Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner’s Astrological Compatibility Explains Why They Fought ‘Like Cats and Dogs’
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner worked together for the breakthrough years of her career. He hired her as a singer on his show, and she wrote “I Will Always Love You” about the end of her time as his co-star. While they lifted each other to success, Parton admitted that they were constantly at each other’s throats. Given their zodiac signs, this is not surprising.
Dolly Parton said she and Porter Wagoner fought constantly
Parton joined The Porter Wagoner Show as a singer in 1967. Though she had been working on her music career since childhood, this gave her a level of exposure she hadn’t had before. Parton said she will always feel grateful to Wagoner for this. Despite this, their personalities clashed. Parton said that they fought constantly.
“We just got to where we argued and quarreled about personal things,” she said in the book Dolly on Dolly. “Things we had no business quarreling and arguing about. It was beginning to tarnish a really good relationship.”
Eventually, she realized their working relationship was no longer sustainable. She once admitted that they were fighting like “cats and dogs.”
“[A]ll we were doing was fighting, and it just wasn’t working,” she said on Dolly Parton’s America, adding, “I couldn’t think. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. He wasn’t happy either. I thought, ‘This is just insane. We’ve got to do something.’ That’s when I went in and said … I thought, ‘He’s not going to listen.’ We’d fought. I’d go home crying. That’s when I wrote ‘I Will Always Love You’ and went back to sing it.”
After she quit the show, Wagoner stayed on as her producer. When she told him she wanted to produce her own work, he went on to sue her for $3 million.
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner were not astrologically compatible
Parton was born on Jan. 19, making her a Capricorn. Wagoner, who was born on Aug. 12, was a Leo. These signs are virtual opposites. Leos are outgoing while Capricorns are more reserved. While it’s difficult to describe Parton as an introvert, she admitted that she put on a public persona, which is a Capricorn trait.
Both signs also tend to be stubborn and determined, which can lead to clashes, particularly when both feel that they are right. While opposites can attract, these signs need to know how to compromise to make things work between them. Parton and Wagoner weren’t always able to do this.
She forgave him before his death
After Wagoner sued Parton, she chose to settle out of court. They spent years on icy terms. Still, she visited him in the hospital before his death.
“I was with Porter when he was dying,” she wrote in her book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. “I forgave him, and I thanked him for all of the opportunities he gave me. I wanted him to know exactly how I felt. I told him everything was fine and asked him that if there was anything he needed to forgive me for, please do. I wanted him to be free of anything that he might have been worrying about.”
She said that while he wasn’t able to respond, he squeezed her hand, which made her believe he understood.
