- 4 months ago
Dolly Parton: Bigger Hair, Bigger Heart (2024) is a documentary celebrating the life, music, and generosity of one of the world’s most beloved entertainers. Featuring rare interviews, performances, and personal stories, the film highlights Dolly Parton’s journey from humble beginnings to becoming a global icon. With her signature style, timeless songs, and enduring kindness, this documentary showcases how she has inspired generations through both her artistry and her heart.
Dolly Parton Bigger Hair Bigger Heart 2024, Dolly Parton documentary 2024, Dolly Parton movie, Dolly Parton life story, Dolly Parton music documentary, country music documentaries, inspiring music documentaries, Dolly Parton performances, global music icon films, 2024 music documentaries, Dolly Parton biography, country music history, legendary music icons, uplifting documentaries 2024, Dolly Parton fans film, country music superstar, must watch music documentaries, Dolly Parton timeless songs, Dolly Parton personal stories, musician life documentaries, inspiring country music films, Dolly Parton legacy, 2024 music releases, beloved entertainers documentary, country music heritage films, Dolly Parton global influence, iconic country singers, uplifting music films, Dolly Parton inspirational story
Dolly Parton Bigger Hair Bigger Heart 2024, Dolly Parton documentary 2024, Dolly Parton movie, Dolly Parton life story, Dolly Parton music documentary, country music documentaries, inspiring music documentaries, Dolly Parton performances, global music icon films, 2024 music documentaries, Dolly Parton biography, country music history, legendary music icons, uplifting documentaries 2024, Dolly Parton fans film, country music superstar, must watch music documentaries, Dolly Parton timeless songs, Dolly Parton personal stories, musician life documentaries, inspiring country music films, Dolly Parton legacy, 2024 music releases, beloved entertainers documentary, country music heritage films, Dolly Parton global influence, iconic country singers, uplifting music films, Dolly Parton inspirational story
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00Well, I love to work. I mean, when I was just a kid, this was always my dream to travel all over the world and to write songs. That was my gift.
00:21And I just always wanted to make it into a business. And year in and year out, a lot of my dreams that I planned, they come true, so you have to be responsible for them. And so I just try to keep up with the times as far as whatever's going on out there. And I hope to never retire. So I'm up there now, but I actually have enjoyed every bit of it. I wake up every day with new dreams, so I feel like I'm just starting out.
00:44And how my mama put those rags to use. There were rags of many colors, but every piece was small. I didn't have a coat, and it was way down in the fall.
01:01Mama sewed the rags together, so in every piece with love. She made my coat of many colors that I was so proud of. While mama sewed, she told me a story.
01:15In Tennessee's Smoky Mountains, living as one of 12 children in a wooden shack, Dolly Parton's life started humbly.
01:30She has called herself a backwoods Barbie. With bleached blonde hair, a voluminous figure, and sparkling rhinestone outfits, her appearance may look fake, but inside, Dolly is anything but.
01:43She is a true American treasure, the epitome of Southern charm. Her iconic music and sense of humor have endeared her to the world.
01:52But her career hasn't been all glitter and glam. Dolly has had to show real dedication to get to where she is today.
01:59Well, I've been around a long time. I don't know what kind of a legend I am, but if being around a long time makes you a legend, then I guess I am.
02:13I don't know what kind of a legend I am, but if, you know, I think I am.
02:34On January 19, 1946, Dolly Rebecca Parton was born in Locust Ridge, Tennessee.
02:50She was one of 12 children born to Avey Lee Caroline and Robert Lee Parton.
02:56She grew up in a one-room cabin that housed up to 14 family members.
03:00Living in relative poverty, some children had to share beds, with up to three or four
03:05sleeping in the same bed each night.
03:08Dolly has shared memories of winters when the inside of their home was as cold as the
03:13outside.
03:14Dolly's father worked as a sharecropper in the Tennessee mountains and took on construction
03:19jobs to make ends meet, while her mother, Avey, was a homemaker.
03:23Despite being illiterate, her father had remarkable business acumen, which Dolly credits to her
03:29own business savvy.
03:30She attributes her musical talents to her mother's side of the family.
03:41From a family where a lot of country poor people from big families didn't get a chance to go
03:46to school and get an education.
03:48My dad being one of them, I couldn't read and write, it was kind of crippling to him.
03:52One Christmas, Dolly recalled the children agreed to forgo their gifts so their father could buy
03:58a wedding ring for Avey.
