In preparing for my interview with the one and only Dolly Parton, I was certain of two things. The first, that her southern charm would win me over within about two seconds. The second, that I would have to deal with a lot of drag queens jealous of my time with one of the most impersonated icons in drag history.
“I got a bunch of drag queen fans, they don’t hesitate to come to the show and sit right down front either. Some of my best laughs are from that, and the audience loves it,” she said, laughing when I mentioned my drag queen fear.
”The last time I remember a big showing we were around the San Francisco bay area and we had several Dolly’s, it was just too funny. I am so little, so short and you have these guys that are six feet tall and with their high heels and big hair they look about eight feet tall, you can’t miss them.”
She then explained how she switches up her 1974 hit Jolene in tribute to them, singing over the phone “Drag Queen, Drag Queen, Drag Queen Drag Queen.. I’m begging you please don’t take my man. I have a huge gay following and I love ‘em.”
GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine chatted with Parton over the phone to promote her new CD/DVD release, Live In London, hitting stores November 10th. The set was recorded at the O2 Arena in 2008 and includes many of her greatest hits, such as Here You Come Again, 9 to 5 and I Will Always Love You.
“We thought it would be exciting, and it was. We don’t get to Europe that often and I have always had a huge fan base in England. People love to feel like they get to go somewhere, it is like we get to go to London with Dolly and see what is going on around there. The O2 arena is a huge wonderful place, a lot of people play there and Michael (Jackson) was going to do his last shows there. We had 18,000 people at two sellout shows and taped them both. When we first started the tour we hadn’t planned to make it a show, we just wanted to document it. When we got home we realized it was really good and we should make it into a live CD and DVD. We put it in a neat little package that looks like a suitcase with passports and plane tickets, they did a great job on the artwork for it.”
For those who have never seen Parton live, the DVD gives a sample of what the experience is like. One can’t help but be awed by the fact that at 63 years of age, she can outperform some artists 40 years her junior.
“I have had a lot of practice and am singing songs I have been for years. I am not a dancer as you can see, I just work off my natural energy. A whole lot of it is just being my own natural self, whatever moves I make is whatever steers me on to get across the stage and involved with the audience. I love what I do, I love to sing. I never quit singing so I keep my pipes up to date and tuned up,” she said.
Another impressive feat is the assortment of six instruments that she plays during the show. “I love to play. I usually play a little bit of fiddling and electric guitar too. We had so much show we had to edit down. I am not great at it but I play everything as I write. I play enough to accompany myself on a show. I come from a musical background, my Mother’s people all sing and play some sort of musical instrument. We can all play enough to make it.”
It is amusing listening to the London audience sing back to Dolly with a British accent.
“I sometimes am hard to understand in my own country because I have such a country southern accent. The fact that my people in the great Smokey Mountains are heavily influenced by the Irish and English, all those old Irish and English ballads I grew up singing. I think they understand me more in England than in America because I have that old flavor. It is fun to hear different countries singing along. When we used to play in Japan and other places where they didn’t know a word of English but had memorized the music, they would be so quiet when you are talking, but when you go into the song they start stomping their feet and singing. Whatever it takes, it is nice to be popular around the world.”
In a career that has spanned 4 decades Parton has seen and done it all – music, movies, two variety shows, and a Broadway musical based on the movie 9 to 5.
“I’m a Broadway diva!! I am blessed to get to do so many things. Getting to do 9 to 5 was a wonderful thing. We didn’t get to stay on Broadway as long as we would have hoped but it made a big showing while it was there. Now it is being prepared to go on tour, we open in Nashville next September and will be traveling on the road for the next two or three years. I am looking forward to that. I am now in the process of writing my life story as a Broadway musical. I have had some fun times. I had two variety shows: one before you were born, out of Nashville, and then the Dolly show out of L.A. I had a wonderful time doing both the shows, I kind of miss getting to do that. Last week I did a special with Carrie Underwood almost like the same format we used to do. It was fun working with her and going back to doing the jokes, skits, guests and doing a duet.”
When I told people that I would be speaking with Parton, the most common reaction after “oh my god are you serious?!” was “she seems like such a sweet person.” As anyone who has interacted with her will attest that is very much true, and people really feel a connection to her.
“I have been around a long long time so people feel like they know me, like I am a relative somehow. I have been around longer than a lot of my newer fans have been alive. A lot of it has to do with being from a big family, the story of rags to riches and I have always fought for the right to be me. The fact that I have been in movies helped some, 9 to 5 and The Best Little Chickenhouse in Texas. People have just known me so long, but I hope I am a good-guy.”
While Dolly may not have changed much, the music industry sure has. In a world filled with twitter, Myspace and Youtube, Parton says she relies on her team to keep her up to date in the internet age.
“I have managed to put together a wonderful group of people. I haven’t changed how I go about my work in terms of how I write a song because it has always just come from me. The music industry and the way that you do marketing has changed a lot. The big labels that used to be such powerhouses are now in as bad a shape as some of the older artists. I think it is important if you intend to stay in the business like I do - I don’t ever intend to retire - is that you surround yourself with people that are in the know, and keep you current know how to market you in those areas. I have been blessed with a group of people that put me out there and keep me alive. I just say, go to it, here’s the money, go put it where it belongs, and go market it and we will continue to do what we do and not be left behind.”
Another amazing fact about Parton - in an industry that has 5 minute marriages, affairs and divorces galore, she and husband Carl Thomas Dean have stayed together for over 40 years. We asked her the secret for her successful marriage.
“My husband is not in the business, I have noticed that can be a great hindrance in some cases. Two people in the same business can be competitive or their schedules can screw things up. My husband is very much a homebody and doesn’t like being out in public. We are great friends and get along really good, we never have fought or argued. I feel safe and secure with him and who he is, how he is. He knows me through and through. The fact that we are not in each other’s face night and day, we appreciate each other when we do get to be together. I am sure that, now that we are older, we could hang out more and be less apt to feel like we are getting in each other’s face - we do mellow as time goes by. I was blessed, God was kind to me with good friends and a good husband. The fact that our lives are different, we want to hear what is going on with each other. It gives us stuff to talk about that we are not going to argue or fight about.”
The live DVD will leave Dolly fans longing for the chance to see her live and in person, something she promises will happen soon enough. She will be making music for a long time, as she insists she will never retire.
“We are talking about touring. I am going to spend the next few months on a musical on Broadway and a movie about my life story. Then we are talking about touring in the fall and winter next year and hopefully a big part of that will be in Canada. I certainly hope to not retire unless it is something I am not expecting. If something happened to my husband I would want to be with him, or if I was ill. As long as I am able to get out and do it, I want to be doing this all the days of my life.”
Any long lasting iconic female performer from Bette Midler to Cher to Madonna will freely admit that the support of her gay fans is a key to their success, and Dolly is no exception. To the readers of GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine she says:
“I do think it is true. If you look at all those personalities, we are all very similar. With Cher, Madonna, myself we are all so who we are, and out there, ourselves; accepting of other people because we want to be accepted for who and how we are. That is one of the reasons the gay and lesbian community has responded to me, because I believe everybody should just get to be who they are. We are who we are, why can’t we be allowed to celebrate that and have a good time. We are partners and buddies and friends and let’s just keep keeping-on. I love you and thanks for loving me.”
“I have had a blessed, charmed life, I’ve gotten to do some of everything and I can’t wait to see what I get to do next.”
Win a copy of the CD/DVD at www.GayCalgary.com
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Contributor Jason Clevett |
Person Dolly Parton |
Topic Celebrity Interview |
