Dolly Parton | Articles and Latest News | Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Porter Wagoner Shared Why the Way Dolly Parton Left Him Was ‘so Wrong’

Emma McKee — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 14:13:00 +0000

Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner worked together in the early days of her career. He hired her to sing on his show and they collaborated on multiple albums. As the 1970s wore on, though, Parton began to want to build a solo career. Her decision to leave their partnership greatly wounded Wagoner. He believed that the way she went about leaving him was not right.

Porter Wagoner felt betrayed by Dolly Parton

Even after Parton left Wagoner’s show, they continued to have a working relationship. He produced her albums, at least for a time. As she further honed her solo career, she realized she wanted to be her own producer. She moved forward without Wagoner, which he saw as a major betrayal.

“It was the way the move was done, the manner in which it was done that was so wrong,” he said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “Because at each meeting that we would have with RCA, or with the record execs who were talking about directing Dolly’s career more toward the pop market, I never failed to mention at any time that if the production of her records was short in any way, I would be happy to work with or step aside and let anyone else get involved who they thought was better qualified. And even with this happening, the entire move was done behind my back and with her and RCA.”

Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton | GAB Archive/Redferns

He said that working for Parton had harmed his career. He felt he deserved better treatment from her as a result.

“[T]he schedule was so heavy, in having to put time in on her records and our duet records, that I decided to quit the road,” he said. “Had I not been producing Dolly Parton’s records and the duet records, I would not have quit the road, ’cause my schedule would have been loose enough that I coulda done the things they wanted to do. That’s the reason I felt that it was such an underhanded thing to do.”

Dolly Parton felt trapped in her working relationship with Porter Wagoner

Many people surrounding Parton said that Wagoner was an anchor on her career. When she moved on from their working relationship, she was able to build the type of career she had always wanted. She said that she had always wanted to write songs like “Jolene,” but could not while she was with Wagoner.

“That was the first time I noticed people sayin’, ‘That’s different than what you been doin’,’” she said. “But I had been fightin’ for that sort of thing for years. I had all these songs I was writin’, and I was developin’ musically, as far as a different style of pickin’ and hearin’ different sounds in my mind was concerned. ‘Jolene’ was the first good example of the fact that you can be yourself and still improve on whatever you do.”

She wrote ‘I Will Always Love You’ for him

Before Parton moved on from Wagoner as her producer, she had to extricate herself from her role on The Porter Wagoner Show. He did not want her to leave, so she wrote the song “I Will Always Love You” for him.

“[A]ll we were doing was fighting, and it just wasn’t working,” she said on Dolly Parton’s America, adding, “I couldn’t think. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. He wasn’t happy either. I thought, ‘This is just insane. We’ve got to do something.’ That’s when I went in and said … I thought, ‘He’s not going to listen.’ We’d fought. I’d go home crying. That’s when I wrote ‘I Will Always Love You’ and went back to sing it.”

Wagoner was so moved by the song that he told her she could leave if he could produce the record.

Dolly Parton ‘Almost Fell Over’ in Shock When She Posed With a Near-Naked Arnold Schwarzenegger

Emma McKee — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 15:16:00 +0000

Dolly Parton and Arnold Schwarzenegger posed together for an interview she gave with Rolling Stone. The pictures caused a bit of a stir, as Schwarzenegger was practically naked in them. Parton could hardly talk about the photo shoot without dissolving into laughter. She shared what it was like to take the photos.

Dolly Parton posed with Arnold Schwarzenegger for Rolling Stone

In 1977, Annie Leibovitz photographed Parton and Schwarzenegger for Rolling Stone magazine. Parton said she hadn’t known what to expect when she walked into the shoot.

“I just thought I was just gonna take regular pictures,” she told interviewer Huell Howser, per the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “But when I got there, this girl, it’s a real popular photographer, Annie Leibovitz, she’s really, really sharp, and she comes up with some real good ideas. But when I walked in, here was this naked man.”

