Tree International Publishing

Dolly was now 16 or 17 years old, and she moves to Nashville with her uncle, the same uncle who had originally gotten her on the radio show back in her hometown, that Cass Walker show.

for the same uncle also who helped her get signed with her very first publishing company to produce Puppy Love, and with Tree Publishing and Mercury Records.

My point is, Dolly's uncle was pivotal to helping her not only get her foot in the door at some of these places, but helping her break away from her home life and become her own person in a new city.

By 1963, Dolly had found a new home at Somerset Records.

So all the publishing companies, they hire, if there's female songs, that you can get a job singing those songs.

So I got work through Tree Publishing Company.

Buddy Killen was a dear friend.

And so he would get me on these sessions singing some of the songs that these writers had written, singing the girls' songs.

maneuver

with all that so So I made money.

And then I also got on a small salary with Tree Publishing Company in those early days.

And then later I got with the Combine Music with Fred Foster of Monument Records.

So I, I know how lucky I've been, and I'm grateful for it every day, 'cause I love what I do.

Now, another thing you did early on is that you sent songs to Buddy Killen, the head of Tree Publishing, which is a big country music publisher.

And did you get other people to record your songs?

Well, I wrote a song with my Uncle Bill Owens, the same uncle that I was talking about.