an abdominal aneurysm.
Wagoner was honored on May 19, 2007 at the Grand Ole Opry for both his fifty years of membership and his 80th birthday. This was telecast on GAC's Grand Ole Opry Live that day with artists such as Stuart, Parton, and Patty Loveless. Grand Ole Opry Live host Nan Kelley was part of the birthday celebration as well.
On June 05, 2007, Wagoner released his final album called Wagonmaster. The album was produced by Marty Stuart for the Anti-label. This album received the best reviews ever in Porter's career and briefly charted on the country charts.
Wagoner also toured during the summer of 2007 to promote the album. One of these was opening for the rock group The White Stripes at a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Wagoner's publicist Darlene Bieber announced on October 19, 2007 that the singer had been hospitalized and was in very serious condition. WSMV-TV reported that Wagoner was admitted earlier that week for observation from an illness. Bieber gave no further information but said that the country star was asking for prayers from his family and fans.
On October 21, 2007, his publicist confirmed that Wagoner had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
On October 26, 2007, Porter was released into hospice care. He died two days later in Nashville, Tennessee. Wagoner's funeral was held on November 1, 2007 at the Grand Ole Opry House followed by interrment at the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.
Up until his illness and death, he appeared regularly on the Grand Ole Opry and toured actively.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What Would You Do
Porter Wagoner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If Jesus came to spend some time with you
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two
If He came unexpectedly I wonder what you'd do
When you saw Him comin'
Would you meet Him at the door with arms outstretched and welcome
To your heavenly visitor
Like burn some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been
Would you let Jesus walk right in or would you rush about to hide your worldly music
And put some hymn books out
Oh, I know that you'd give your nicest room to such an honored guest
And all the food you would serve to Him would be the very best
And you'd keep assuring Him that you were glad to have Him there
That serving Him in your house was a joy beyond compare
But would your family conversation keep up its normal pace
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace
And what about the song would you sing, the books you like to read
Would you let Him know the things on which on your mind and spirit feed
Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest friends
Or hope that they'd stay away until His visit ends
Would you take Him with you everywhere that you'd planned to go
Or maybe change your plans for just a day or so
Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on
Or sigh or sigh of great relief when finally he had gone
You know it might be interesting to know the things you'd do
If Jesus came in person to spend some time with you
What would you do, what would you do
If Jesus came to spend some time with you
The song "What Would You Do?" by Porter Wagoner is a powerful reflection on the concept of living a Christ-like life. The song starts with a hypothetical question of what one would do if Jesus were to come visit their home unexpectedly. Wagoner then poses a series of questions that challenge listeners to reflect on their own lives and how they would respond to the presence and teachings of Jesus.
The first few lines describe how one might prepare for Jesus' visit, such as giving Him the nicest room and serving Him the best food. But as the song progresses, Wagoner delves deeper into the notion of what it truly means to follow in Jesus' footsteps. He wonders if the listener would be willing to change some aspects of their life, such as hiding their worldly music and putting out hymn books.
Wagoner then questions whether one's family conversations and daily routines would change in the presence of Jesus. Would they be able to maintain their usual pace, or would they be more deliberate in their actions? Ultimately, the song leaves listeners with the thought-provoking question of what they would do if Jesus came to spend time with them, forcing them to reflect on how they could live a more Christ-like life every day.
Line by Line Meaning
What would you do, what would you do
If Jesus came to spend a day or two with you
If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two
If Jesus came unexpectedly, you wonder what you'd do
When you saw Him comin'
When you see Jesus coming, what would you do
Would you meet Him at the door with arms outstretched and welcome
Would you welcome Jesus to your home with open arms
To your heavenly visitor
As your honored heavenly guest
Or would you need to change some things before you let Him in
Would you need to change some things before letting Jesus into your life
Like burn some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been
Such as burning magazines and putting the Bible in their place
Would you let Jesus walk right in or would you rush about to hide your worldly music
Would you let Jesus in without hesitation or rush about to hide your worldly music
And put some hymn books out
And replace it with hymn books and religious materials
Oh, I know that you'd give your nicest room to such an honored guest
You'd be sure to give Jesus the best room in the house, being such a honored guest
And all the food you would serve to Him would be the very best
You would only serve the best food to Jesus
And you'd keep assuring Him that you were glad to have Him there
You would keep reassuring Jesus that you are honored to have Him as a guest
That serving Him in your house was a joy beyond compare
That it brings you immense joy to serve Jesus in your home
But would your family conversation keep up its normal pace
Would your family keep up with their normal conversation in His presence
And would you find it hard each meal to say a table grace
Would you find it hard to say grace before meals in His presence
And what about the song would you sing, the books you like to read
Would you be comfortable with the songs you sing and books you read in His presence
Would you let Him know the things on which on your mind and spirit feed
Would you open up to Jesus about the things that troubles your mind and spirit
Would you be glad to have Him meet your very closest friends
Would you be proud to introduce Jesus to your closest friends
Or hope that they'd stay away until His visit ends
Or would you rather they stayed away until Jesus leaves you
Would you take Him with you everywhere that you'd planned to go
Would you take Jesus with you wherever you go or change your plans to spend more time with Him
Or maybe change your plans for just a day or so
Or maybe change your plans for a day or two to spend more time with Jesus
Would you be glad to have Him stay forever on and on
Would you be glad to have Jesus stay forever
Or sigh or sigh of great relief when finally he had gone
Or would you sigh with relief when Jesus leaves
You know it might be interesting to know the things you'd do
It would be interesting to know what you'd do
If Jesus came in person to spend some time with you
If Jesus came to spend some time with you
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Hugh Ashley
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joyce Lockhart
What a beautiful song
Fred Pickett
A good good song by one of the best. Thanks for posting this.
Ohh Bobba
I got the goosey bumps listening to the Words and Yes I would meet Jesus at the door and give HIM a warm loving hug. Jesus could stay for as long as he wanted. The only thing I would ask Jesus is:
"Would You Please Take Me Home With You Where I Belong".
Waiting patiently for You `Dear Jesus when You Rapture ALL Your Children Home`. 🕊👑🕊
Noreen SMITH
Absolutely love this!
Searching questions…..
Piercing ….
Our actions certainly answer these questions 🤔
Eileen Hudson
Beautiful song!!!
Heidi Petrus: Saved by Grace
Awe my dad used to sing me this song
Paula Wallace
My dad made a CD of him singing this song. It was played at his funeral and then again at my mom's funeral last week. I love it but I cry like a baby.
Robin Grossmann
Those that gives a thumbs down need to be prayed for.
Simon Njoroge
Amazing
Ron Burgess
Maybe every one needs to listen to this ?