04:00Dolly recounted,
04:01I must have been eight or ten years old, and my father had never had a wedding ring.
04:06There were a lot of kids around that time, and Daddy decided he would finally buy Mama
04:10a wedding ring.
04:12Of course, that meant nobody else would get any gifts, that cost money.
04:21Despite the lack of presents, Dolly remembered it as one of their happiest Christmases, because
04:25of the joy they brought to their mother.
04:29Although the family lived in poverty, Dolly has always spoken positively about her early
04:34life, emphasizing the love, kindness, and understanding that made them happy, despite their hardships.
04:42Dolly's experiences later found their way into her music.
04:45And even though music became natural to me, my mother's people were all very musical,
04:50I was the one that really wanted to write all those, you know, all the stories, so like
04:54Coat of Many Colors or Jolene, rather than just writing simple songs, I really loved to
04:58tell a story, and I become whatever I'm writing about, I become that character.
05:02In her song, Coat of Many Colors, Dolly sings about her mother stitching a coat from racks,
05:10telling her the biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors.
05:15Despite being mocked at school for her ragged coat, the song reflects the warmth and love
05:20of her family.
05:21My very favorite personal song, for personal reasons, is my little song of Coat of Many
05:27Colors, because it's a true story about a little coat my mother made for me, and it
05:31really talks about poor people, that you don't have to have money to be rich, you can be rich
05:36in love, and patience, and kindness, and understanding, and the fact that my mother made the little
05:43coat with love, maybe first.
05:44One and only poor, only a great choose to be.
05:49Oh yeah, it's true, we had no money, but I was rich as I could be.
05:55In my coat of many colors, Mama made for me, and he made to score me.
06:11From the age of seven, Dolly showed an interest in music.
06:15She taught herself to play a homemade guitar, and performed publicly on local Knoxville radio
06:20stations by the age of 10.
06:25She recorded her first single, Puppy Love, at just 13 years old.
06:32At the Grand Ole Opry, she met Johnny Cash, who encouraged her to trust her instincts in
06:37her music career.
06:39Breaking into the country music scene, which men then dominated, Dolly was determined to
06:44carve out a space for a female perspective.
06:48After graduating from Sevier County High School in 1964, she moved to Nashville the next day
06:54to pursue music full-time.
06:58She signed with the Monument label, which initially tried to market her as a pop singer.
07:03Undeterred, Dolly wrote several catchy pop songs.
07:18The same year, Dolly would meet the love of her life, Carl Thomas Dean, outside the wishy-washy
07:24laundromat in Nashville.
07:27He would instantly spot the 18-year-old from his white pickup truck and fall in love.
07:39Dolly fondly recalls their early dating years.
07:43When I met my husband, he wanted to take me out to dinner.
07:48He pulled up to the drive-in window and got our food at McDonald's.
07:55He only likes to go places where he can be comfortable.
08:02By 1966, the pair would marry in Georgia.
08:07The ceremony was very small, but with only Dolly's mother, the preacher, and his wife
08:11in attendance.
08:13They eloped because Dolly's record label Monument was concerned that marriage would interfere
08:18with her music career, particularly with male audiences.
08:24When asked to reconsider, Dolly responded firmly, I ain't waiting.
08:29And we've loved each other, and we've kind of grew into a lot of the real deep feelings
08:36that we share.
08:37And he's very independent, and I want him to do what makes him happy.
08:42He wants me to do what makes me happy.
08:44We're not jealous of each other as far as what our personality or of other people.
08:49In 1967, Porter Wagner helped Dolly's career change forever.
09:10Dolly was hired to replace the former star of his TV show, Norma Jean.
09:16Initially the switch was unpopular.
09:19Fans of the Porter-Wagoner show were unhappy and very reluctant to accept Parton, at times
09:24even chanting loudly in the audience for Norma Jean's return.
09:31With Wagner's assistance, however, Parton was eventually accepted.
09:39Parton and Wagner have undeniable chemistry.
09:42Their voices blend together beautifully.
09:44Thank you, Don.
09:45We have a sort of a special show this week in answer to an awful lot of requests, a lot
09:53of good requests.
09:54Dolly and I are going to do all duets this week.
09:57We've got a whole bunch of them first.
09:58Start with it.
09:59It's a lesson to live for the learning.
