Before George (Jones) and Tammy (Wynette), before Conway (Twitty) and Loretta (Lynn), there was Porter and Dolly (1967-1974), originally brought together on Porter's laxative-sponsored TV show. With Wagoner's steady baritone anchoring Parton's gossamer soprano, the two breathed such emotional life into their songs of heated love and marital strife that many of their fans thought the pompadoured Porter and the cantilevered Dolly were husband and wife. While the majority of their duet albums included a dead-baby-gone-to-Jesus special, this compilation happily eschews all religious references except Dolly's gospelish tribute to her grandfather, "Daddy Was an Old-Time Preacher Man." What satisfies most is the carefully constructed harmonies, the two voices sliding in and out of prominence, then launching into a thrilling mix and breaking and gliding again. When they hit their stride on "Holding on to Nothin'," the most dramatic and cathartic performance here, they take a back seat to no other duet team in history. -Alanna Nash
The Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton,Porter Wagoner,Dolly Parton,RCA,Country,Country & Western,Pop
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The Essential Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
Porter Wagoner , and Dolly Parton Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
| Country
| Styles
| Music
Nashville Sound
| Traditional Country
| Country
| Styles
| Music
General
| Traditional Country
| Country
| Styles
| Music
Singer-Songwriters
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
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ASIN: B000002WXA Release Date: 1996-06-18 |
Tracks:
- The Last Thing On My Mind
- Holding On To Nothin'
- We'll Get Ahead Someday
- Yours Love
- Always, Always
- Just Someone I Used To Know
- Tomorrow Is Forever
- Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man
- Better Move It On Home
- The Right Combination
- Burning The Midnight Oil
- Lost Forever In Your Kiss
- Together Always
- We Found It
- Say Forever You'll Be Mine
- If Teardrops Were Pennies
- Please Don't Stop Loving Me
- Is Forever Longer Than Always
- If You Go, I'll Follow You
- Making Plans
Amazon.com essential recording
Before George (Jones) and Tammy (Wynette), before Conway (Twitty) and Loretta (Lynn), there was Porter and Dolly (1967-1974), originally brought together on Porter's laxative-sponsored TV show. With Wagoner's steady baritone anchoring Parton's gossamer soprano, the two breathed such emotional life into their songs of heated love and marital strife that many of their fans thought the pompadoured Porter and the cantilevered Dolly were husband and wife. While the majority of their duet albums included a dead-baby-gone-to-Jesus special, this compilation happily eschews all religious references except Dolly's gospelish tribute to her grandfather, "Daddy Was an Old-Time Preacher Man." What satisfies most is the carefully constructed harmonies, the two voices sliding in and out of prominence, then launching into a thrilling mix and breaking and gliding again. When they hit their stride on "Holding on to Nothin'," the most dramatic and cathartic performance here, they take a back seat to no other duet team in history. -Alanna NashCustomer Reviews:
More of Their Greatest HIts than--Their "Greatest Hits"!!.......2006-02-09
Porter Wagoner, from West Plains, MO and Dolly Parton, from Sevierville, TN had 20 Billboard duet hits from 1967 to 1980. This CD comprises ALL of those songs. Porter and Dolly were NOT husband and wife. (Combined the two produced 154 (!) chart hits from 1954-1995). The tracks follow in almost the exact sequence of their release. Favorites are always subjective but this reviewer especially liked "If Teardrops Were Pennies", "Is Forever Loner Than Always", "Making Plans" and a wailing "If You Go, I'll Follow You". Those last two were released in late 1980 and were their final duets. This reviewer has an especially warm place in his heart for "We'll Get Ahead Someday". He first heard it in 1970 in an Army barracks in Cam Ranh Bay while listening to AFVN ("from the Delta to the DMZ"). One wonders how many city boys received their introduction to country music by getting shipped to Vietnam! This reviewer could have done without the upbeat tracks of "Better Move It On Home" and "We Found It", but 18 of 20 solid tracks are a high percentage indeed! The only truly negative element is the informational jacket. Set in bizarrely hard to read overlaid typeface it assaults the eye. Whatever useful information contained therein is lost. Those negative points are mere nitpicking and do not merit deducting a star from the rating above. Many country fans would agree that there is something special about male- female duets. Dolly and Porter lasted far longer and produced more hits than icons Tammy/ George or Loretta/ Conway. A final word: The "Essential" series almost always satisfies. These albums can be relied upon to give us well-produced compilations of the best music from our Country heroes and the good old days, long gone. This reviewer has purchased several "Essentials" and has rarely been disappointed. My amazon friends should not be deterred that the CD is only available via a 3rd party purchase. This listener has always been satisfied with how amazon handles such "used" transactions. My CD arrived factory fresh, in perfect condition. There is no reason not to hit that "add to shopping cart" button-right now!
A stunning collection.......2002-09-26
The best available introduction to Porter and Dolly's duets.......2002-07-27
They recorded a lot of albums, all of which I bought on vinyl. This is the strongest compilation of their music so far released. Fifteen of the tracks can also be found on 20 greatest hits, yet if you use Billboard as a guide, the 20 tracks here were actually their 20 greatest hits. None of their songs about unlucky children are included here, but if you want those, two of them (Silver sandals and Jeannie's afraid of the dark) can be found on the other collection, along with Just between you and me, Before I met you and Forty miles from Poplar Bluff. To make may for those without increasing the number of tracks, they dropped Always always, The right combination, Together always, We found it and Say forever you'll be mine.
Many of the songs Porter and Dolly recorded were written by Dolly, including (on this set) Tomorrow is forever, Daddy was an old time preacher man, Lost forever in your kiss, Together always, Say forever you'll be mine. Porter also contributed by writing The right combination, Burning the midnight oil and We found it. Two of their biggest hits (Please don't stop loving me and If you go I'll follow you) were written by Porter and Dolly together.
They also recorded covers - not as many as was the custom in those days, but always well chosen. They had hits with The last thing on my mind (Tom Paxton), Yours love (previously a hit for Waylon), Just someone I used to know (originally a hit for George Jones, but titled A girl I used to know), If teardrops were pennies (first a hit for Carl Smith) and Making plans, written by Johnny Russell (who later also did a duet with Dolly on the song).
The other songs are excellent originals, written by a variety of writers. Every song on this collection is a masterpiece. Anybody who claims to be a true Dolly fan needs some of her duets with Porter, a fine singer with a nice baritome voice, but who will be forever remembered for his work with Dolly, despite being the first to have a hit with Green green grass of home and making many other wonderful records.
Very Very Good.......2001-12-29
An unamtched duo.......1999-06-29
Dolly would eventually write "I Will Always Love You," to explain her feelings to Porter once she left the show.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable compilation!
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