Schwarzenegger wore a red Speedo, but Parton covered it in some of the photos, giving the impression that he was fully naked. She could hardly talk about it without laughing.

Dolly Parton | Paul Natkin/Getty Images

“Almost naked — had on these little skin-tight, uh, shorts, and all this . . . body, and it was just … I just almost fell over. [Laughter],” she said. “And I said [she gets a mischievous glint in her eye], ‘What are me and him gonna do together?’ [She squeals on the last syllable, and then begins giggling so hard she almost can’t tell the story. Howser can hardly contain himself.] And the idea she had was the male and female body. And it turned out really neat.”

She said she enjoyed working with Schwarzenegger that day.

“It’s got a lot of … attention, yeah, and they made some posters up of ‘em,” she said. “And he was such a nice guy to know. We had a fun day takin’ the pictures, but, like I say, it was new to me.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger shared what it was like to pose with Dolly Parton

Schwarzenegger said he also enjoyed shooting with Parton. In an interview with Time Magazine, he said she was the perfect weight in his arms.

“[She was] the nicest weight I have lifted in a long time,” he said. “I did a one-arm curl with her. She was about 110 pounds, good resistance. My biceps felt very good after that. So did I.”

Some people were unhappy with the story that ran with the pictures

In the interview itself, Parton spoke to journalist Chet Flippo. She talked openly about her body, sex, and the “hot and heavy” stories she wrote as a “horny” teenager. Parton’s former designer, Lucy Adams, believed this reflected a changed version of the singer. Because of this, she didn’t think that the story could all be true.

Dolly Parton | Paul Natkin/Getty Images

“I think it’s their own writing lots of times,” Adams said, adding, “I can’t see Dolly changing that much, ’cause I don’t think Dolly would change basically from what she has always been. I told her when we were doing the show, ‘Dolly, don’t ever change.’ She said, ‘I can’t. I have to just be me.’”

She worried that changing in this way would do nothing good for Parton’s career.

“I hope she never does, and I don’t think she has to,” Adams said. “I don’t think she could better herself by changing in any way.”

Still, Parton said she was happy with the way the interview turned out.

Dolly Parton Was ‘on the Brink of Being Scared’ in Front of a Star-Studded Audience

Emma McKee — Sun, 04 Aug 2024 18:15:00 +0000

In 1977, Dolly Parton’s career was on enough of an upward trajectory that she was performing for audiences of celebrities. At a show in New York, a number of big names turned up to watch Parton sing. While Parton is confident in her abilities, she admitted that getting in front of this crowd was a daunting task.

Dolly Parton performed to an audience of celebrities at one concert

In 1977, Parton geared up to play three shows at New York’s Bottom Line. This was a big opportunity for her, as it gave her a chance to perform songs from her more pop-centric album New Harvest … First Gathering. Parton had been performing in front of audiences for years at this point, but the show in New York felt like a new frontier. It didn’t help that there were many highly recognizable faces in the audience.

Dolly Parton | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty

According to the book Dolly by Alanna Nash, celebrities like Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Candice Bergen, Phoebe Snow, John Belushi, Lily Tomlin, Eric Idle, Patti Smith, and Janis Ian were in attendance. Parton admitted that she found the crowd a bit intimidating, but she was able to relax once she got onstage.

“I was a little nervous — on the brink of being scared,” she said. “But when I walked out on stage, I was at ease. The crowd was just great.”

Dolly Parton felt out of place with audiences like this, said her guitarist

According to Parton’s guitarist, Don Roth, she often felt ill at ease when she was around celebrities.

“One thing I learned a long time ago is that Dolly Parton is still very much a little girl. She’s very uneasy in surroundings she doesn’t know,” Roth said. “I think that’s the only reason she likes her bus. It’s a security blanket to her. She leaves the concert, she goes back to her little room on the bus. And I know she’s very insecure at these press parties she does only because RCA or Katz-Gallin says do ’em. She’d rather go back to the bus and get into a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.”