10:03In the wake of an hour, my soul is turning in your hands, in your hands.
10:15Oh, you know, you know, there's no bird out there.
10:19Well, there'll be none of the trees that keep on.
10:25I could have loved you better than me.
10:28You know, that was the last thing on my mind.
10:34Because of her success on the show, Waggoner convinced his record label, RCA, to sign Dolly.
10:40However, RCA wanted to protect their investment by releasing the first single as a duet with Waggoner.
10:47Yet before long, Dolly was more of a success than Waggoner himself.
10:55In the early 70s, Dolly topped the U.S. country chart with her single, Joshua, before releasing
11:01one of her most beloved albums, Coat of Many Colors, in 1971.
11:09It was clear that Dolly was emerging as a solo country star in the making.
11:14Of course, the most iconic Parton song is Jolene, which topped the country chart in late 1973
11:21and reached the lower regions of the Hot 100.
11:26The song walks the line between dignity and desperation.
11:30Dolly has said in more recent years that she wrote the music years before when her husband
11:34spent a little more time with Jolene than he should have been.
11:39She put a stop to it and certainly got rid of that redhead woman in a hurry.
11:44In this clip of Dolly singing the song on the Porter-Wagner show, she looks directly at
11:48the camera, and you can see and hear the genuine emotion behind the lyrics.
11:54Let's listen as she does one, and I think you'll really like this.
11:56Listen close to it.
11:57It's called Jolene.
11:58Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm begging of you, please don't take my man.
12:16Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, please don't take him just because you can.
12:30Parton has said that if it had not been for that woman, she would never have written Jolene
12:34and wouldn't have made all that money.
12:36So she says, thank you, Jolene.
12:43Parton has always respected Porter for helping her into the country music scene.
12:48But she knew that in 1974, after seven years on the show, it was time for her to leave.
12:57Jolene walked into his office and played him a new song she had written, I Will Always Love You.
13:04In this performance of the song on his show, it is clear just how emotional Parton is about the split.
13:10Oh, I know, but I know, I'll think of you each step of the way.
13:24And I will always love you.
13:34I will always love you.
13:42I will always love you.
13:46Wagoner did not take the news well.
13:48After the split, he created a lot of negative press about Dolly.
13:52He wanted to sue her for $3 million, claiming she had breached her contract.
13:58Dolly and Wagner settled this agreement out of court, with Parton eventually paying him $1 million.
14:05At this point in her career, she did not have this kind of money.
14:09It would take her years to pay him back in full.
14:12Dolly has said, he got as much out of me as I got out of him.
14:16Let's put it that way.
14:19Porter was very much like my dad, brothers, and the men I grew up with.
14:23They were just manly men, and a woman's place was where you told her to be.
14:27And so I would always stand up to him, because I had my own talent.
14:32I didn't come here just to be the girl singer on Porter Wagner's show,
14:36and we fought like hell, and he showed his ass about it rather than letting life flow.
14:41He had to sue me, and of course, that broke both our hearts.
14:44And you know, looking back on it now, he hates that he did that and has said so.
14:49Although Dolly felt betrayed by Porter, she forgave him.
14:54They became friends again, and she was even at his bedside in 2007 when he sadly passed away.
15:00Dolly's iconic look, a blonde wig, full makeup, big bosoms, and a tiny waist, is synonymous with the singer.
15:28Her iconic catchphrase is, it cost a lot of money to look this cheap.
15:33I'm not aware of that, but wouldn't be able to see Broadway.
15:36Give them a glimpse of what goes on here. Do you agree with that?
15:38I do agree with that. Yeah, and this is fun.
15:40I think people always love seeing people get all dressed up, and we're just like kids.
15:45I felt like I was getting ready for the prom.
15:46I said, how big shall I make my hair? How far shall I push my poop?
15:51Unlike other stars, Dolly has always been honest about her love of plastic surgery enhancements,
15:58and proud of her massive collection of fabulous wigs and extremely form-fitting, bedazzled stage outfits.
16:05When you go on the road, what is the one thing you cannot be without when you tour?
16:10Oh, my wings and my makeup and my clothes, but especially my hair and makeup.
16:15In the past, she has referenced that she went for her trademark trash look of blonde hair, makeup, and tight-fitting clothes from the local town tramp.
16:26She claims that she isn't a natural beauty, but more of a plain Jane, and when young, she yearned to be glamorous.
16:33Talking about her look, Dolly has said,
16:43All country girls have an idea of what glamour is, and a lot of them get that through magazines or movies.
16:48But we didn't get to go to the movies, and we lived way back then, so my look was inspired by the town tramp.
16:56Dolly said that she thought that woman was absolutely beautiful, as she looked like a movie star,
17:06with her piles of bleached hair, red lipstick, long nails, and high-heeled shoes.
17:11Dolly, I've got to ask you the fashion thing here, because you and I almost look like sisters, don't you think?
17:15We do.
17:16We've got the full-on blonde hair.
17:18We certainly do.
17:19Well, I wish, but how many women better than yours?
17:24No, no, no, no. I'd trade any day.
17:26How many parties did you get invited to tonight, and how did you choose vanity?
17:29I didn't even get invited to this one. I'm just crashing the party.
17:32You're crashing the party?
17:33I'm coming with my manager, Sandy.
17:35Actually, I did get invited, and I'm glad to be here.
17:37Good to see you.
17:38Good to see you, too.
17:39In the mid-1970s, Mac Davis received a phone call from Dolly, who wanted advice on what to do next,
17:45as she was struggling in her country music career after splitting from her musical partner.
17:50Davis suggested that she reach out to Sandy Gallen.
17:53The rest, well, that's history.
17:56Sandy Gallen and Dolly became inseparable.
18:10She said,
18:11Nobody could quite get how the Christian Southern girl and the New York Jewish boy could have so much in common, but it was real.
18:17Because Dolly's husband, Carl Dean, did not like to travel, Sandy, who was gay, accompanied Dolly around the world.
18:47During this period, with Gallen's help, Parton began embarking on a high-profile crossover campaign, attempting to aim her music in a more mainstream direction and increase her visibility outside the confines of country music.
19:06With her 1976 album, All I Can Do, which was the last album she produced with Porter Wagner, Parton began taking more of an active role in production.
19:26Dolly aimed for the pop market, but hoped to keep her country fan base happy, too.
19:33By 1977, she was on her 20th solo album in just 10 years.
19:38She had written every style of country song you could think of.
19:45Pop music was limitless in a way that country music could never be, in terms of sound and commercially, too.
19:55Jolene proved she could take the country with her to the mainstream, and on her next album, Here You Come Again,
20:01she attempted to find a place in both worlds.
20:05This crossover album became her first million-seller, topping the country album chart and reaching number 20 on the Billboard 200.
20:13The title track topped the country singles charts and became Parton's first top ten single on the pop chart, reaching number three.
20:26The next release from the album was the double A-side, Two Doors Down, It's All Wrong, But It's All Right, which topped the country chart and made it into the pop top 20.
20:36But I don't have a date. Is there a hairy-legged boy that I could go with? How about you?
20:43Two doors down, they're laughing and drinking and having a party.
20:49But two doors down, they're not aware that I'm found.
20:53Over here I am, just to cry my heart out, feeling sorry.
20:58But they're having a party, just two doors down.
21:03The album also brought her first Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
21:09Parton started to expand her audience, wisely turning her talents to television.
21:14She was a natural and was often on talk shows and TV specials.
21:18But it was Parton's big-screen debut that propelled her into the mainstream.
21:22Her charming, effervescent personality translated easily to the screen.
21:26Dolly Sparkold.
21:30Well, I wanted to be a star, but I always thought of a star more as a singing star, being on the Grand Ole Opry, being on stage and performing.
21:38But I figured that if my career went the way I wanted it to, that I would eventually wind up doing the movies and Vegas.
21:44And it was a real fun thing.
21:46She played a brassy southern woman, Dora Lee Rhodes, in 9 to 5, opposite Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.
21:52Well, I think Jane is a very complex person.
21:56I think she's very intelligent, very creative.
21:58I find her very caring, but I find her also very shy and almost naive in a very sweet little girl way.
22:07And it's the side of her that I really was surprised to find.
22:129 to 5 became the highest grossing comedy film of the year, earning Parton an Oscar nomination and a pair of Grammy Awards for the now classic theme song.
22:21In the film, the co-workers decide to hold their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical figot of a boss, Dabney Coleman, hostage, and transform their oppressive workplace into one of a quality.
22:33Well, it was great.
22:34At that time, nothing like that had been done in the movies, and we weren't sure if it would do well at all.
22:41But men also loved it because it was very entertaining, tying up the balls.
