The Greatest Oldies Music

Country

Dolly Parton returned to Porter Wagoner’s office with a song that said what an argument couldn’t. Their confrontation in early 1974 had followed seven years together on his syndicated television show, where he introduced her as his ‘pretty little girl singer.’ She had smiled in rhinestone dresses while he led the show. Now she wanted room for her own songs and a career beyond the supporting role. Porter’s threats of lawsuits and financial ruin had sent her home, but she reached for an acoustic guitar rather than an attorney. She stayed awake until dawn, crying as she worked. What emerged held gratitude, sadness, and a clear goodbye. By morning, ‘I Will Always Love You’ filled a pad of lined paper. Sitting opposite Porter’s large oak desk the next day, Dolly sang it to him. As the last note ended, he lowered his head into his hands and wept. ‘That’s the prettiest song I ever heard,’ he whispered. ‘You can go, Dolly—on one condition: let me produce the record.’ The song gave him a way to hear both her affection and her determination to leave. With it, Dolly secured the freedom she had struggled to claim.

In 1956, ten-year-old Dolly Parton stepped onto the stage of the Cas Walker Show in Knoxville, Tennessee, and received a response that would stay with Dolly Parton for the rest of her life.

The audience loved the little girl from the Smoky Mountains. People cheered and wanted to hear another song.

There was just one problem. Dolly Parton didn’t know another song.

So Dolly Parton sang the same song again. And again.

Years later, Dolly Parton laughed about that first performance in a 2012 interview with MusicRow. At the time, Dolly Parton was convinced that the applause meant a great singing career was just around the corner. Only later did Dolly Parton realize that some of the audience’s enthusiasm came from seeing such a young child perform.

But one man had already believed in Dolly Parton’s talent long before that audience began cheering.

That man was Dolly Parton’s uncle, Bill Owens.

The Man With the Red Gretsch Guitar

Bill Owens was the brother of Dolly Parton’s mother, Avie Lee Parton, and a musician with ambitions of his own.

Bill Owens recognized Dolly Parton’s interest in songwriting and performing while Dolly Parton was still growing up in East Tennessee. Rather than treating those childhood dreams as something that would eventually pass, Bill Owens encouraged Dolly Parton to take  music seriously.

Bill Owens helped Dolly Parton practice, arranged opportunities to perform, and accompanied Dolly Parton to local shows. Onstage, Bill Owens often stood nearby with a big red Gretsch guitar.

That guitar became one of Dolly Parton’s most vivid memories of the early years.

Getting Dolly Parton onto the Cas Walker Show was an important breakthrough. The program introduced Dolly Parton to audiences beyond the family home and gave Dolly Parton something that every young performer needs: experience and confidence.

But Bill Owens was not satisfied with one successful appearance.

Knocking on Doors in Nashville

As Dolly Parton grew older, Bill Owens continued helping Dolly Parton pursue opportunities in the music business.

The two traveled between East Tennessee and Nashville, visiting record labels and music publishers in the hope of getting their songs heard.

Success did not arrive immediately.

Dolly Parton made an early recording of “Puppy Love” in 1957, which was released in 1959 without becoming a chart hit.

In 1962, Dolly Parton and Bill Owens secured opportunities with Tree Publishing and Mercury Records. Those early recordings failed to establish Dolly Parton commercially, and the arrangements ended.

For a young songwriter, that kind of disappointment could have been discouraging. Bill Owens continued writing, performing, and helping Dolly Parton find another opening.

In 1965, Dolly Parton and Bill Owens found a new opportunity through Fred Foster’s Combine  Music and Monument Records.

The years of traveling, songwriting, and approaching music companies were beginning to pay off.

The Song That Finally Opened Doors

In 1966, country singer Bill Phillips released “Put It Off Until Tomorrow,” a song written by Dolly Parton and Bill Owens.

The recording reached the country Top 10, peaking at No. 6 on Billboard’s country chart.

Dolly Parton also sang harmony on the recording, giving listeners an early opportunity to hear the distinctive voice that would eventually become familiar around the world.

The composition earned Dolly Parton and Bill Owens a BMI songwriting honor in 1966.

This was more than a successful record. It demonstrated that the songs Dolly Parton and Bill Owens had spent years writing and promoting could compete in Nashville’s professional music business.

In 1967, Dolly Parton and Bill Owens also became involved in establishing Owepar Publishing, strengthening Dolly Parton’s position as a songwriter with interests beyond recording and performing.

Bill Owens had helped Dolly Parton take another important step toward building a lasting career.

Sixty-Five Years After That First Show

On April 7, 2021, Bill Owens died at the age of 85.

Dolly Parton marked the loss with a personal tribute that looked back on the years when Bill Owens was always encouraging, accompanying, and helping.

By then, Dolly Parton’s childhood dreams had become a remarkable music career. Yet the memories Dolly Parton chose to share were not primarily about fame or awards.

Dolly Parton remembered practicing songs, performing beside that red Gretsch guitar, and walking through Nashville with Bill Owens in search of opportunities.

In the tribute, Dolly Parton wrote:

“I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t been there.”

Those words were a deeply personal acknowledgment of everything Bill Owens had contributed.

When Dolly Parton was ten years old, Bill Owens had helped put Dolly Parton in front of an audience that wanted to hear one more song.

Decades later, after millions of records sold and countless performances, Dolly Parton still remembered the man who had taken Dolly Parton to that first show.

For Dolly Parton, Uncle Bill Owens was never simply a relative who loved music. Bill Owens was the person who believed in Dolly Parton’s dreams early enough to help make those dreams possible.

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