The heart, hope and steely determination behind a musical legacy

Her early breakthrough came in 1967 when she was hired as the "girl singer" on The Porter Wagoner Show, a TV showcase for country singer Porter Wagoner that reached millions of viewers each week.Together, they released 21 hit duets including Just Someone I Used to Know, If Teardrops Were Pennies and Please Don't Stop Loving Me.But as Parton's star rose, she began to outshine her co-star. Eventually, she realised she needed to strike out as a solo artist – writing I Will Always Love You as a letter of apology to her former mentor. He responded by suing her for breach of contract in 1979, demanding $3m (£2,2m).Wanting to avoid a lengthy court battle, Parton settled for about $1m."I made up my mind that if he could live with it, I could live without it," she wrote in her autobiography. "I suppose Porter has done all right with it. I am neither his conscience nor his accountant."It was typical of the star's ability to radiate cheery goodwill that she never held a grudge against Wagoner, always crediting him with giving her a crucial career break, even after their relationship fell apart.But she was nobody's fool. Take, for example, the battle over the rights to I Will Always Love You.A...