22:45It had a lot of fun stuff in it.
22:47And that was my very first movie that I ever made.
22:49And it did make a big difference, and it has helped a lot through the years.
22:53I love Jane and Lily and Dabney Coleman, the ones I've performed with in the show.
22:57We've always stayed close through the years.
22:59The hilarious, over-the-top hijinks couldn't disguise the film's more resonant message, which has only strengthened in the current era of Time's Up and Me Too.
23:09In the music video for the hit song, you can see different clips from the film that show women taking back power in the workplace.
23:19But you've got dreams he'll never take away.
23:24On the same boat with a lot of your friends.
23:26Waiting for the day your ship will come in.
23:28And the tide's gonna turn, and it's all gonna roll your way.
23:32Working nine to five.
23:35What a way to make a living.
23:37Barely getting by.
23:39It's all taking and no giving.
23:42You must use your mind, and you never get credit.
23:46It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it.
23:51Mr. Hart spends his days harassing Dora Lee by telling her she's much more to him than just a dumb secretary.
23:58He lies about sleeping with her and purposely knocks pencils on the floor so she'll lean over and pick them up.
24:04He insults Judy and bullies Violet.
24:07After learning she's lost out on a promotion to a man she trained, Violet confronts Mr. Hart.
24:13Spare me the women's lib crap, he replies.
24:16To hide the fact that they're holding their boss hostage, the women have to run the business as best they can.
24:22I was excited about it because it was the kind of thing that was so close to my own personality that I didn't feel like I really had to act or worry too much about it.
24:33The film was the catalyst for a TV series in the 1980s and a Broadway musical, which transferred to London's West End.
24:409 to 5 continues to resonate with audiences.
24:43It's a thrill.
24:44I feel very honored and proud.
24:46How did that happen?
24:47You're already at the Iger.
24:48You don't have to go back to Broadway and do this.
24:50What, what?
24:51Well, I've never done Broadway.
24:52This is the first time I've done anything here.
24:55And so when Bob Greenblatt, who produced the 9 to 5 musical, he asked me if I'd write it since I had written a theme song 30 years ago for the movie with Jane Funn and Lily Tomlin.
25:05Amazing.
25:06I think people are under the impression that she kind of popped in and popped out.
25:11She was an integral part of our daily rehearsal.
25:13And she was there, I think she just recently left maybe three or four days ago.
25:17She was there for every preview performance, in the wings, giving us high fives, the greatest support.
25:22And, you know, you see the glamour and the wigs and the lame and the nails.
25:26But that woman is smart.
25:27And when the music starts, her head goes down, the wheels start turning, and she can give you a new lyric or a new melody in 20 minutes.
25:34And I just have the greatest respect for her.
25:38Exploit it every night.
25:40Why are you working with Dolly Partying here?
25:42You know, she's brilliant.
25:43The thing that's brilliant about Dolly is, is this is a woman that does not need to do this.
25:46She wants to do this.
25:47It's a first time experience for an icon.
25:49And to have shared that with her and collaborated with her, and it's her first time collaborating like this.
25:55To have people sit down and say, I need this or I need that.
25:58Well, she's not used to that.
25:59And she's been so open to the process and really gotten into it.
26:03Well, I feel great.
26:04I feel proud and honored and humbled by the whole thing.
26:07It's one thing to get a chance to write something for Broadway, but it's another entirely to be nominated for a Tony Award.
26:15So it's been a great thrill for me.
26:18In the 80s, Dolly starred in another big Hollywood movie, Steel Magnolias.
26:25You laugh, you cry.
26:26It brings you closer to family.
26:28It brings you closer to friends.
26:29It's about family love and friendship and people and life in a small town.
26:33And I think it's just about the human heart.
26:35She was in the pop charts with 9 to 5 and another classic hit, Islands in the Stream.
26:42This duet with Kenny Rogers knocked Bonnie Tyler's total eclipse of the heart off the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 and is often credited as the best karaoke song and top duet of all time.
26:54Hiding together.
27:14Dolly has a very close bond with the other female country singers in the business,
27:34such as Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn, and made the collaboration album,
27:38Trio, with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. Longtime friends and admirers of one another,
27:44the singers first attempted to record an album together in the mid-1970s. Still, scheduling
27:50conflicts and other difficulties, including the fact that the three women all recorded for different
27:55labels, prevented its release. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a
28:01duo or group with vocal.
