Porter Wagoner led the most successful country music television show of its time, and in 1967 he needed a new “girl singer.” He turned to a 21 year old songwriter named Dolly Parton, who’d just recorded her first hit “Dumb Blonde.” So began a nearly decade-long partnership that, behind the scenes, was as contentious as it was commercially successful. This episode tells the story of the “Porter years,” the period during which Dolly arguably discovers her power - both as a performer and songwriter - and then makes the difficult (and radical for its time) decision to strike out on her own. Through interviews with Dolly, country music star Marty Stuart, Wagonmaster Buck Trent, and Porter’s daughter Deborah Wagoner, we explore how Dolly handled what’s sometimes called the great “hillbilly divorce” with such characteristic grace.
Listener supported WNYC Studios this is Dolly Partons America.
I'm Jad Abumrad.
We are at the second of nine trips into the Dollyverse.
And in this one, I want to tell the story behind the greatest selling song by a female artist of all time.
You probably know the song I'm talking about, but if you don't, I'm not going to tell you.
It's just going to happen organically.
It's going to be beautiful.
But this is a song that hit number one in three consecutive decades.
Think about that.
One song just keeps hitting number one over and over.
Well, behind that song are so many stories.
The story of a collaboration, a historic collaboration, and the story of Dolly's grand metamorphosis.
I'm gonna sit on this pillow.
That one was better for height.
Oh, can you.
Yeah, bring it up.
I'm so little, I don't feel like I'm sitting in the floor.
And maybe not just hers, but so many people.
I talked about it with her back in Nashville in that studio.
My chair's squeaking on that squeaky chair.