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45 single, Side A. RCA (PB-11983) (1980)
Image credit: spidey2 at 45cat.com
"Making Plans" is a single by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on June 2, 1980, by RCA Records as the first single from their thirteenth and final collaborative studio album, Porter & Dolly. The song was written by Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison. It was produced and arranged by Porter Wagoner. The single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Track listing

Side A
  • Making Plans (Johnny Russell, Voni Morrison) 2:09
Side B
  • Beneath the Sweet Magnolia Tree (Dolly Parton) 2:25

Recording

"Making Plans" was recorded on May 22, 1968, during a session for 1968's Just the Two of Us, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. Overdub sessions took place on December 3 and December 11, 1979, at Fireside Studio in Nashville. "Beneath the Sweet Magnolia Tree" was recorded on February 13, 1973, during a session for 1973's Love and Music at RCA Studio B in Nashville, with overdub sessions taking place on September 4, 1973, at RCA Studio B and on November 23, December 7, December 11, and December 14, 1979, at Fireside Studio in Nashville.

Audio

Critical reception

The single was reviewed in the June 14, 1980 issue of Cashbox magazine. The review said, "It's been a long, long time since Porter and Dolly had a single out and this will surely titillate and interest country fans. The old country ballad never sounded better."

Billboard did not formally review the single, but they did include it on the "recommended" section of their Top Single Picks in the June 14, 1980 issue.
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Cashbox review, June 14, 1980.

Commercial performance

"Making Plans" debuted at number 75 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated June 21, 1980. It peaked at number two on the chart dated September 6, its twelfth week on the chart, where it remained for an additional week. It charted for 17 weeks. It also peaked at number three on the Cashbox Country Singles chart. The single peaked at number 38 in Canada on the RPM Country Singles chart.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the 2014 box set, Just Between You and Me: The Complete Recordings, 1967–1976.
"Making Plans"
  • Joe Babcock – background vocals
  • Sudie Callaway – background vocals (overdub session; December 11, 1979)
  • Jerry Carrigan – drums
  • Anita Carter – background vocals
  • Pete Drake – steel guitar
  • Bobby Dyson – bass (overdub session; December 3, 1979)
  • Dolores Edgin – background vocals
  • Rita Figlio – background vocals (overdub session; December 11, 1979)
  • ​Roy Huskey Jr. – bass
  • ​Jimmy Isbell – drums (overdub session; December 3, 1979)
  • Mack Magaha – fiddle
  • George McCormick – rhythm gui-tar
  • Wayne Moss – electric guitar
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
  • Jerry Stembridge (Chip Young) – guitar
  • Buck Trent – electric banjo
  • Porter Wagoner – lead vocals
  • Curtis Young – background vocals (overdub session; December 11, 1979)
"Beneath the Sweet Magnolia Tree"
  • Joe Babcock – background vocals
  • Stu Basore – steel guitar (original session and overdub session; December 7, 1979)
  • George Binkley III – violin (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Sudie Callaway – background vocals (overdub session; December 11, 1979)
  • ​Marvin D. Chantry – viola (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Roy Christensen – cello (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • ​Charles Cochran – violin (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Jimmy Colvard –electric guitar (original session and overdub session; September 4, 1973)
  • Bobby Dyson – bass (original session and overdub session; November 23, 1979)
  • Dolores Edgin – background vocals
  • Rita Figlio – background vocals (overdub session; December 11, 1979)
  • Johnny Gimble – fiddle
  • Carl Joseph Gorodetzky – violin (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Lennie Height – violin (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Jimmy Isbell – drums (overdub session; November 23, 1979)
  • Dave Kirby – electric guitar (original session and overdub session; December 7, 1979)
  • Shelly Kurland – violin (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Mack Magaha – fiddle
  • Kenny Malone – drums
  • Dennis Molchan – viola (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Fred Newell – guitar (overdub session; December 7, 1979)
  • Ron Oates – piano
  • June Page – background vocals
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • Samuel Terranova – violin (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Buck Trent – electric banjo
  • Gary F. Vanosdale – viola (overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Porter Wagoner – lead vocals
  • Hurshel Wiginton – background vocals
  • Stephanie Woolf – violin ​(overdub session; December 14, 1979)
  • Curtis Young – background vocals (overdub session; December 11, 1979)