Little Jimmy Dickens, beloved 'Opry' star, dies at 94

Country Music Hall of Famer Jimmy Dickens, the Grand Ole Opry's most beloved and diminutive ambassador, died Friday at a Nashville area hospital. He was 94.

Mr. Dickens starred for decades on the "Opry," where he was a vital part of the scene both onstage and backstage. His dressing room was an essential stop for performers on the show, and it was there that he held court for a variety of artists, some of whom came to the Opry more than a half century after Mr. Dickens' 1948 debut.

He remained a vital performer throughout his life, last playing the "Opry" on Dec. 20, a day after his 94th birthday and five days before he would be admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke on Christmas Day. He died of cardiac arrest on Friday.

When the spotlight shone on him, Mr. Dickens would make fun of his size ("I'm Little Jimmy Dickens, or Willie Nelson after taxes"), his rhinestone-studded outfits ("There goes Mighty Mouse in his pajamas") and his old-timer status (He would often introduce his "latest hit," from 1965).

"The Grand Ole Opry did not have a better friend than Little Jimmy Dickens," Opry vice president and general manager Pete Fisher said in a statement Friday. "He loved the audience and his Opry family, and all of us loved him back. He was a one-of-kind entertainer and a great soul whose spirit will live on for years to come."

In the final decades of his career, Mr. Dickens' kindness, affability and hospitality were his calling cards. Where others would say "goodnight," Mr. Dickens would shake hands and offer, "We appreciate you." But some of those who laughed with him and sang along to the songs he regularly performed on the "Opry" were unaware of what a potent, even groundbreaking performer he was in the 1950s.

While the newly popular genre called rock 'n' roll threatened country's viability, Mr. Dickens toured with a Country Boys band that featured two electric guitars, a steel guitar and more volume than Elvis Presley or Chuck Berry could muster. The classic Country Boys bands of the 1950s included spectacular players such as steel guitarists Walter Haynes and Buddy Emmons, guitarists Jabbo Arrington, Howard Rhoton and Spider Wilson and bass man Bob Moore.

"Their complex musical minds coupled with the fire of their teenaged youthful exuberance made for an instrumental combination which wouldn't be bettered," wrote Eddie Stubbs in the liner notes of Dickens' Bear Family boxed set. Rhoton and Wilson often engaged in twin leads that were precursors to the sounds used by The Allman Brothers Band in the 1970s. And though Mr. Dickens often downplayed his own rock 'n' roll efforts, records such as "(I Got) a Hole in My Pocket" and "Hey Ma! (Hide the Daughter)" were visceral and invigorating.

Mr. Dickens also was a master at recitations, drawing tears with "(You've Been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Ann," a spoken-word piece in which a father speaks to his dead daughter's favorite companion. And his best-known numbers were humorous romps such as "Take an Old Cold 'Tater (and Wait)," "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed," "I'm Little But I'm Loud" and "Out Behind the Barn."

Hank Williams heard "Take an Old Cold 'Tater (and Wait)" and began referring to Mr. Dickens as "Tater," a nickname that stuck throughout his life. Mr. Dickens wore the moniker proudly, and he often talked about witnessing Williams' electrifying "Opry" debut.

As a member of the Hall of Fame, Mr. Dickens could rightly view himself as a peer to his own heroes — men like Williams and Roy Acuff — and yet he retained a sense of wonder about being in the presence of such men.

"Sometimes I can't believe that I'm thought of as someone who's contributed to this industry," Mr. Dickens said in a 1995 interview. "It's hard for me to explain how I feel about it. Because country music is my life. I've lived it."

Becoming 'Little Jimmy'

Mr. Dickens was born amid the frigid coal fields of southeastern W.Va., on Dec. 19, 1920. He was raised in a town called Bolt, the youngest of 13 children. His childhood was marked by poverty, sacrifice and music. His mother and three uncles played guitar, and as a boy he sat wide-eyed and watched his family members play and sing.

"All my people are coal miners, but I never wanted to go into the mines," he said. "From childhood on, I wanted to be an entertainer. And I set out to do that when I was still in high school."

In high school, Mr. Dickens played on the basketball team in spite of his sub-5-foot stature and his 85-pound frame. He was president of Trap Hill High School's senior class in 1940. He turned down a drama scholarship to West Virginia University and an offer to become a professional jockey to pursue music. By then, he was already appearing on radio stations.

Performer T. Texas Tyler recruited Mr. Dickens to take part in Tyler's Indianapolis radio show in 1941, and it was Tyler who offered the nickname "Little Jimmy Dickens."

In 1945, Mr. Dickens met "Opry" star Roy Acuff, and it was Acuff who would ultimately bring him to Nashville. In 1947, Mr. Dickens was performing in Saginaw, Mich., and was working in a band that played a mixture of country and polka music. Acuff played a show in Saginaw, and Mr. Dickens was chosen as the opening act.

Impressed with Mr. Dickens' abilities as a singer and as an entertainer, Acuff procured for Mr. Dickens a spot on the "Opry" in February 1948. Mr. Dickens became a member in August 1948, before he had ever made a record.

