Charlie Walker Tribute

Grand Ole Opry star Charlie Walker, who became a popular disc jockey in Texas as he built a career as a honky-tonk singer, has died.

He was 81 and had been diagnosed recently with colon cancer.

A Grand Ole Opry spokeswoman said Walker died Friday morning in the Nashville suburb Hendersonville, Tenn.

Walker played country music over the Armed Forces Radio Network as part of the U.S. occupation forces in Tokyo after the Second World War.

He became a top country music disc jockey on San Antonio's KMAC in the 1950s while he recorded regional hits, including "Only You, Only You" on the Decca label.

His breakthrough was on Columbia Records in 1958 with the Harlan Howard-penned "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down." The tune became a million-seller and a country music staple.

His other hits included "Who Will Buy the Wine," "Wild as a Wildcat" and 'Don't Squeeze My Sharmon."

He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1967 and was also a longtime member of the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame.