Dolly Parton Revealed the Only Way She Would Work With Porter Wagoner Again

Dolly Parton joined Porter Wagoner’s show in 1967 and continued to appear on the program until 1974. Even after she left the show, she allowed Wagoner to produce her music. Eventually, she ended this collaboration, too. Parton explained that Wagoner didn’t give her enough creative control, and their once-close relationship spiraled into a feud. Parton once said she would be open to working with Wagoner again, but only on her terms.

Dolly Parton said the chances of her working with Porter Wagoner again were low

Parton left Wagoner behind at least in part because she wanted more control over her own career. In 1981, their relationship had fallen apart completely; Wagoner even sued her for millions. Still, Parton said a reunion wasn’t out of the question.

“I don’t know that there’ll be any duets in the future,” she said on The Ralph Emery Show, per the book Dolly on Dolly. “It’s certainly not an impossible thing. I don’t feel we’re enemies.”

She knew they would have to hammer out the terms of their collaboration, though.

“I would if we could come to some sort of agreement on how we would do it and where we both had control of what we were doing,” she said, adding, “I wouldn’t want to just go in and do it again with just Porter and get back in the same situations that we had.”

Both Parton and Wagoner had spoken about the fact that he was “the boss” when they worked together. He disliked Parton questioning his decisions, though she still did it often. When asked if Wagoner held all the creative control, though, she laughed.

“Well, he was the boss, but he didn’t have all the creativity,” she said. “He had control.”

Parton and Wagoner did not record together again, but they were on better terms before his death in 2007.