08/29/2026
I'll forever remember the two of them together
at my grandfathers shoe shop and the time Porter told me he was pretty old and wouldn't be around when I grew up.
Dolly said I reminded her of Pinocchio.
Dolly Parton and Porter Waggoner arrive in San Antonio for the stock show in 1970. It's kind of strange seeing Porter Waggoner in street clothes considering the outrageous outfits he wore on stage. He and Dolly were creative partners for seven years. Here's something you might not know: Dolly wrote "I Will Always Love You," for Porter, specifically as her farewell to Porter, when she was trying to leave their professional partnership and his television show.
On Dolly's website, she recounts that she couldn't get Wagoner to accept that she needed to leave, so she decided to express it in a song. She brought the newly written song to him and sang it. According to Parton, Porter cried when he heard it and told her it was the prettiest song ever written, then agreed she could leave provided that he was allowed to produce the record. It became a number one hit song THREE times: twice for Dolly and once for Whitney Houston.
