Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton

This is just too sweet to pass by. I was listening to some of Dolly Parton’s greatest hits this morning and came upon this video of her at the Grand Ol’ Opry singing her signature love song, “I Will Always Love You,” to Porter Wagoner, the man who inspired who to write it.

Wagoner, a considerable force in country music at the time, and still remembered fondly, had a musical show that ran on television for several years. Wagoner invited Dolly to join his cast in 1967, and The Porter Wagoner Show became the vehicle by which Dolly was introduced to the country. Watching his show on occasion is how I first came to know of Dolly, and the two country music giants were identified with each other over the course of several years as they recorded hit duet after hit into the mid-1970s.

When Dolly decided, after seven years, that it was time for her to move on, Wagoner didn’t take it well. Dolly wrote this song as an ode to the man who gave her her first big break in television, had produced many of her first songs, and with whom she achieved a ten-year string of top-ten hits. Wagoner and Dolly were named Vocal Group of the Year by the Country Music Association in 1968. Knowing that he was not happy with her departure, Dolly wrote this song and performed it on her guitar in Wagoner’s dressing room or office (don’t recall which), with only the two of them present. Wagoner, of course, loved the song and told Dolly that, if she let him produce it, she would be free to move on. She did, he did, and she did, moving on to become a star that would eclipse Wagoner and nearly every other country music star of her generation.

So, when I came across this video, it was too good to not share with you. The memories of watching The Porter Wagoner Show as a child and my first memories of Dolly being watching her on that show makes this video a special one for me and for all fans that are so grateful to Porter Wagoner for making Dolly’s own career take off. This video comes from an special at the Grand Ol’ Opry from 2007 honoring Porter Wagoner. He would pass away later that year in Nashville, like Dolly and, also like Dolly, at the age of 80.

Enjoy!

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.