<p id=”par-1_69″>In 1967, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/dolly-parton/”>Dolly Parton’s</a> career reached new heights when Porter Wagoner invited her to <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-nearly-booed-off-stage-first-porter-wagoner-appearance.html/”>appear on his television show</a>. The spot on <em>The Porter Wagoner Show</em> 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.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dolly-parton-said-porter-wagoner-did-not-discover-nbsp-her”>Dolly Parton said Porter Wagoner did not discover her</h2>
<p id=”par-2_37″>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 <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-uncles-very-involved-early-music-career.html/”>her uncle did more</a> to get her started as a musician.</p>
<p id=”par-3_69″>“I sometimes wonder if Porter doesn’t take more credit than he deserves,” she wrote in the book <em><a href=”https://dollyparton.com/book/dolly-my-life-and-other-unfinished-business-autobiography” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business</a></em>. “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.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” fetchpriority=”high” width=”1200″ height=”930″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”A black and white picture of Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner leaning towards each other.” class=”wp-image-3651293″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=640&h=496 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=1024&h=794 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=768&h=595 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=452&h=350 452w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=218&h=169 218w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=200&h=155 200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=654&h=507 654w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=300&h=232 300w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Wagoner.jpg?w=77&h=60 77w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_35″>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. </p>
<p id=”par-5_44″>“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 <em>American Bandstand</em>.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dolly-parton-was-grateful-for-the-way-porter-wagoner-lifted-her-nbsp-career”>Dolly Parton was grateful for the way Porter Wagoner lifted her career</h2>
<p id=”par-6_32″>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.</p>
<p id=”par-7_30″>“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.</p>
<p id=”par-8_19″>She added that she grew as an artist and a person in the years she spent working with him.</p>
<p id=”par-9_42″>“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.” </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-their-working-relationship-ended-on-a-sour-nbsp-note”>Their working relationship ended on a sour note</h2>
<p id=”par-10_28″>Wagoner and Parton presented as a smiling duo in public, but their private relationship was far stormier. She admitted that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-porter-wagoner-turned-their-demons-loose-each-other.html/”>they fought often</a> and, when she exited his show, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-paid-husband-porter-wagoner-sued.html/”>he sued her</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-11_67″>“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.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” width=”1200″ height=”1187″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner smile together. They both wear pink shirts.” class=”wp-image-3651295″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?w=505&h=500 505w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?w=1024&h=1013 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?w=768&h=760 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?w=354&h=350 354w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?w=171&h=169 171w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?w=200&h=198 200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?w=513&h=507 513w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dolly-Parton-Porter-Wagoner.jpg?w=61&h=60 61w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton | GAB Archive/Redferns</figcaption></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-painful-decision-fire-best-friend.html/”>
Dolly Parton Made the Painful Decision to Fire Her Best Friend </a>
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</div>
<p id=”par-12_15″>The money was more than she had, but she worked hard to pay it all.</p>
<p id=”par-13_67″>“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.”</p>
<p id=”par-14_8″>Even after all this, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-forgave-porter-wagoner-died.html/”>Parton forgave Wagoner</a> before his death.</p>