He said that she went “into the shell” when she felt out of place and didn’t seem like her typical warm, bubbly self. Still, she won over the crowd in New York with her onstage banter.

She admitted she still feels starstruck around some people

Even after years of fame, Parton admitted that she sometimes feels starstruck. She said that Jagger, who was in the audience at her New York show, is someone who still makes her feel nervous. Several other rock stars also impress her.

Dolly Parton and Mick Jagger | Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images

“I’m working on a rock album now, and I’ve been talking to Elton John, Mick Jagger, and Debbie Harry,” she told People. “Every time I speak to one of them, it’s just such a thrill.”

Dolly Parton Said Her No. 1 Album Wasn’t ‘the Kind of Hit’ She Wanted

Emma McKee — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 18:30:00 +0000

In 1977, Dolly Parton released the album Here You Come Again, representing her calculated move onto the pop charts. This had been Parton’s goal, but she wasn’t sure she was thrilled with the method of getting there. While she liked the album, she said it was slicker than something she normally would have liked to put out.

Dolly Parton said one successful album sounded too slick for her

Parton released the single “Here You Come Again” at the encouragement of her management team. She didn’t write the song, and she wasn’t sure if she loved the way it sounded.

“I knew the song was a hit, but I wasn’t sure if it was the kind of hit I wanted,” she said, per the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “I wouldn’t want to get labeled with this slick production because my own songs are a lot more gutsy and a lot more soulful. The album is slicker than I’ve ever heard myself, or would probably ever want to hear myself again. But it was somethin’ I purposely did.”

Still, she released the album for a reason. It landed her on the pop charts and was her best-selling work to that point.

“We were purposely trying to get a single and an album that would cross over. And we did,” she said. “In three weeks, the single sold more than anything else I’ve ever had out. And in two weeks, the album outsold any other album I’ve ever done.”

Dolly Parton warned her producer that she didn’t want the album to stray too far from country

Parton feared Here You Come Again would alienate her longtime country fans. While she trusted her management team and her producer, she warned them not to stray too far from her roots. Parton told them she wouldn’t trust them again if the album angered her fans.

“She was questioning whether it would be a country hit,” her manager, Sandy Gallin, said. “She told me, ‘I’m not going to trust you again if the country people don’t like this.’ She’s very sensitive to not offending her country fans. That’s important to her.”

She said she wanted to start recording more traditional songs again

While Parton prides herself on her songwriting, she only wrote four of the songs on Here You Come Again. She hoped to bring more of her own writing to the public on later records. She also wanted to put traditional country songs on her albums.

Dolly Parton | Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

“Evidently, my own songs, as they were, didn’t quite hack it, so we purposely included songs that were recognized by the pop world,” she said. “But once I crack that market, my own songs will be accepted. And when I get to where I want to go — which is a long way from here — I’ll still be going back and doing the old traditional songs and preserving them that way.”

Dolly Parton Couldn’t Have Held Her Own With Barbara Walters if Their Interview Happened Earlier

Emma McKee — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 15:03:00 +0000

In 1977, Dolly Parton agreed to an interview with Barbara Walters. Several people in her life warned her against doing the interview, but she felt it would be a good career move. Parton displayed a level of confidence that endeared her to the public. Hal Durham, a manager at the Grand Ole Opry, said Parton would not have come across so well if the interview had happened several years before.

Dolly Parton held her own in an interview with Barbara Walters

In her 1977 interview with Walters, Parton was poised and confident when Walters asked if Parton believed people saw her as a joke.

“Oh I know they make fun of me, but all these years the people have thought the joke was on me, but it’s actually on them,” Parton said, per Elle. “I am sure of myself as a person. I am sure of my talent. I’m sure of my love for life and that sort of thing. I am very content, I like the kind of person that I am. So, I can afford to piddle around and do-diddle around with makeup and clothes and stuff because I am secure with myself.”