28:02To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him. Just to see him smile makes my life worthwhile.
28:22To know, know, know him is to love, love, love him. And I do.
28:31This decade also saw the establishment of her 150-acre Dollywood theme park. Dolly, who grew
28:55up in the area, bought an interest in Silver Dollar City in the Great Smoky Mountains of
29:00Eastern Tennessee.
29:03As part of the deal, the original park reopened for the 1986 season as Dollywood. Parton said
29:10she became involved with the operation because she always thought if she made it big or got
29:14successful at what she had started to do, she wanted to come back to her part of the country
29:19and do something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs into this area. Dollywood
29:24has approximately 4,000 people on its payroll.
29:27I think any time that you're, when you become a star and when you get in a position to help,
29:35you should help. And I think you should find charities that are near and dear to your heart.
29:40One charity project close to her heart is the Imagination Library, which Dolly started in
29:451996 in Sevier County, Tennessee.
29:50When we give books to children, from the time they're born, they get a book a month until
29:54they start school. And that way they can learn to read, because if you can learn to read, you
29:58can self-educate yourself. If you can't afford to go to college or whatever, there's something,
30:03you know, some subject you can find to read about for whatever you want to do.
30:08The initiative expanded across the U.S. in 2000, then set up in the U.K. in 2007, and Australia
30:15in 2013.
30:16We're very excited about the Imagination Library being here. I got to make sure I say
30:21your town right. It's Rotherham. Did I get it right? I've been practicing, because it don't
30:27look like that on paper. In the States, anything that's H-A-M, we have to say Rotherham, right?
30:33I like Birmingham. Anyway, so we are very happy to be here. And of course, the Imagination Library
30:38is a program very dear to my heart, because this is something we started back in the States
30:46about 10 years ago. It was something just for my people in my county, in my hometown. And
30:52of course, it just kind of took off, and now it's all over the United States. We're in about
30:58700 counties in about 42 states. And we've given away 4.5 million books this past year. And in
31:06about two months, we're going to be giving away our 11 millionth book. So that's a lot
31:12of books to go out to a lot of kids.
31:16Dolly also appeals to the younger generation through the help of her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.
31:23So anyway, I have a lot of fans, from very young ones, from the Hannah Montana show, which
31:28I've performed on. Miley is my little goddaughter. And of course, I've performed on that a few
31:34times. And so we have that little young group, and then all of my fans that kind of have discovered
31:39my music, and the younger folks. And then there's the older folks, like me, that have followed
31:44me for a long time. So I've been very fortunate that I've had a lot of fans through the years.
31:48Dolly had acted as a mentor to Miley's dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, when Achy Breaky Heart came
31:54out. Dolly put Billy Ray on her tour as an opening act. There were even rumors that the
32:00two were romantically linked. And even though this was untrue, Billy Ray recalls Parton telling
32:04him, that's the stuff that sells records. From that moment on, the two became very good friends.
32:10The two gelled, as they had the same roots. They were country kids at heart.
32:19When Miley was born in November 1992, Dolly told Billy Ray, she's got to be my fairy goddaughter,
32:25and wanted to help her as much as possible. Since then, Dolly has shared her wisdom, and
32:30even the stage with Miley, and appeared alongside her in various projects.
32:41Miley's breakout role was in the Disney series Hannah Montana, where Dolly played her Aunt Dolly.
32:47She appeared as a guest star in several episodes, dispensing sage advice to her young niece.
32:52It is clear from this clip that the duo were a natural fit.
32:56Dad, I'm not in the mood to see anybody right now.
32:59Well, fine.
33:00If you don't want to see me, I would just turn that bus around and head on back to Nashville.
33:07Look at you, my goodness. You are sprouting like a rosebush after a month of rain. Only
33:14not as wet and twice as pretty.
33:16Doggies, I like it. I might use that as salt.
33:19Well, fine. First one's free. Next one, you share profits with me.
33:26Harton credits Miley, at least in part, with giving her a fan base that spans generations.
33:32She has said,
33:33It's been so amazing that I've had all these little kids that grew up with that, and now
33:37have their little kids. They keep bringing me back through the generations, and I love it.
33:42Dolly's work spans over six decades. Musically, she's been extremely influential as
33:49well, with countless artists following in her footsteps by recording various versions of
33:53her songs. In fact, when Elvis Presley wanted to record Dolly's song, I Will Always Love You,
34:00Parton was approached for the publishing rights. But being a bright businesswoman, she declined
34:07the request, as she would be signing away her royalties for the song.
