Dolly Parton believes mentor Porter Wagoner thought of her as a threat
Country music icon Dolly Parton felt that her early mentor Porter Wagoner considered her a threat as her star grew.
Dolly Parton feels that her early mentor Porter Wagoner considered her a threat.
The country music legend landed a regular slot on the entertainer's TV series The Porter Wagoner Show in 1976 at the age of 21 but felt that he was trying to dictate what she could perform on stage as her star ascended.
Writing in her new book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage, Dolly said: "Little things like that caused us to start having a lot of problems. I was making my way as an artist, and he was already an established one. It was his show, but I was trying to grow in the business and grow as an artist myself.
"But trying to grow within somebody else's show when he takes everything as a threat or gets mad if you're getting more attention than him – what ends up growing is a tension.
"You have to know your own place, so to speak, and my place was anywhere I felt I needed to be. I thought, 'You ain't my director. God is.'"
The Jolene hitmaker was initially excited to join Wagoner because of the money involved but she soon started to feel as though she wasn't been fairly remunerated for her work.
Dolly, 79, said: "Porter made a lot of money as our stars rose, and he shared some of the wealth.
"The Wagonmasters all got bonus checks now and again, and Porter showered me with gifts. He gave me necklaces, rings, and a Cadillac, and those presents got a lot of attention in the media."
The 9 to 5 singer added: "But my paycheck never changed through all of that. I kept asking for a raise and never got one. 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.'"
Despite the friction between the pair, Dolly and Porter toured together for seven years and released a number of duets together - with such chemistry on stage that she had to deny that the pair were married.
The country icon – who was married to the reclusive Carl Dean until his death earlier this year – wrote: "Fans would sometimes ask if we were married, and I'd usually tell them, 'Yes, but not to each other!'
"I did love Porter in my own way, and since it seemed we were always together and Carl didn't appear often in public, my husband was almost like a ghost to the fans. Their fascination with Porter and me was bound to keep tongues wagging, and it did."
