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45 single, Side A. RCA Victor (47-9994) (1971)
Image credit: spidey2 at 45cat.com
"The Right Combination" is a single by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on May 24, 1971, by RCA Victor as the first single from Porter and Dolly's seventh collaborative studio album, The Right Combination • Burning the Midnight Oil. It was written by Porter and produced by Bob Ferguson. The single peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Track listing

Side A
  • The Right Combination (Porter Wagoner) 2:51
Side B
  • The Pain of Loving You (Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton) 2:05

Recording

"The Right Combination" was recorded on April 7, 1971, by RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. The B-side, "The Pain of Loving You", was recorded on December 14, 1970, and was previously released on Porter and Dolly's Two of a Kind album ini February 1971.

Audio

Critical reception

The single was reviewed int he June 5, 1971 issue of Billboard magazine. "The Right Combination" is described as a "fine rhythm ballad" and Porter and Dolly "sing it for all its worth."

The Cashbox review in the June 5, 1971 issue said, "Porter and Dolly have been the right combination for years, and this record proves the point. Concentrating on vocal harmony, "The Right Combination" will soar to the country charts, keeping alive the duo's current string of successful hit records."
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Billboard review, June 5, 1971.
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Cashbox review, June 5, 1971.

Commercial performance

"The Right Combination"debuted at number 59 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated June 26, 1971. It peaked at number 14 on the chart dated August 14, its eighth week on the chart. It charted for 12 weeks. The single peaked at number 106 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart. It also peaked at number 11 on the Cashbox Country Singles chart. The single peaked at number 26 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.
"The Right Combination"
  • Joseph Babcock – background vocals
  • Jerry Carrigan – drums
  • Pete Drake – steel guitar
  • Bobby Dyson – bass
  • Dolores Edgin – background vocals
  • Bob Ferguson – producer
  • Dave Kirby – electric guitar
  • Mack Magaha – fiddle
  • ​George McCormick – rhythm guitar
  • June Page – background vocals
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
  • Buddy Spicher – fiddle
  • Jerry Stembridge (Chip Young) – rhythm guitar
  • Buck Trent – electric banjo
  • Porter Wagoner – lead vocals
​"The Pain of Loving You"
  • Joseph Babcock – background vocals
  • Glenn Baxter – trumpet
  • Jerry Carrigan – drums
  • Pete Drake – steel guitar
  • Bobby Dyson – bass
  • Dolores Edgin – background vocals
  • Bob Ferguson – producer
  • Johnny Gimble – fiddle
  • Dave Kirby – electric guitar
  • Mack Magaha – fiddle
  • ​George McCormick – rhythm guitar
  • June Page – background vocals
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
  • Dale Sellers – electric guitar
  • Donald Sheffield Jr. – trumpet
  • Buck Trent – electric banjo
  • Porter Wagoner – lead vocals