Country virtuoso, 'Hee Haw' host Roy Clark dead at 85

Country legend Roy Clark — the Grammy winner, Grand Ole Opry member, Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, and seven-time Country Music Association Awards recipient known for his guitar-picking virtuosity and longtime stint on the beloved country variety show Hee Haw — has died at age 85. According to his publicist Jeremy Westby, Clark died at home in Tulsa, Okla., Thursday, due to complications from pneumonia.

Clark was a fixture in country fans’ living rooms for nearly a quarter-century, from 1969 to 1993, as the co-host of Hee Haw alongside Buck Owens. (He also guest-hosted The Tonight Show multiple times in the ’60s and ’70s, and was a replacement host on Jimmy Dean’s TV show Town and Country Time in the ’50s.) Hee Haw featured performances from the elite of the country music community, including Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and Charley Pride.

But Clark was a country star in his own right, and an incredibly accomplished (and often underrated) musician who earned acclaim for his hit instrumental versions of “Malaguena” and “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” Clark took up the banjo, guitar, and mandolin (and, later, fiddle and harmonica) at age 14, and by age 15 he was not only playing in his father’s square-dance band but had won several national and international banjo championships. In 1960, he fronted Wanda Jackson’s band, and two years later he landed his first label contract, with Capitol Records. Among his solo hits were “Yesterday When I Was Young,” “Come Live With Me,” “Honeymoon Feeling,” and “The Tips of My Fingers.” Later in his career, Clark appeared as guest performer with the Boston Pops and top orchestras.

“My first CMA memory is sitting on my living room floor watching Roy Clark tear it up. Sending my love and respect to him and his family for all he did,” Keith Urban, winner of CMA Entertainer of the Year on Wednesday night, tweeted upon hearing the sad news. CMA Awards host Brad Paisley, who performed with Clark at the CMAs two years ago, also posted on Twitter: “When the Nashville floods wiped out most of my guitars, Roy heard about it and showed up at a show and gave me one of his. This is who this man was. Constantly giving. I owe him so much. Go say hi to my Papaw for me Roy. You left the world a much better place.”

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

• Complete list of CMA Awards winners

• Garth Brooks opens CMA Awards with moment of silence for Thousand Oaks shooting victims

• Keith Urban tearfully accepts CMA Entertainer of the Year: ‘I wish my dad was alive to see this’

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