A hit-maker since the mid-1950s, his classic songs included Satisfied Mind, The Cold Hard Facts Of Life and The Carroll County Accident.

His recordings with Dolly Parton are among the very finest country duets ever committed to tape and the story goes that Dolly dedicated I Will Always Love You to Porter alone.

Along the way he recorded perhaps the definitive version of Curley Putnam's timeless Green Green Grass Of Home and rarely turned his hand to anything less than pure country.

The man was much more than just another country music honky tonker.

He presented his own show on American TV for 21 years.

It was there he gave Dolly her first on-screen break as his duet partner and became a fixture of The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, where his taste in flashy, rhinestone-clad nudie suits and traditional home banter kept him firmly in work and in the public eye up until just a few months ago.

A strange looking, lanky figure with a gaunt elongated face and a shock of white hair which he insisted on pushing up into a full on quiff, he always stood out from the normal Nashville crowd.

I was lucky enough to see the man himself host The Opry a couple of times last year and have to say he was looking fine in an electric blue outfit and played the crowd like the seasoned pro.

Born in Lanton in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri in 1927 his first job was as a meat cutter in Sid Vaughan's downtown grocery shop.

It was there he began to sing and with Vaughan as his sponsor he broadcast a series of 15 minute radio shows direct from his boss's store. Within a year he was working on a mainstream radio station and by 1952 he'd been signed to RCA Records.

A darker side to his personality, however, resulted in some fairly serious drug and alcohol problems and an ongoing battle with depression.

That darker side was wonderfully explored on The Wagonmaster, his last studio album released earlier this year.

Over a series of self-written songs and monologues he created a classic collection that should clean up in the end of year award ceremonies.

A man of his stature certainly deserves it after all.

Speaking of awards I'm delighted to say my Friday night radio show McLean's Country picked up first place in the Specialist Music Programme category at the PPI all-Ireland radio awards in Dublin last week.

It was a glittering night in the Burlington Hotel and I must admit I was in a state of shock when I found out I'd won.

It's the kind of thing that simply couldn't have happened without the support of country music lovers throughout the country, so if you're a listener it's a case of thank you and keep on listening.

> Ralph presents The Ralph McLean Show on BBC Radio Ulster from Tuesday to Thursday between 8pm and 10pm and McLean's Country every Friday from 8pm.