The record-making commenced in 1949, when Mr. Dickens recorded the hit single "Take an Old Cold 'Tater (and Wait)" for Columbia Records. In April of 1949, the same month that "Tater" peaked at No. 7 in Billboard magazine's country Top 10, he cut "Country Boy." That one became another Top 10 single, soon followed by hits "Pennies for Papa" and "My Heart's Bouquet." "Country Boy" was written by the then-unknown Boudleaux Bryant, who would go on to become a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Bryant also wrote the 1954 hit "Out Behind the Barn" for Mr. Dickens, and the two men collaborated on "I'm Little But I'm Loud," "It May Be Silly (But Ain't It Fun)" and other songs.

Mr. Dickens' tiny frame, colorful personality and outlandish suits (he was the first to wear rhinestone suits on the "Opry") drew plenty of attention, and Mr. Dickens quickly became one of country music's most recognizable entertainers. Throughout the 1950s and '60s, his records were released under the name "Little" Jimmy Dickens. And he had an unusual and effective manner onstage that combined fiery performances and a sincere, welcoming presence.

"Thank you kindly, and once again allow us to say a great big special hello and howdy to all our good folks and friends and neighbors all, and welcome once again to another of our little friendly get-togethers," he'd say at the beginning of a typical "Opry" segment. "Our plans for today are a lot of fun."

'A showman and entertainer'

Mr. Dickens exited the Grand Ole Opry in 1957, choosing to join the Philip Morris Country Music Show as a headliner. While the Morris tour lasted only about a year, Mr. Dickens did not rejoin the Opry until 1975.

Booking agent Dewey Mousson "said that he thought at the time that it would just be a part-time thing, and that when we were through with that we could come back to the Opry," Mr. Dickens told Stubbs. "But it didn't work out that way. Once I took that show, that cooled it for me with the 'Opry.' "

In 1964, Mr. Dickens played Tokyo, Okinawa, Taipei, Bangkok, Saigon, Turkey, Denmark, Germany and Montreal, and in so doing became the first country performer to circle the globe. Though he scored only two Top 20 hits in the 1960s, Mr. Dickens toured relentlessly, and he appeared in country-centric movies "Tennessee Jamboree" and "Second Fiddle to an Old Guitar." His 1965 recording of novelty song "May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose" became Mr. Dickens' only No. 1 country hit, and it crossed into the Top 20 of Billboard's pop chart as well.

The song's popularity thrust Mr. Dickens back into the national spotlight, and he began making national television appearances (once appearing on Dick Clark's "Where the Action Is" program, lip-synching "Bird of Paradise" on a beach while teenagers swayed to the music). The Bobby Braddock-penned "Country Music Lover" rose into the country Top 30 in 1967, but Mr. Dickens had no more hit records.

Whether on the big screen or on a nightclub stage, Mr. Dickens was a deft comedian and an energetic stage presence. He was a showman and an entertainer, and it was those qualities that brought him back into the Opry fold in 1975.

'Opry elder statesman'

Back on the "Opry," Mr. Dickens assumed the role of an elder statesman.

His 1983 Country Music Hall of Fame induction cemented his status as a major player in country's history, and he became — along with Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl and Porter Wagoner — one of the public faces of the Opry.

Wagoner's 2007 death left Mr. Dickens as the last of his ilk, and he battled age and health problems to remain a regular part of the "Opry" show. He arrived hours before taking the stage, changing into his showy stage outfits so that those who wanted a pre-show photograph with him would be able to document the dazzle. Mr. Dickens was a showman, even long before the show went on.

Brad Paisley, another West Virginia native, was among the young performers Mr. Dickens befriended, and Paisley often featured Mr. Dickens in his music videos and as a member of the "Kung Pao Buckaroos," a group of Hall of Famers that Paisley enlisted to perform comedy sketches on several albums. The Buckaroos skits gave listeners the only on-record approximation of Mr. Dickens' sometimes-bawdy backstage humor.

"I have come up with a substitute for Viagra," he said in one Kung Pao outtake, included on Paisley's "Time Well Wasted" album. "It is Fix-A-Flat and Miracle–Gro, and it's called 'Flat Miracle.' "

Never afraid to play his size for laughs, Mr. Dickens climbed a kitchen ladder to invite tall and burly Trace Adkins into the Opry family in 2003. Adkins and Paisley were among those who came to the "Opry" in November 2008 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Mr. Dickens' induction.

"Little Jimmy Dickens was a treasure in country music, not only a friend to George and I but a friend to every country artist that walked across the stage at The Grand Ole Opry," said Nancy Jones, George Jones' widow. "I have lost a dear friend."

"Jimmy Dickens is uniquely and forever tied to the Grand Ole Opry," said Opry vice president and general manager Pete Fisher in 2008. "He is one of the most beloved and respected people in the history of not only the Opry, but all of country music."

Mr. Dickens is survived by his wife, Mona, and two daughters, Pamela Detert and Lisa King.

A public visitation is set for 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at Woodlawn Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Memorial Park, located at 660 Thompson Lane in Nashville.

A public Celebration Of Life service will is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Grand Ole Opry House, 2804 Opryland Drive in Nashville.

Both remembrance events are open to friends, family and the public.