The Dolly Parton you may not know, in her own words
For nearly five decades, Dolly Parton talked with Associated Press reporters about far more than the songs that made her famous. She talked about movie stardom, kissing a president and her charity work, among other things.
Those interviews captured a Parton who could be funny and self-deprecating but also clear-eyed about who she was and what she wanted.
Here is Parton, who died Tuesday at age 80, in her own words, as compiled by AP Music Writer Maria Sherman:
“I never thought of myself as a movie star. I knew I’d be a star, but as a singer or as a writer of songs or books or poetry. I wanted to be a famous performer and wear flashy clothes, but singing in movies was not one of my ambitions. My family lived in the mountains and we didn’t see movies."
“I can’t act a part, but if they allow me to be myself, then I can handle it. If they find me a story that allows me to be me, then I’m interested; if they don’t, I’m not.” (July 1979)
“My husband wants a picture of this, too.” (October 1979)
“In places I was real good. In places I was real average and in others I was … (sticking out her tongue). All in all, for the first time out, I was proud of it. (December 1980)
“I’ll admit I had some misgivings about the title of the movie. After all, my granddaddy was a preacher, and I’m a spiritual person myself. I didn’t want to do anything that might be considered offensive. Then I saw the play and I realized it was just a foot-stompin’ good time.” (December 1981)
“It’s something I want to take pride in, to preserve the Smoky Mountain heritage rather than have Hollywood portray us as they often do.” (July 1985)
“It was love at first sight. I see people who turn my head all the time. It’s just that nobody’s turned my head around as much as him.” (May 1992)
“We do love to sing. Your whole life you wait to find those compatible voices. It’s like making love. ... I get off on it. I do. I get so thrilled. When it buzzes, it is good. It’s just like sex in that way. Don’t fight it.” (March 1999)
“I don’t think he will ever die down. He’s considered by many to be like a religious figure, like Jesus. … I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s there, and it’s real, and people love it.” (August 2002(
“I’ll be like Bob Hope, touring when I’m 100. I love being busy. ... I will never retire. I hope to fall dead in the middle of some great event or some great song I’m singing. Then they’ll say, ‘Oh well, she went happy and doing what she loves.’” (April 2004)
“There’s not going to be no wardrobe malfunction this evening. There’s not supposed to be, it’s not planned. But as tight as my clothes are there’s no telling what will happen. If it does happen, I’m going to wipe out the first three rows.” (April 2004)
“I’m looking at it like an investment. I thought, ‘I’ve made enough money. I can afford to invest a little in myself.’” (March 2008)
“Just think, I am Dr. Dolly! So when people say something about ‘Double-D,’ they will be thinking of something entirely different.” (May 2009)
“I always thought that if I made it big or got successful at what I had started out to do, that I wanted to come back to my part of the country and do something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs into this area. Sure enough, I was lucky, and God was good to me and things happened good.” (April 2010)
“I’m her fairy godmother. … I’m just real proud of her. She does not need my advice, but she’s often asking for information and advice, and I tell her what I know, but I think the girl’s doing all right without me.” (July 2010)
“People always tell me, ‘I thought that was Whitney’s song. I didn’t know you wrote it. I thought she wrote it.’ And I tell them, ‘She can have the credit. I’ll just take the cash.’” (December 2018)
“I don’t do it for attention. But look! I’m getting a lot of attention by doing it. ... I just give from my heart. I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will.” (October 2022)
“I just didn’t think that I had done enough in the rock world to be considered, to be put in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when there were so many great rock artists that are not even in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. ... They were going to put me in anyway, so I just accepted it gracefully. But I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to have to earn my keep … I jumped on that like a duck on a June bug.’” (November 2023)
“My grandpa used to say, when I got famous, he said, ‘Well, she came out crying in the key of D.’ I think we all did.”
“I hope that a lot of my songs may last that long. And I hope I’ll be remembered as somebody that tried to do some good in the world and left, you know, a few good things.” (November 2024)
“I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday. And I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we’ve built together. You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans — but that’s the hardest part.”
“I don’t think about my life in terms of ‘superstar.’ I’m just a workin’ girl. I always say — and it’s the truth — that I am a workhorse that looks like a show horse. But I gotta keep it all up and I enjoy all of it. My husband always said, ‘If anybody was ever born to be a star, it’s you.’” (May 2025)
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The quotes were compiled from interviews, including with AP journalists Maria Sherman, Gary Gerard Hamilton and Glenn Gamboa, as well as the late Bob Thomas and Frank Cormier and former AP journalist Mike Cidoni Lennox.
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