Wagoner, who survived a near-fatal stomach aneurysm in 2006, was hospitalized again this month and died of lung cancer in a Nashville hospice, media reports said.

A member of the Grand Ole Opry for 50 years, Wagoner began his career with the Blue Ridge Boys singing on a Missouri radio station, and starred in "The Porter Wagoner Show" on TV from 1960 to 1979.

His solo hits included "Company's Comin" and the "Green Green Grass of Home" as well as "Carroll County Accident."

In 2002, Wagoner was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

To many music fans, though, he was best known as the man who boosted Dolly Parton's career by hiring her as his duet partner.

They were the Country Music Association's duo of the year in 1970 and 1971, recording 14 Top 10 hits including "Last Thing on My Mind" and "Please Don't Stop Loving Me."

After the duo broke up in 1974, Wagoner filed a US$3 million lawsuit claiming Parton owed him money. They settled out of court in 1980, and Wagoner said later they were always friendly.