Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner collaborated on plenty of occasions, but their 1972 album Together Always is considered one of their best.
On this date, 51 years ago to the day, Parton and Wagoner released Together Always, which was the duo’s eight studio album in which they collaborated. All of the songs that make up the track list were composed by either Wagoner or Parton, with no outside writers appearing on the album.
The two talented artists really brought some great songwriting to the project, and produced such hits as “Lost Forever in Your Kiss,” “Together Always,” and the instant classic “Ten Four-Over and Out,” which took advantage of the Citizen Band Radio phenomenon that was occurring at the time.
Together Always was a great addition to the catalogue of duet albums that the two all-time artists put out. It was also an important album cover for “Big Hair Awareness,” because there is no telling how much hairspray, product, and time went into prepping Dolly and Porter’s high hairstyles.
Even though the project was packed full of memorable songs, neither the album nor any of its songs ever reached the number one spot on the charts. Together Always peaked at the number three spot on the Billboard Hot Country LP’s chart, while “Lost Forever in Your Kiss” was the highest charting song, reaching the number nine spot on the Hot Country Singles chart.
The album’s title track is probably the highlight of the entire collaboration. It’s fast paced, has a great piano backing, and features some lovely vocal back-and-forth from Porter and Parton:
“Together Always”
Then you have the C.B. radio themed song that took the country music world by storm. It’s definitely unique, and might not be for everyone, but at least we get to really hear Dolly’s southern accent shine through in portions of the tune (especially when she says “ten”):
“Ten Four-Over and Out”
And finally, you’ve got the romantic exclamation point on the album, which slows things down a bit and still allows for the recognizable voices of Wagoner and Parton to beautifully work together, as always (see what I did there?):
“Lost Forever In Your Kiss”
