Dolly Parton always had a preference for small guitars. Over the years, she played small-scale three-quarter acoustic guitars and frequently performed with her custom Taylor GS Mini and Martin 5-18 Terz.
The country music icon, who passed away at age 80 on August 25, explained that her love of these smaller-bodied instruments goes back to her very first guitar, a small Martin acoustic given to her by her uncle Lewis, a guitarist who was just one of many musicians in Parton’s extended family.
“When he saw how serious I was about my music, he gave me his little Martin guitar,” Parton told Reverb. “It was my treasure.”
By the time she left home to begin her career at age 18, the Martin was too beat up to take on the road. Parton left it in the loft of her family home, hoping to have it repaired.
“My plan was always to — when I got money, when I got rich and famous — have it fixed up,” she said.
Unfortunately, the guitar was a victim of a fire.
“But the loft burned out of our house, and burned up my guitar, so I only have the neck of that one,” Parton said. “But I have collected little Martin guitars all through the years. I have some classic little guitars, especially the Martins, the baby Martins.”
Those small-bodied guitars have played a vital role in her career as a performer and songwriter of hits like “Jolene,” “Nine to Five” and “I Will Always Love You,” which she wrote as a farewell to her mentor and professional partner, Porter Wagoner.
My plan was always to — when I got money, when I got rich and famous — have it fixed up.”
— Dolly Parton
In 1967, Wagoner invited 21-year-old Parton to a weekly spot on his syndicated TV program, The Porter Wagoner Show. It boosted her popularity, which led Wagoner to convince his label, RCA, to sign her. Her first single, a duet with Wagoner of the Tom Paxton song “The Last Thing on My Mind,” reached the top 10 in January 1968 and began a six-year run of almost uninterrupted top-10 singles for the pair.
“I Will Always Love You” was released in 1974 after their partnership ended and became a number one hit.
“If it hadn’t been for Porter, I wouldn’t have written this song,” Parton said. “It was kind of my goodbye song to Porter.”
The song became one of Parton’s defining compositions, and decades later it reached an even wider audience when Whitney Houston’s recording for The Bodyguard soundtrack topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks. Parton’s decision decades earlier to retain her publishing rights — after declining Elvis Presley’s request for half the song’s publishing in exchange for recording it — ensured that she continued to benefit from one of the most successful songs ever written.
