Country great "Little" Jimmy Dickens dies at 94

"Little" Jimmy Dickens, a country singer who recorded such novelty hits as I'm Little but I'm Loud and May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose, died Friday afternoon at a Nashville-area hospital. He was 94 and the last member of the Grand Ole Opry actually older than the radio show itself.

He had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke on Christmas. The cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to a news release from the Grand Ole Opry.

Dickens was a longtime fixture of the Opry and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. He also was known for his comedic routines in which the 4-foot-11 entertainer referred to himself as "Mighty Mouse in pajamas" and "Willie Nelson after taxes."

When the Opry, then called the WSM Barn Dance, first broadcast on Nashville's WSM-AM in November 1925, Dickens was a 4-year-old in southern West Virginia, the oldest child of a family that would eventually include 13 children.

He joined the Opry cast in 1948, the same year he signed with Columbia Records. He had his first hit in 1949 with Take an Old Cold 'Tater (And Wait), the song from which fellow Opry member Hank Williams drew the nickname that stuck with Dickens for decades — "Tater."

Dickens also had hits with 1949's Country Boy, 1950's A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed and 1954's Out Behind the Barn. His sole No. 1 record came in 1965 with May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose, a song inspired by Johnny Carson's "Carnac the Magnificent" sketches on The Tonight Show.

"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."

In later years, Dickens befriended many of the Opry's younger members, welcoming groups Diamond Rio and Little Big Town into the fold and climbing a stepladder to invited 6-foot-6 singer Trace Adkins to join the cast in 2003. Brad Paisley, in particular, bonded with the older singer, featuring Dickens in comedic cameos in several of his music videos, including I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song) and Celebrity.

Paisley tweeted condolences Friday night:

Paisley also wrote a longer tribute to Dickens, saying in part, "I think he loved everyone he ever met, and if not, he never let it be known. More importantly, I think everyone who ever met him loved him instantly...and forever. ... I can honestly say he was the best friend any human being could ask for. Bar none."

Dickens made his last appearance on the Opry on Dec. 20, one day after his 94th birthday.

Dickens is survived by his wife of 43 years, Mona, and two daughters, Pamela Detert and Lisa King.