(Credits: Far Out / Album Cover)
Thu 22 January 2026 21:00, UK
We know Dolly Parton as many things: an icon, philanthropist, author, and do-gooder, but before all of those labels, she fell under only one: country singer.
I mean, I’m saying that like we still don’t recognise her for as much today. Despite the other titles that apply to Parton, we still fondly know her as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the genre of country. Her songs, both happy and sad, have an ornate ability to tap into the very crooks of what it means to be human.
Her talent was always evident, she just needed the right person to recognise her, and that person came along in the form of Porter Wagoner. Wagoner was an established country music singer who would tour up and down the country, bringing his sound to as many ears as would listen. When he found out about Parton, he knew she was going to be big, and so asked her to come on the road with him.
The first time that Parton played with Wagoner, she was a guest on his TV show and replaced his previous duet partner, Norma Jean. You have to keep in mind that Parton was still very fresh-faced, so to be getting paid anything for playing music was a step in the right direction, let alone the amount that Wagoner was offering.
“He offered me $60,000 a year,” recalled the country star, “But that was like $1million to me! That was a lot of money back then”. There’s no “back then” about it, for a musician to be making $60,000 a year even now is a big deal, but your average musician isn’t Dolly Parton. It didn’t take long for the public to love her, and as the crowds flocked in to come and listen, so too did Parton realise she should be making more.
Parton would ask for a raise in her salary, but Wagoner was always reluctant to give her one. Granted, he did share his wealth, but this came more in the form of the occasional bonus and gift, rather than a permanent increase in what performers were making. While on the road with Wagoner, Parton recalled receiving necklaces, rings, and even a Cadillac, but the figure which landed in her bank at the end of every month never changed.
“My paycheck never changed through all of that. I kept asking for a raise and never got one,” she said. “He would buy me all these things and say, ‘Consider that your raise’. I said, ‘I don’t want the gifts. I want to buy my own gifts. I want the money.’”
Eventually, Parton realised that it was time for her to leave the tour and pursue her own career as a solo artist, because she knew that she could make it on her own, but just needed to make the leap and go for it, and while she might have grown to resent touring with Wagoner somewhat due to her efforts not being appreciated enough, she did always respect the platform he gave her and what he did for her career.
As a parting gift, as Parton dove headfirst into an independent career, she wrote a song for Wagoner. You might have heard it? It’s a little-known number called ‘I Will Always Love You’. “I wrote that song to say, ‘Here’s how I feel. I will always love you, but I have to go,’” she concluded.
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