45 single, Side A. RCA Victor (PB-10010) (1974)
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"Please Don't Stop Loving Me" is a single by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on July 15, 1974, as the only single from their eleventh collaborative studio album, Porter 'n' Dolly. It was written by Dolly and Porter and produced by Bob Ferguson. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming Dolly's fourth song to top the chart and only chart topper with Porter. The song received the Country Award from BMI in 1975.
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Track listing
Side A
- Please Don't Stop Loving Me (Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner) 2:45
- Sounds of Nature (Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner) 2:17
Background
Dolly recalled in her 2020 book, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, that she and Porter used to write songs together, saying that "sometimes it was easy, sometimes not. We were both very bullheaded." She described "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" as "a very commercial song." She went on to say, "All of the things that he and I wrote together were bits and pieces of what our relationship had been—the good, the bad, the indifferent, and the different. That one happened to be the very last thing we did together, and it was the one that went to No. 1. That's kind of ironic, ain't it?"
Recording
"Please Don't Stop Loving Me" was recorded on May 24, 1974, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. "Sounds of Nature" was recorded during a September 30, 1971 session for the 1972 album, The Right Combination • Burning the Midnight Oil.
Audio
Critical reception
The single was not formally reviewed by Billboard, but they did include it in the "also recommended" portion of their Top Single Picks section in the issue dated July 27, 1974.
Commercial performance
"Please Don't Stop Loving Me" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated August 3, 1974. It peaked at number one on the chart dated October 12, its eleventh week on the chart. It was Porter and Dolly's only song to top the chart. The single charted for 17 weeks. It also peaked at number two on the Cashbox Country Singles chart. It was less successful in Canada where it peaked at number 45 on the RPM Country Singles chart.
Accolades
"Please Don't Stop Loving Me" received the Country Award from BMI in 1975.
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the 2014 box set, Just Between You and Me: The Complete Recordings, 1967–1976.
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"Please Don't Stop Loving Me"
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"Sounds of Nature"
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