Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton were thick as thieves. Though, so were Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner. That being so, there was one time where Porter believed Parton betrayed him for the sake of her female peer, Emmylou Harris, and it surrounds Harris’ harrowing tune, “To Daddy.”
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“To Daddy” was released by Harris in 1978, but Parton originally wrote the song in 1975 and gifted it to Harris. This seemingly innocent act of selflessness did not go over well with Parton’s partner, as Wagoner was absolutely furious with Parton for doing so. In fact, Parton recalled the fight and stated that it was one of the largest they ever had.
Dolly Parton Merely Wanted to Build Up Her Credibility as a Songwriter
Dolly Parton’s reason for giving the track to Harris was personal and selfless at the same time. In short, she simply wanted to bolster her credibility as a songwriter, and she knew if Harris had success with the song, she too would have success. With all that in mind, Parton recalled the instance in which she gave the track to Harris against Wagoner’s wishes in her 2020 memoir, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.
Parton recalled in the book, “Porter always wanted everyone in town to hear everything we’d done. So he called Emmylou and said, ‘Come on over to the studio. We’ll play you some songs, some of Dolly’s stuff.’ So she came over to listen to what we’d done.” After they played “To Daddy,” Harris asked Parton if she would give her the song. Parton agreed, though, Wagoner did not in the slightest.
After Parton went against Wagoner’s wishes, she remembered him saying, “What the Hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t give her that song.” Parton’s response, “Yes I can, because it’s my song, and because I’m trying to build myself up as a songwriter.”
In retrospect, Parton attested to the difficulty of the situation by writing, “Yes I can, because it’s my song, and because I’m trying to build myself up as a songwriter.” “I don’t know, I probably could have had a No. 1 hit with it. But Emmylou was getting to be so big at that time. Plus, I believed in her and loved her work so much. So that’s when I realized how serious I am as a songwriter. I let her have it, in spite of everything else,” concluded Parton.
In the end, Dolly Parton achieved her mission and so did Harris. Furthermore, this act didn’t damage the career of Parton or Wagoner whatsoever, as they individually went on to produce massive hits far after the fact.
