Jimmy Dickens.

Country singer.

Born: December 19, 1920;

Died: January 2, 2015.

Jimmy Dickens, who has died of cardiac arrest aged 94, was a country singer and the longest-running cast member of country music's most venerable venue, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Known as Little Jimmy, the 4ft 11in star joined the Opry in 1948 and last performed on its stage on December 20 last year, the day after his 94th birthday. Even in his nineties, he remained committed to his duties at the Nashville institution, where his big voice and larger-than-life personality made him a fan favourite.

Speaking recently, he said: "I look forward from one weekend to another to get back out on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry and try to entertain people who have come from miles and miles and state to state to be entertained with country music."

He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983 and inspired some of today's prominent country stars, such as Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. He was also one of the first country stars to wear rhinestone suits, something which later became very common as country went mainstream. He had his first rhinestone suit made for him in 1950 after the designer told him that when the lights hit the stones, the audience would go 'wow'. "He was 100 per cent right," said Dickens.

Friends including Hank Williams knew him as Tater, a nickname that came from early hit Take An Old Cold Tater (and Wait). Among Dickens's other classics are Country Boy, Out Behind the Barn, and May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.

In addition to being a country star, he also took a shot at rockabilly when that genre began in the 1950s, singing songs such as Salty Boogie, Blackeyed Joe's, and (I Got) A Hole in My Pocket.

He began his career on the radio, first appearing on the air in his home state of West Virginia, and then hosting radio shows in diverse locations, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The late Roy Acuff, one of the biggest-ever stars of the Opry, first heard Dickens in 1947 in Cincinnati, and brought him to the attention of the Grand Ole Opry and Columbia Records.

Dickens was best-known for the novelty songs, which largely overshadowed his skills as a country balladeer on such songs as I've Just Got to See You Once More and My Heart's Bouquet.

Dolly Parton issued a statement saying she often performs Dickens' song I'm Little But I'm Loud. She said he will always be loved and remembered.

He is survived by wife Mona Dickens and two daughters.