Dolly Parton | Paul Natkin/Getty Images

According to Durham, Parton likely would not have responded in this way, if the interview had taken place in earlier years.

“I’m not sure Dolly could have done that Barbara Walters interview two or three years ago,” Durham said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “She might not have been that outspoken. She would probably have been that honest, but I’m not sure she would have said as much as she did.”

He believed she had gained confidence in her crossover career. She knew this was a controversial move and it took bravery to execute it.

“It’s probably a matter of confidence,” he said. “When she made the move to cross over, she knew that people were going to criticize her for it, and for that, you have to have a certain confidence in yourself.”

Dolly Parton said people warned her about meeting with Barbara Walters

While Parton came across well in the interview, some people in her life were concerned she would not. Parton didn’t worry about this. She respected Walters and trusted her to conduct the interview fairly.

“When I decided to do my first Barbara Walters special, a lot of people warned, ‘Oh, you’re crazy to do that! She’ll chew you up and spit you out,’” Parton wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “Nothing could have been further from the truth. Barbara is a very insightful person. Once she realized I was real, that my insides weren’t as phony as my outsides, she got completely into it.”

She said the interview was good for her public image

Upon reflection, Parton said she was glad she did the interview with Walters. She believed it was an opportunity for her to show the public her true self.

Barbara Walters | Tom Hill/WireImage

“Before that special, I think a lot of people were curious about me but didn’t quite know what to think,” she wrote. “Just like Barbara, they found out I was real and took me into their hearts. That special did incredible things for me, and I have gone back to do others. Barbara and I have always had a mutual respect and admiration, and I’m sure that will continue.”

Even in recent years, Parton has received praise for the way she handled herself in the interview.

Dolly Parton Made Prince Philip Laugh With a Joke at Her Own Expense

Emma McKee — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 12:52:00 +0000

In 1977, Dolly Parton met Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip after a concert in Glasgow, Scotland. She admitted that she was incredibly nervous before meeting the royal couple, but this didn’t stop her from being herself. Parton cracked a joke about herself that got a laugh from Prince Philip.

Dolly Parton cracked a joke when she met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

In 1977, Parton performed in a variety show during Queen Elizabeth’s Scottish Jubilee tour. Afterward, Parton met the queen.

“That show was fantastic,” her backup singer Mary Fielder said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “To hear about the Queen all your life and then there she is. The Queen told Dolly she enjoyed the show.”

Dolly Parton | Michael Putland/Getty Images

Parton joked about the rhinestones on her gloves when compared to the real diamonds Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip would own. This got a laugh out of Prince Philip.

“There was some remark made — I guess it was actually Prince Philip who said it, but Dolly went to shake his hand and she had on a diamond glove — I guess that’s what you call it — and she withdrew her hand and said something about her diamonds being fake and knowing that he was used to real ones,” Fielder recalled. “And he laughed.”

She said meeting them was a dream come true

Parton admitted to feeling incredibly nervous ahead of her meeting with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. She quickly felt at ease, though.

“I was scared to death that I was not going to know how to curtsy, that I wasn’t going to bend right, but she was just very warm, very sweet, and I could tell she was a very giving person,” she said, per Business Insider. “And just meeting the Queen of England, just to meet a queen, it was amazing.”

She said it was a moment she had dreamed about as a child.

“A lot of people thought I was silly, or seemed to, when I said I got so excited. But I really did, because that’s something we grow up with in the United States,” she said. “Thinking of fairy stories, kings and queens are kinda like fairy tale characters to us as far as the glamour goes. I was fascinated by her face and by her eyes, how clear they were. I always wanted to build my home like a castle, with a real drawbridge and everythin’. Maybe the Queen could come and live with me. Forever and ever.”

Dolly Parton was more comfortable around Prince Philip than other celebrities

Though Parton was jittery before meeting with the queen, her guitarist said Parton seemed more comfortable than she did when she was with other musicians. She felt more insecure with certain celebrities.

