The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Grand Ole Opry performer Bill Carlisle, whose trademark was leaping into the air while performing, died Monday. He was 94.

Opry officials said Carlisle died at his home from complications of a stroke suffered Wednesday.

A singer-guitarist, Carlisle was the oldest performer on the 78-year-old country music show. He quit performing last month.

"I just do it, always have," Carlisle once said about his jump. He was known as "Jumpin Bill" Carlisle.

He was inducted in November into the Country Music Hall of Fame, waving from his seat in the audience at the Grand Ole Opry House during the Country Music Association awards show.

Carlisle, a native of Wakefield, Ky., began singing professionally with his brother Cliff in the 1930s.

Cliff retired from the act in 1947 and Bill formed his own group, the Carlisles. Carlisle's hit records include "No Help Wanted," "Is Zat You, Myrtle?" "What Kinda Deal Is This?" and "Too Old to Cut the Mustard."

Carlisle also wrote the hymn "Gone Home."

He began his jumping routine while performing with his brother. Staging a mock fight and placing a chair between them, Carlisle would stand flat-footed and jump over the chair and back. It drew so much laughter that he incorporated it into the act.

In his later years, he would walk onto the stage with the aid of a walker, perform his act, and then hoist it over his shoulder and walk off on his own as the audience cheered.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Cole & Garrett Funeral Home in Goodlettsville. Survivors include his son and four grandchildren.