The union between Dolly Parton and her uncle Bill Owens was incomparable to any other collaborations throughout her career. Owens was the first person Parton wrote with and a significant part of her early success as a young girl. Once Parton started singing at 10, she was performing on the radio, singing on The Cas Walker Show in Knoxville, and began recording songs, many of which she had written with Owens, a few years later. She even played at the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 13, where she met Johnny Cash, who encouraged her to pursue her dreams.
Uncle Bill, as Parton always referred to him, also helped her write her first single, “Puppy Love” when she was 11. The song was released on Goldband Records in 1959, along with the B-Side “Girl Left Alone,” which featured a co-writing credit from her aunt Dorothy Jo Owens. Parton remembered the 30-hour bus ride to Louisiana with her grandmother Rena Owens to record the two songs.
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way the inside of that bus smelled,” remembered Parton. “It was a combination of diesel fuel, Naugahyde, and people who were going places.”
Throughout these earlier years, Owens was there, writing with Parton, and his songs were particularly present on her 1967 debut, Hello, I’m Dolly, along with Just Because I’m a Woman (1968), In the Good Old Days When Times Were Bad (1969), The Fairest of Them All (1970), Touch Your Woman (1972) and more throughout her career.
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On his own Owens also wrote a long line of songs for his niece, including “Love and Learn,” “I’m Running Out of Love,” “I’m Fed Up with You,” “Before You Make Up Your Mind,” “Love Is Only as Strong (As Your Weakest Moment),” and “Sometimes an Old Memory Gets in My Eye,” among others.
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Owens also wrote songs on his own that were recorded by other artists before they were released by Parton. Though Parton was technically the first to record the song “I Wound Easy” in 1966, she didn’t release it until 1970 on her compilation album As Long as I Love. Several years earlier, Tammy Wynette released the song with the title “I Wound Easy (But I Heal Fast).”
Together, Parton and Owens filled her earlier catalog of music and even wrote a few songs that were picked by other artists, along the way. Here’s a deeper look into three songs Parton wrote with her uncle that were recorded by other artists first.
1. “I Don’t Want You Around Me Anymore,” Nell McBride (1965)
In 1963, Nell McBride released the songs “Yours Forever,” written by Robert Stephens and Tommy Hedden along with “Old Enough” by Liz Anderson. Just two years later McBride took on Owens and Parton’s “I Don’t Want You Around Me Anymore” and released it with the B-Side “Desperately,” another song by Stephens and Hedden. Parton later released her version of the song on her 1970 compilation As Long as I Love.
You think you’re so smart
You think I should throw my heart down at your feet
Every time that you walk by
But I, I got news for you
‘Cause I don’t care for you
And I don’t care, honey, if you love me or not
If you were half as smart as you think you are
The world would be a-standin’ at your door
But I, I won’t be there
‘Cause I no longer care
And I don’t want you around me anymore
McBride’s version is hard to find, yet still available on old 45s. Below is Parton’s 1970 rendition of “I Don’t Want You Around Me Anymore.”
2. “Put It Off Until Tomorrow,” Bill Phillips (1966)
When Parton and Owens were signed to Combine Publishing House and Monument Records, they would write during their trips from East Tennessee to Nashville, and one of the songs they wrote was “Put It Off Until Tomorrow.” They recorded a demo of the song with Parton singing the harmony and Owens singing lead and sent it to country artist Bill Phillips for consideration.
Phillips liked the song and wanted Parton to sing harmony on it. “Whoever that girl is singing the harmony,” said Phillips, “I want her on this record.”
[RELATED: 5 Songs You Didn’t Know Dolly Parton Wrote for Other Artists]
First released by Phillips on his 1966 album of the same name later that year, “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” became his biggest hit, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. The song also received a 1966 BMI Country Music Award.
His recording also features Parton’s vocals harmonizing, but she remained uncredited on the track.
Put it off until tomorrow oh oh you’ve hurt me enough today
You say our love is over that you have found another
You say you’re going away
But leave me tomorrow oh oh you’ve hurt me enough today
You’ve hurt me enough today I can’t believe the words you say
I must accept the fact you won’t be coming back
“We were just excited, as songwriters that they’d heard it,” said Parton in her 2020 book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. “That they wanted me to sing on it was another little springboard.”
Parton and Owens wrote another follow-up song for Phillips, “The Company You Keep,” which went to No. 8 on the Country chart. She also released her version of “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” on her 1967 debut Hello, I’m Dolly.
“I love being tied to that song with Uncle Bill because we went through so much together,” she added. “We wrote a lot of songs together but that one will always be special.”
3. “Fuel to the Flame,” Skeeter Davis (1967)
Known for earlier days as part of the Davis Sisters in the late 1940s and for her 1962 hit “The End of the World,” Skeeter Davis recorded and released Parton and Owens’ tender ’60s ballad “Fuel to the Flame” along with the B-side “You Call This Love.” The song went to No. 11 on the Country chart. Parton also recorded the song and released it after Davis on her 1967 debut.
You kindle the fire of love inside me
Each time our lips meet
I’m not strong when we’re alone
Your kisses make me weak
You must know how I feel
But do you feel the same
Every time you kiss me
You add fuel to the flame
My eyes light up when I see you
I burn with desire
Each time you’re near
You say you’ll care
But still I’m not sure
But please don’t ask me to love you
If you’re not gonna change my name
[RELATED: 3 of Dolly Parton’s Favorite Songs]
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
