It is widely known that Dolly Parton got her start on The Porter Wagoner Show. It is also widely known that Dolly Parton had some struggles with Porter Wagoner near the end of her time on the show. However, Parton knows she couldn’t have become Dolly Parton without Wagoner, and consequently, she divulged that she’d always love Wagoner in her own nuanced type of way. Matter of fact, that is what her hit song, “I Will Always Love You,” is about.
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In light of the controversy surrounding their relationship, it is pretty admirable that Dolly Parton was and still can set the beef aside and still admire her mentor. It even becomes all the more admirable when you learn exactly what Wagoner and Parton experienced during their professional relationship.
Dolly Parton Pulls Back The Curtain on Porter Wagoner
In her book Dolly on Dolly, Parton went incredibly in-depth about the metamorphosis of her and Wagoner’s working relationship. In the book, Parton never bashed Wagoner, as she stated, “I can never take the credit away from Porter for givin’ me a big break. I learned a lot from him. He inspired me, and I inspired him.” Though she did reveal how the demise of their relationship came about.
Concerning this shift, Parton wrote, “We just got to where we argued and quarreled about personal things.” ‘Things we had no business quarreling and arguing about. It was beginning to tarnish a really good relationship. We didn’t get along very well, but no more his fault than mine. We were just a lot alike. Both ambitious. I wanted to do things my way and he wanted to do things his way,” added Parton.
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner ended their partnership in 1974. Subsequently, the two rarely saw each other and became estranged. Furthermore, Wagoner actually sued Parton in 1979 for breaching her contract. Regarding the suit, Parton divulged, “Porter Wagoner filed suit against me for approximately three million dollars, claiming he had made me a star and was entitled to a percentage of my career for life,” per Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business.
Wanting to avoid a lengthy legal battle, Parton settled in court for around a million dollars. “I made up my mind that if he could live with it, I could live without it,” and “I suppose Porter has done all right with it. I am neither his conscience nor his accountant,” Parton concluded. To say the least, this relationship was tempestuous. However, for Dolly Parton, love always prevails when it comes to Porter Wagoner.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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