34:09It was my most important copyright, Parton said. It broke my heart, because Elvis didn't get
34:16to sing it. But I had to hold on to it. Even though the King couldn't record the song, Dolly
34:19revealed that Elvis privately serenaded his ex-wife Priscilla with the tune as they left
34:22the courthouse following their divorce.
34:24Of course, twenty years later, pop star Whitney Houston turned the song into a bigger hit.
34:31It broke my heart, because Elvis didn't get to sing it. But I had to hold on to it.
34:34Even though the King couldn't record the song, Dolly revealed that Elvis privately serenaded
34:38his ex-wife Priscilla with the tune as they left the courthouse following their divorce.
34:45Of course, twenty years later, pop star Whitney Houston turned the song into a bigger hit.
34:54This cover put Dolly in the spotlight as a writer and an artist, and opened people's
34:59eyes to Parton as the talented writer she is. In this clip, Whitney transforms the song into
35:05a real powerhouse ballad.
35:07And I, I will always love you, I will always love you, I will always love you.
35:31Dolly, welcome, it's so lovely to meet you.
35:38Thank you so much, good to see all of you, and this is a very exciting day for me.
35:42We've got all kinds of things going on, and look, I don't have a bit of mud on me so far.
35:47Dolly's legacy was cemented with her 2014 headline spot at the Glastonbury Festival,
35:54which is often produced as one of the best performances at the festival of all time.
36:00Well, it's great. Of course, when we were coming in this morning, I was looking at the mud.
36:04That was not different from me. I grew up in the mud. My daddy was a farmer.
36:08I grew up in East Tennessee over in America, so that was how we made our living on a farm.
36:13So I thought, well, this is not all that different. You know, mud is mud wherever you are.
36:18But anyway, I just saw the tents, all the people, and I thought, wow, this is exciting. This is fun.
36:23So I'm just proud to be part of it. I can't believe after all these years I've never done Glastonbury before.
36:28Well, I think usually some of those old sayings like, to thine own self be true, you know, those things.
36:34I think if you really take those and know who you are and know what it is that you want to do
36:38and just stick to your dreams and don't get sidetracked with other things, usually that'll,
36:42if you've got the talent and you've got the ambition, that'll usually happen.
36:46So I'm not the Dalai Lama. Somebody says, oh, Dolly, you always just look so happy.
36:50I said, that's the Botox.
36:52And the collagen.
36:56Obviously, Dolly, you're immaculately turned out already. I wonder if you're going to change before stage.
37:02Can you give us a little chat through what you might be wearing?
37:04Well, I'm going to wear white because I figured with that many people, I want to be seen from way out there.
37:09So I figured I would probably wear white because I thought that looked good with mud.
37:13If I got some on me, brown and white usually looks pretty good together.
37:16But I usually enjoy wearing white on stage.
37:19So I thought, well, I kind of probably will wear that.
37:22So it's just the opposite of the brown.
37:25Okay.
37:30Parton became the real showgirl with highlights from her discography.
37:34From Two Doors Down to I Will Always Love You, and in this clip, her classic, Jolene.
37:40I've been around a long time and I've been in and out of this part of the world.
38:09Many times through the years, so I think people just kind of feel like they know me.
38:13I feel more like a family relative than a celebrity.
38:18I think they just kind of think, oh, Dolly's come home.
38:21Because I always say that I always see somebody I love in everybody I meet.
38:25Like a family member, somebody always reminds me of somebody else.
38:29But I just love people and I've always been so grateful that people have accepted me
38:34and loved me all through the years and followed my career and kept food on my table, so to speak.
38:45Dolly is an icon.
38:47Longtime fans know that she has been apolitical, but has always hinted and expressed a strong voice for equal rights in her writing.
39:24I was in a position where I tried to stay out of those positions.
39:26And if I found myself in that, I was lucky that I had a great personality and a great sense of humor,
39:32that I could joke my way out of a lot of it.
39:34And then if I couldn't, I have enough temper and backbone that I would kind of get out of it some other way.
39:41But I did work, it was a man's world back then, and I enjoyed it.
39:45And so people were kind to me more than anything, so they kind of looked at me like a young,
39:50like a sister or something, it seemed to me at the time.