Dolly Parton | Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

“She leaves the concert, she goes back to her little room on the bus,” guitarist Don Roth said. “And I know she’s very insecure at these press parties she does only because RCA or Katz-Gallin says do ’em. She’d rather go back to the bus and get into a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Really, she would be much more at ease meeting the Queen of England. The Queen would accept her as Dolly, but she feels insecure around big-time people, and she considers New York big-time people.”

Dolly Parton Fans ‘Resented’ the Cover of a Majorly Successful Album

Emma McKee — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 18:24:00 +0000

When Dolly Parton released her album Here You Come Again, she felt an overwhelming sense of trepidation about how her fans would react. While she had already been working to cross over onto the pop charts, this album was clearly a jump. Many of her fans enjoyed the music on the album, but they still found problems with the cover.

Dolly Parton’s fans did not like the cover of one of her celebrated albums

When Parton released Here You Come Again, she was acutely aware that it might upset her country fans. She said that this was not her intention, but she wanted to continue progressing with her sound.

“I am thankful for everything good that has happened to me. I will never neglect or turn my back on any person who has ever helped me,” she said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash, adding, “I will give my country fans what they want and what they need from me, but I have other fans that I must give what they want and what they need. And I must give myself what I want and what I need, because I have to live with me, and I have to know that I have done my best. That’s what I’m doing.”

Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again” | Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

Ultimately, the album was a hit with old and new fans alike. Her country fans had a problem with the album cover, though. On it, three images of Parton pose in jeans and a red top. Some fans felt the pictures were too close to disco and represented an unwelcome change in Parton.

“I don’t think they’re resentful of her switching over as much as they are of the pictures on that album,” a studio musician said. “And people resented her standin’ in front of that muscle man [Arnold Schwarzenegger] in Rolling Stone. They’re wondering if the sweet disposition and the clean mouth that she’s maintained all up to this point will stay the same. They’re worried that she’s not a clean-minded person anymore.”

Dolly Parton fans did not love the album she released before ‘Here You Come Again’

The album that Parton released before Here You Come Again, New Harvest … First Gathering was more of a disappointment to her Nashville fans. The album was her first attempt to hit the pop charts, and people felt she was turning her back on country music.

“A lot of people don’t want to accept it. They think, ‘She’s just disappointed us.’ Especially people who were close to her,” Parton’s seamstress, Judy Hunt, explained. “Then, a lot of other people have accepted it. I was very skeptical that she’d make it at first. I thought, ‘Gosh, she’s too country.’ But she’s comin’ right along.”

She said she worried about the way fans would react to her crossover music

While Parton knew that finding a broader audience was good for her career, she worried about the way her loyal fans would take it. She insisted that she didn’t stray too far from her roots with her new sound.

“I knew [‘Here You Come Again’] was the single before it was even mixed, but it was a little bit scary for Dolly to make a pop record,” producer Gary Klein said. “She was afraid her fans would say, ‘Oh, Dolly’s selling out.’ She did ask to have pedal steel guitar added to the record, so I added a few licks. But I pointed out to her that records like Engelbert Humperdinck’s ‘After the Lovin’’ make the country charts now. People don’t realize how broad country is.”

Despite her concerns, the album hit No. 1 on the country charts.

Dolly Parton Did the ‘Dumbest Thing Possible’ With Her Career, Said a Music Exec

Emma McKee — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 13:12:00 +0000

In the 1970s, Dolly Parton began to face some backlash in Nashville for the direction in which she was taking her career. Parton, who wanted success on the pop charts, became less of a fixture in the country music scene. She skipped one event, which a music executive said was a catastrophic mistake.

Dolly Parton made a major career mistake in the eyes of a music executive

In 1977, Parton was on tour at the same time that the Country Music Association was hosting Fan Fair. The event allowed fans to see live music, visit exhibit booths, and potentially meet artists. Parton wasn’t there, but fans believed she was after an announcement rang out saying she would be giving autographs at the RCA booth. While this wasn’t her fault, people grew frustrated with her.

“She had deserted her country music fans,” a Music Row executive said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “She has to realize that she’s starting all over again with the pop fans, and they’re nowhere as loyal as the country music people.”

Dolly Parton | 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images

The executive believed Parton could have won people back over if she had attended Fan Fair. In their eyes, it had been a mistake to skip it.

“That was the dumbest thing possible not to come to Fan Fair,” they said.

Dolly Parton worried some of her crossover music could hurt her career

While Parton wanted to expand her reach as an artist, she did have concerns about alienating her original audience. When she released the song “Here You Come Again” in 1977, she worried putting it out as a single would turn away her country fans. Her manager, Sandy Gallin, pushed her to do it anyway.

“I resisted it, saying, ‘I don’t want to scare my audience to death,’” she wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “I wanted to put out ‘Two Doors Down’ first. Sandy said, ‘We’ll do it later. This is your first song. It’s going to be a giant hit. You’ve got to trust me sooner or later.’ I trusted him.”

Luckily, the song was a hit.

“I am very glad. He was right about all of it,” she wrote. “‘Here You Come Again’ was a huge hit, my first million seller. I will always be indebted to Sandy for his vision as well as to Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil for such a great song. Gary Klein did a first-class job of producing the record, and the Scotti brothers did an equally top-notch job promoting it. I had a big hit.”

She disappointed people when she didn’t go to Dolly Parton Day

In 1976, Parton disappointed people in her hometown when she was unable to make it to the annual Dolly Parton Day celebration. The following year, she attended the festivities, but it wasn’t the same as it had been in years past. Parton used to spend hours chatting with the attendees. This time, though, she rushed out shortly after her performance.

Dolly Parton | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty

“She came in on the bus and they kept her there until a few minutes before rehearsal, when the boys herded her down the hall, ran through a rehearsal, and then got her back on the bus,” Parton’s former principal, Jack McMahan, said. Of course, I realize that more people wanted to see her than she would have time to talk to, but even her mother only got to see her a few minutes. Mrs. Parton said, ‘Well, I gave her to the public three or four years ago, and that’s the way it’s been ever since. I hardly ever get a chance to really see or talk to her.’”

While people were proud of her success, they wished she had the flexibility of a smaller artist.

Dolly Parton Admitted It Was Hard to ‘Keep a Job’ in Her Band

Emma McKee — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 23:43:00 +0000

In the 1970s, Dolly Parton and her band toured constantly. They lived on the bus and in hotel rooms as Parton attempted to reach broader and broader audiences. The members of her band agreed that touring with Parton was a good job, so long as they could hold their position. Parton herself admitted that it wasn’t always easy to keep a job in her band.

Dolly Parton admitted that she was a tough boss to her band

As Parton worked to hone her sound as a solo artist, she hired and fired a series of musicians to accompany her on the road. According to her guitarist, Don Roth, Parton was a tough boss.

“First of all, everybody’s afraid they’re gonna get fired; there’s no stability,” Roth said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “Because if she doesn’t like you, and chances are she won’t, she will fire you. If she doesn’t like your attitude, if she doesn’t get ‘good vibes,’ as esoteric as that is, from you on or off the stage, she doesn’t care if you’re the best player in the world. She’s not going to keep you in the group.”

Dolly Parton | Richard McCaffrey/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images

Parton acknowledged that she had gained a reputation as someone who couldn’t keep a band. She said it stemmed from her perfectionism.

“I’ve probably gone through more musicians than anybody, but it’s not personal, it never is,” she admitted. “I have a reputation in Nashville — you can’t keep a job with Dolly Parton — but that’s not so, really. I have to have the perfect sound for me, and I’ve nearly achieved that.”

Parton said she had high expectations and expected her band to meet them.

“I can’t work with squirrels or dope addicts or drunkards. I expect goodness from my people, and I expect them to be qualified for what I need, and I want to be proud of the band I’ve built.”

Dolly Parton angered many of the former members of his band

Parton insisted that the firings were never personal, but this did little to lessen the sting for the former members of her band. Many people felt very negatively toward her.

“A number of other people got fired and, of course, all the people that got fired say, ‘Oh, that [expletive] Dolly!’” Roth said. “‘She promised this and that —,’ and some people are very bitter.”

She passed the burden of firing people onto other people

While Parton knew when people didn’t fit into the sound she wanted to achieve, it didn’t make firing them easy. As a result, she typically passed the job off to her band leader, Gregg Perry.

Dolly Parton | Paul Natkin/Getty Images

“It really is too damned difficult for her to fire people when she loves them, and it may not be totally right for her to have somebody else do it, but Gregg was all too willing — always. But he just does his job,” Roth said. “A great deal of talk is going around town — ‘That son-of-a-b**** fired me.’ All the poor bastard did was make a phone call because he was told to. I like Gregg. He’s a good friend of mine. But to Dolly, he got to be a convenience. To the point of where she’ll say, ‘I think I’ll call Don,’ and he’ll say, ‘I’ll call him for you.’ His title is band leader, but he has taken it upon himself to always carry her suitcase for her and to do just about everything.”

Parton and Perry had a very close relationship for years.

Dolly Parton’s Friend Revealed Why She Seemed ‘Snooty’ at a Concert in New York

Emma McKee — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 18:24:00 +0000

In the 1970s, Dolly Parton took the stage at a New York concert in front of an array of celebrities. Major musicians, actors, and artists eagerly waited to hear Parton perform. While Parton was her typical self onstage, cracking jokes and singing songs about her upbringing, at least one critic believed the act was overly calculated. Parton’s guitarist shared why it may have come across this way.

Dolly Parton’s guitarist said she was very nervous at a concert in New York

In 1977, Parton played three shows at New York’s Bottom Line to audiences that included people like Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, and John Belushi. The crowd adored her, but one critic for the New Times believed Parton was overly concerned with “capturing attention than on rewarding it.” Parton’s guitarist, Don Roth, thought this resulted from nerves.

“I can tell you one thing,” Roth said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “If she seemed snooty, it’s because she was scared. Because she’s scared of big city people and New York, to begin with. But if there’s one thing Dolly ain’t, it’s snooty. She’s open and funny — until she gets in a situation that she can’t handle, and then she goes into the shell a little bit. Because she doesn’t know how to be New York.”

Dolly Parton and John Belushi | Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images

Though Parton exudes confidence in everything she does, Roth said she still deals with nerves. She didn’t feel she fit in with the crowd of celebrities at her show.

Dolly Parton admitted that the celebrity audience at the New York show threw her off

Parton confirmed Roth’s assumption that she had been nervous. She admitted that walking onstage and seeing people like Candice Bergen and Patti Smith was nerve-wracking. Luckily, the audience responded to her with such positivity that she grew more comfortable.

“I was a little nervous — on the brink of being scared,” she said. “But when I walked out on stage, I was at ease. The crowd was just great.”

She said she was incredibly nervous before her first performance

Years before this, a young Parton prepared to sing in front of a live audience on the Cas Walker Show. She was so nervous that she could hardly breathe, but she realized she would have to overcome the feeling if she wanted to be a performer.

Dolly Parton | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty

“It was at that very moment that everything came to a head for me as a performer,” she wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “My insecurity came face-to-face with my ambition. My shyness banged head-on into my need for attention. This was what I had always wanted, and yet there was this fear. I’m not quite sure if it was the fear of failure or of success. Maybe it was both. I was either going to do this thing, and do it for the rest of my life, or not at all.”

Parton has been performing to audiences around the world since then.