Country music star 'Little' Jimmy Dickens dies aged 94

The star was a regular fixture of the famous Grand Ole Opry show until after his most recent birthday

Singer Barbara Mandrell presents Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Little Jimmy Dickens, right, with his plaque at the Country Music Association (CMA) awards show in Nashville, Tennessee. (AP)

American country music star ‘Little’ Jimmy Dickens has died age 94.

Mr Dickens rose to fame as part of the regular Grand Ole Opry concert in Nashville Tennessee, where he began to play in 1948.

He continued to play the regular gig until 20 December last year, the day after his 94th birthday, according to a spokesperson for the stage show.

He was induced into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983.

Mr Dickens was known for his rhinestone-studded outfits, a style which others have since copied or built on.

"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 said recently, according to the Opry.

He was a fan favourite at the Opry until his retirement.

Friends knew Mr Dickens by the nickname “Tater” – which he picked up from his early classic "Take An Old Cold Tater (and Wait)."

Among the musicians other classics are "Country Boy," "Out Behind the Barn," and "May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose."

Dickens began his career on the radio, first appearing on the air in his home state of West Virginia, and then hosting radio shows across the country, the Country Music Hall of Fame said.