Dolly Parton Denied Porter Wagoner Had Anything to Do With Discovering Her
In 1967, Dolly Parton’s career reached new heights when Porter Wagoner invited her to appear on his television show. The spot on The Porter Wagoner Show brought her increased exposure, and their duets consistently landed her in the Top 10 on country charts. Still, Parton bristled at the notion that Wagoner discovered her. She had been working as a musician for a long time before she joined Wagoner on his show.
Dolly Parton said Porter Wagoner did not discover her
Parton was unquestionably grateful for the impact Wagoner had on her career. Still, she wondered if he got a bit too much credit for her success. She believed her uncle did more to get her started as a musician.
“I sometimes wonder if Porter doesn’t take more credit than he deserves,” she wrote in the book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “On the other hand, I often wonder if he gets enough credit. Porter did not discover me, as my Uncle Bill had spent many years heading me in the right direction. Bill had brought me to the attention of Fred Foster, Monument Records, and Combine Publishing.”
Wagoner also did not pluck her out of obscurity. Instead, he heard about the “new girl on the scene” and welcomed her to join the show. She was already a rising star in country music.
“I had three chart records of my own and had co-written a ‘country song of the year’ with Uncle Bill,” she wrote, adding, “I had a band and had traveled around the country by then. I had appeared on national television shows, including American Bandstand.”
Dolly Parton was grateful for the way Porter Wagoner lifted her career
While Parton resented the fact that people put her rise to success in Wagoner’s hands, she was grateful to him. He may not have discovered her, but he certainly helped her career.
“I want to say that I will forever be grateful to Porter for the chance he gave me to display my God-given talent in such a big way,” she wrote.
She added that she grew as an artist and a person in the years she spent working with him.
“I think it was God’s will for a higher purpose for both of us,” she wrote. “I can’t speak for Porter, but I truly believe I have become a wiser and better person for the growth I accomplished during those difficult years.”
Their working relationship ended on a sour note
Wagoner and Parton presented as a smiling duo in public, but their private relationship was far stormier. She admitted that they fought often and, when she exited his show, he sued her.
“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,” Parton wrote. “I could have probably won the case in court, but to spare Carl and my family the heartache a long bitter court fight would have caused, I agreed to settle out of court for around one million dollars.”
The money was more than she had, but she worked hard to pay it all.
“I paid the debt. It took everything I had, everything Carl had, everything I could make for years to come, but I paid it,” she wrote. “I made up my mind that if he could live with it, I could live without it. I have done all right without it. I suppose Porter has done all right with it. I am neither his conscience nor his accountant.”
Even after all this, Parton forgave Wagoner before his death.
