Roy Clark, R.I.P.

When I saw Roy Clark as the top trend on Twitter early this afternoon, I knew immediately he had been summoned for a great gig in the sky. The 85-year old country music legend died this morning of complications of pneumonia.

A child prodigy, Clark played alongside Jimmy Dean while still in his teens. Clark would become best known for co-hosting Hee Haw with Buck Owens from 1969 to 1997. He was a frequent guest host on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and would put Branson, Missouri on the map in the early 1980's becoming the first country musician to open his own theater in the hillbilly mecca.

His reputation as a comic performer on Hee Haw overshadowed his talent as a guitar virtuoso. A couple of years ago, I was watching an episode of The Odd Couple which featured Clark. At the conclusion of the episode, Clark played "Malaguena". There are no special effects. He is shredding that guitar. R.I.P.