39:53But I didn't care how they saw it.
39:54I was there to do a job.
39:55I had something that I felt that could make us a lot of money, and I would say that.
39:59I have something that, you know, I think we can all prosper from, and I've been lucky.
40:04As a female singer born in a particular era, mixing political views with a popular career was not customary.
40:18Nonetheless, it has been obvious through songs like Just Because I'm a Woman and her roles in films such as 9 to 5
40:25that Dolly supports equal rights and provides comfort and hope to many through her work.
40:30And I think that I just live my femininity.
40:36I mean, I'm not a, people say, are you a feminist?
40:38I say, I don't know.
40:39I don't know exactly what that means.
40:40I'm proud to be a woman.
40:41I'm proud to be a woman in business.
40:43I'm proud to do what I do.
40:45But I like to just live it.
40:47I like to be an example.
40:49And you're right, I wrote some of the, my first single on RCA Records back in the 60s.
40:56It was called Just Because I'm a Woman.
40:58And it was, it addressed the issues that we're addressing now.
41:01And then I've, all through the years I've written, you know, these songs that, that were
41:05to strengthen and to empower women, but just people, you know, in general.
41:11In the new 9 to 5 musical, my first line in the, in the new song that kind of took the place
41:17of the fantasy scene, it says, I love men, don't get me wrong.
41:21I've always had one of my own.
41:24Many good men I've known, but then there's you, me and Mr. Hart.
41:27So I've known a few of them, but I've known more good men in my life than I have bad ones.
41:31And of course we all come across those people.
41:34Dolly continues to inspire younger music stars, including Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and
41:41Casey Musgraves.
41:43Parton's influence can be seen throughout the 21st century music landscape.
41:50We've never seen the game because what goes around comes back around by Friday's football game.
42:00Yeah, we only got one share it but we all know how to keep the peace.
42:03Oh, don't you forget it is big as we're getting.
42:06This town's too small to be me.
42:13Musgraves told Billboard, beauty, sex appeal, brains, wit, humor, beautiful songwriting,
42:20meaningful songwriting, no apologies for who she is, LGBTQ advocate long before it was
42:25even a thing or trendy or whatever.
42:28She's fearless, and I admire her spirit.
42:32Well, I don't try to tell other people what to do.
42:39People are always saying, what kind of advice should you give?
42:41I say, I don't give people advice.
42:43I have information if you want to know some facts and if you want to know some times
42:48how I dealt with something, but I do believe that everybody has a right to be themselves.
42:54Everybody has their own path and their own road to walk, and everybody's talent is different,
43:00and I think that we have to kind of base just how we look, how crazy the people look, all
43:08the images that people have.
43:11It's what they feel right about in themselves, and I think they have a right to do that.
43:15So it's not up to me to tell them not to do it, because who am I to tell anybody what to
43:20do?
43:21I mean, I look like the town tramp, and that's how I patterned my look after the town tramp.
43:26So who am I to tell somebody else how to dress or what to do?
43:35Now, Parton has her own museum, a taught class at the University of Tennessee, titled Dolly
43:42Parton's America, from Sevierville to the World, and even her own Netflix series, Dolly
43:46Parton's Heartstrings, with each episode based on one of her iconic songs.
43:51For every generation since the Baby Boomers, Dolly Parton has been on our minds and in our
44:02hearts, whether as a punchline or a headliner.
44:09Over her 50-year career, she's perhaps never been more prominent in pop culture than she
44:14is right now.
44:15Well, I'm proud of all of it, I have to honestly say, because you never know when you start
44:21out how you're going to be known or thought of when you're older, you hope for the best.
44:26But I'm really proud of the Imagination Library, the project that I've done where we give books
44:30to children.
44:32But I've been very proud of everything that I've accomplished to be in the Songwriters
44:36Hall of Fame, because my songwriting is very important.
44:39But I won't mind being known as the book lady, but I want to be known for my music as well.
44:44And to have left something great in the world that wasn't there before I came along.
44:51I think my mom and dad would be very proud of me.
44:53I always think they're looking down and saying, you go girl, we knew you could do it and we
44:58love you.
44:59And I love them and I owe it so much of my personality and my heart and my humble being
45:06to my good parents.
45:14wow.
45:16Wow.
45:17Wow.
45:17Wow.
45:18Wow.
45:18Wow.
45:18Wow.
Be the first to comment