Like all the best songwriters, Dolly Parton has too much wit, inspiration, and material to keep all to herself. Hence, she has gifted numerous songs to folks such as Emmylou Harris, Whitney Houston, Skeeter Davis, and Hank Williams Jr.. And once upon a time, she also gave two songs away to both Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings.<\/p>\n
The crossover between Jennings, Parton, and Haggard resides in their domination of the \u201970s country music scene. Consequently, they were friends, collaborators, and in Haggard\u2019s case, even held unrequited love for one another. All that being so, Dolly Parton used her songwriting talents and gifted two songs to these two titans of the industry. And thanks to Parton\u2019s mastery and selflessness, they both scored quite a bit of success with the songs.<\/p>\n
Originally written by Parton in 1974, when Haggard heard the song he quickly jumped at the opportunity to make it his own. In an undocumented conversation, Parton agreed to Haggard\u2019s request, and he went on the garner hoards of success with the single.<\/p>\n
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Released in 1975, Haggard\u2019s cover of Parton\u2019s \u201cKentucky Gambler\u201d reached No. 1 on the country charts. This was Haggard\u2019s 19th No. 1 hit, and Dolly Parton\u2019s first-ever No. 1 hit as a songwriter. As a result of the successful collaboration, Haggard and Parton went on tour together in 1975. This is when Haggard seemingly grew incredibly more fond of his crush and songwriter, Dolly Parton. Three years later, Haggard iconically released his song, \u201cAlways Wanting You.\u201d<\/p>\n