Dolly Parton Said Her Years With Porter Wagoner Were the ‘Best and the Worst’ of Her Life
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner worked together for close to a decade. Her position on his television show brought her increased exposure and lifted her career to new heights. They released celebrated duets together and grew very close. Their working relationship also had its challenges, though. Parton said that her years with Wagoner were simultaneously the best and worst of her life.
Dolly Parton said working with Porter Wagoner was a positive and negative experience for her
Parton joined Wagoner’s show in 1967. In their years together, their close collaboration deepened into something they found difficult to explain to outsiders.
“[W]e had some wonderful times,” she said on The Ralph Emery Show in 1981, per the book Dolly on Dolly. “I’ll always respect Porter.”
Much of their time together was not all that positive, though.
“We went through some bad times,” she said. “We spent seven of the best and the worst years I ever had in my life. There’s a lot to be said about Porter, both ways. But I’m sure there’s a lot to be said about me, so it was pretty equal.”
Ultimately, though, she said she felt grateful for the time they spent collaborating.
“I think that we did a lot of good for each other,” she said. “I will always be grateful for the good things that I was always grateful for.”
Dolly Parton said the years after her collaboration with Porter Wagoner were heartbreaking
Their relationship in the years after they parted ways was much less fruitful. Wagoner resented her for leaving him, and he made that clear when he spoke to the media.
“It just broke my heart what he said about me, that he didn’t know why I left him, which is not the truth,” she said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash.
She did not like the way he portrayed her as the bad guy.
“Me and Porter fought all the time. We’ve fought for years,” she said. “I tried to tell him what I was trying to do. I tried to tell him my dreams and plans, but it was too touchy a thing. I had to go because we couldn’t share it together because he wouldn’t accept it. The article made me look like I had done a bad, vicious thing. It was as if he was trying to make me look bad and him good. He’s no better than me. I think we’re pretty equal.”
She shared what it would take for her to work with him again
Despite their acrimonious break up — Wagoner even sued her for $3 million — Parton said she would consider working with him again. Their dynamic would have to be completely different, though. She believed Wagoner had too much creative control in the past.
“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.”
