CDA: Dolly Parton
- ladiesvoices
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
One of my coworkers just told me about the death of Dolly Parton (age 80). Brought a tear to my eye! She's an American original, not just an iconic singer and entertainer but a crackerjack songwriter and entrepreneur. In the midst of it all it appears that she held onto her roots and stayed authentic to her deep sense of self.
I had one in-person experience with her. My husband Richard got two free tickets to a preview performance of 9 to 5, the Broadway musical based on the movie. That particular performance was loaded with people who had gotten free tickets, people who they hoped would drum up business for the show (Richard was in the travel business, shall we say Broadway-adjacent). There was a Q and A immediately after the performance with Parton and Patricia Resnick, who co-wrote the screenplay for the movie and wrote the book for the show.
Dolly was big as a minute and all dolled up in her Dolly drag. Resnick was wearing jeans and a hoodie. Dolly said, "All y'all gotta sell a lotta tickets to this show 'cause it costs a lot of money to look this cheap!" Resnick said nothing.
Someone asked Parton about a particular song that he thought had a Pentecostal vibe. It led to this exchange between Parton and Resnick:
PARTON: Oh yes, that's where I live, that's where I was brought up! That music hits me where I live.
RESNICK: And I'm a Jewish lesbian from Florida so of course that music means a great deal to me, too.
[huge laughter from audience]
PARTON: Don't you worry honey, you hang around with me any longer you'll be handlin' snakes and speakin' in tongues!
Here's Parton singing my favorite of her songs, over 50 years ago:
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