Nigeria, Sept. 5 -- Like most people who dare to pursue improbable dreams, Dolly Parton wandered through a period of uncertainty, chasing fame and fortune while occasionally wondering whether she had made the right choice. Then, three years later, her fortunes changed dramatically. Country music star Porter Wagoner invited the twenty one year old Dolly to become the "girl singer" on his immensely popular, nationally syndicated television program, The Porter Wagoner Show.

Wagoner had been searching for someone to replace his female vocalist, Norma Jean, who had left the program after marrying and moving away. He recognized something in Dolly that others had not yet fully appreciated and gave the young singer what was, at that stage of her...