Don Warden is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 musician and manager

Business manager

In a general context, a business manager is a person who manages the work of others in order to run a business efficiently and make a large profit...

 best known for his years on The Porter Wagoner

Porter Wagoner

Porter Wayne Wagoner was a popular American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. He introduced the young Dolly Parton near the beginning of her career on his long-running television show, and they were a well-known duet throughout the late 1960s and...

 Show and as the manager of Wagoner and Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

.

Early life

Born to Reverend and Mrs. Charles Warden in Mt. Grove, Missouri

Mountain Grove, Missouri

Mountain Grove is a city in Texas and Wright Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri, located in south central Missouri. The population was 4,574 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mountain Grove is located at...

, Warden grew up singing in church. A self-taught player, he was influenced by Leon McAuliffe

Leon McAuliffe

Leon McAuliffe , born William Leon McAuliffe, was an American Western swing musician from Houston, Texas...

 with Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys

Bob Wills

James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...

. Warden formed his own band during high school, The Rhythm Rangers, playing steel guitar and singing. He also had an afternoon radio show on KWPM-AM

KWPM

KWPM is a radio station licensed to serve West Plains, Missouri. The station was created in 1947 by Robert Neathery. KWPM signed on for the first time on July 15, 1947. KWPM is now owned by Central Ozark Radio Network, Inc...

 in West Plains, Missouri

West Plains, Missouri

West Plains is a city in Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,866 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Howell County. The West Plains Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Howell County.-Geography:...

. The band gained popularity, moving on to Kennett, Missouri

Kennett, Missouri

Kennett is a city in Dunklin County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2000 census, but a 2008 estimate indicates a 4.9% decrease in population to 10,707. Kennett is the county seat of Dunklin County...

's KBOA-AM

KBOA (AM)

KBOA is a radio station broadcasting a nostalgia music format. Licensed to Kennett, Missouri, USA, the station is currently owned by Pollack Broadcasting Co. and features programing from Citadel Media and Dial Global....

 and KHWN-AM

KWHN

KWHN and KYHN are a pair of radio stations broadcasting a News Talk Information format to the Ft. Smith, Arkansas, USA area. The stations are licensed to Capstar TX Limited Partnership and owned by Clear Channel Communications....

 in Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...

, and gigs in East Texas honky tonk

Honky tonk

A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...

s; eventually leading to Louisiana Hayride

Louisiana Hayride

Louisiana Hayride was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American music...

, backing The Wilburn Brothers and Red Sovine

Red Sovine

Woodrow Wilson Sovine , better known as Red Sovine, was an American country music singer associated with truck driving songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music...

. Warden left the show in 1951 for a two-year stint with the US Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

.

Returning to the Hayride after the Army, the Rhythm Rangers continued to back Red Sovine until Sovine left to join the Grand Ole Opry

Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...

 in Nashville, leaving his band behind. Warden moved to St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, where he attended flight school and played local clubs in his spare time.

With Porter Wagoner

While visiting his parents in West Plains, Warden met Porter Wagoner at KWTO-AM

KWTO

KWTO refers to two radio stations in Springfield, Missouri, USA. On AM, KWTO can be found at 560 kHz, where it airs a news-talk format. On FM, KWTO operates at 98.7 MHz and carries a sports talk format....

 in Springfield, Missouri

Springfield, Missouri

Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

. With Speedy Haworth

Speedy Haworth

Herschel Haworth, Jr. , better known as Speedy Haworth, was an American guitarist and singer who was involved with the golden age of country music broadcasting in the Ozarks...

, they formed the Porter Wagoner Trio and were regulars on ABC television's

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 Ozark Jubilee

Ozark Jubilee

Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...

broadcast from Springfield. In 1957, Warden joined the Grand Ole Opry with Wagoner, and in 1960 began a 14-year television run on the syndicated program, The Porter Wagoner Show.

In 1966, singer Dolly Parton joined the show and Wagoner and Parton, backed by the Wagonmasters, became one of country music's most popular duos. Parton left the show in 1974 to pursue a solo career, and Warden joined her as her full-time manager, a job he has held since.

Warden was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2008.