When Dolly Parton was just 11, her “Uncle Bill” Owens helped her write her first song, “Puppy Love.” 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. By 1966, Parton and her Uncle Bill were still collaborating leading up to the release of her 1967 debut, Hello, I’m Dolly, and released two songs that helped gain her more attention as a songwriter in country music, including her first hit “Put It Off Until Tomorrow.”
Co-written by Parton and Owens, “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” was first recorded and released by Bill Phillips in 1966. After hearing Dolly sing the demo for the song, Phillips asked that she also sing harmony with him on the track. Though Parton wasn’t credited for her backing vocals, she still gained plenty of attention on the charts. The song peaked at No. 6 on the Country chart and was named BMI’s Song of the Year in 1966.
“Uncle Bill and I were so excited about going to the big ceremony to accept our awards,” said Parton of her BMI win. Her version of the song was later released on Hello, I’m Dolly. “After all, this was the first of our songs to be recorded by a major artist,” she added. “To have it recognized in that way by all of those established songwriters was a huge confidence builder for both of us.”
Phillips also recorded another song written by Parton and Owens, “The Company You Keep,” which went to No. 8.
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[RELATED: 5 Songs Dolly Parton Wrote for Other Artists]
“Put It Off Until Tomorrow”
Parton and Owens’ lyrics follow a traditional-style story of heartbreak and the idea of putting off the pain and heartache for another day.
Put it off until tomorrow
Whoa, whoa
You’ve hurt me enough today
You say our love is over
That you have found another
And you say you’re going away
Oh, but leave me tomorrow
Whoa, whoa
You’ve hurt me enough today
You’ve hurt me enough today (you’ve hurt me enough today)
I can’t believe the words you say (I can’t believe the words you say)
But I must accept the fact (I must accept the fact)
You won’t be coming back (you won’t be coming back)
So stay (so stay)
Stay just one more day (stay just one more day)
Loneliness isn’t far away
Loretta Lynn’s Three Versions, and Other Renditions
Keeping with the momentum of “Put It Off Until Tomorrow,” Parton and Uncle Bill also wrote “Fuel to the Flame,” which was recorded and released as a single by American country artist Skeeter Davis from her 1967 album What Does It Take (To Keep a Man Like You Satisfied). “Fuel to a Flame” became the first major hit for the artist in two years, peaking at No. 11 on the Hot Country Singles chart. Like Phillips’ hit, Parton didn’t let her lyrics go to waste and also recorded a version of the song for Hello, I’m Dolly.
Shortly after the release of Phillips’ “Put It Off Until Tomorrow,” Loretta Lynn recorded the song on her 1966 album You Ain’t Woman Enough, which became her first number-one country album. That year, Davis and Jeannie Seely also covered Parton’s ballad.
In 1968, Parton covered the song with her then-collaborative partner Porter Wagoner and later recorded it with Kris Kristofferson in 1982, along with another Parton version in 1993 featuring Lynn and Tammy Wynette. In 2019, Crystal Gayle recorded a version of “Put It Off Until Tomorrow” with sisters Lynn and Peggy Sue.
Along with her Uncle Bill, many of Parton’s earlier collaborations were predominantly with men, including her work with Porter Wagoner and later with Kenny Rogers in the ’80s, along with plenty of female collaborators like her trio bandmates Linda Rondstadt and Emmylou Harris, along with Janis Ian, Lorrie Morgan, Norah Jones, and even her goddaughter Miley Cyrus.
Photo: Dolly Parton, circa 1974 (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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