Country Music Legend ‘Little’ Jimmy Dickens Dead at 94

One of the funniest, most talented and shortest country music legends, 'Little' Jimmy Dickens, died this morning (Jan. 2) of cardiac arrest. He was 94 years old.

Dickens dropped out of school to pursue a career in music, performing his own brand of funny, original music in radio stations across the country before being discovered by Roy Acuff. Dickens was part of country music's old guard, joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983.

Dickens' catalog includes a number of hits, such as 'Take an Old, Cold Tater (And Wait),' 'Country Boy,' and 'May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.' Dickens continued to perform live up until he suffered a stroke on Christmas day and entered the hospital, with his last time on stage being Dec. 20, 2014.

“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. “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.”

Here is 'Little' Jimmy Dickens performing 'Mountain Dew' at the Grand Ole Opry: