Dolly Parton has always had an undeniable allure.
If you need proof of that, may I direct your attention to Dolly’s Thanksgiving Halftime Show performance from last year, where the country music legend sported a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader uniform and shocked the world (and showed everyone that age is just a number).
The 78-year-old has been busy as ever in her late 70s, and most recently sat down with podcaster and social media figure (and Jelly Roll’s wife) Bunnie XO on her Dumb Blonde podcast. Bunnie let everyone know from the very beginning of the show that Parton was her dream guest when she first started her podcast, and that Dolly, one of the OG “dumb blondes,” was a huge inspiration for the name of the show. Of course, Dolly released a song titled “Dumb Blonde” in 1966, one that would make her Dumplin’ record the following year.
She also revealed that their conversation ended up being shorter than the podcast host wished, but that Dolly would be coming back for a “part two” at some point in the near future. Bunnie XO named the episode “Dolly Parton: Queen of Everything,” which is something I can get behind. There’s more to Parton than just the “Queen of Country,” and her story proves that.
After Parton graduated from high school, she moved to Nashville, and it’s well-documented that she didn’t have a lot when she packed up and moved to Music City (she comes from a large and poor family). Dolly certainly didn’t have a lot of money, but that started to change when she was able to get connected with a publishing company that was in search of a female singer, as she explained:
“Well I was lucky because there are so many songwriters in Nashville, and a lot of the people that write songs are not good singers. So all the publishing companies, if there are female songs, you could get a job singing those songs.
So I got work through Tree Publishing Company. Buddy Killen was a dear friend, and he would get me on these sessions singing some of the songs that these writers had written.”
Sounds like the timing couldn’t have been better for Dolly Parton’s big Nashville move.
Though her transportation situation could have been. The country music legend – long before she became the legend we know her as today – didn’t have her own car when she was first getting started. One thing she did have was her patented good looks, and those made up for her lack of a personal vehicle – and even paid for more than a few meals:
“I didn’t have a phone. I didn’t have a car. I didn’t have anything. So all these musicians – cause I was a ripe, pretty girl at that time – I had all these musicians that were on the sessions always willing to drive me home. Always willing to stop somewhere and buy me a burger. Some of them thinking they might get more… and some of them might have.”
Dolly you DOG.
Parton went on to voice how appreciative she was for all of those people who so kindly helped her at the very beginning of her career in Nashville. She also explained that growing up in a big family ended up being beneficial when it came time to befriend those in the music industry:
“They were always so good to me, and everybody seemed to know that my heart was in a good place and I was just a country girl. And I was funny. I was always cracking jokes. Everybody got a kick out of me, so I was just one of the boys because I had six brothers. I was not a bit shy around the men and I knew how to maneuver.”
As she alluded to earlier in the interview when she said some of them “might have” had the pleasure of really getting to know her.
To watch the full episode, you’ll have to follow this link to Bunnie XO’s Patreon. If you just want to catch the first 15 minutes or so of the Dolly Parton episode, you can click on this link below: