Friday 1 June 2012

Dollywood


Dolly by Andy - 1985

A spontaneous celebration of Dolly Parton. On Sunday I heard a woman sing Jolene at a street party, and it occured to me how formidable and underrated she really is. 


     Dolly Parton, Jolene (1974)


With this on my mind and lips, I started to dig into Dolly's life. Here my favourite facts which made me a fan.  

  • It was Johnny Cash who encouraged Dolly to become a pro.
  • Dolly has written 3,000 songs and sold over 100 million albums. Elvis wanted to cover I Will Always Love You and take half the publishing rights, but Dolly stuck to her guns 
  • Dolly wrote I Will Always Love You for Porter Wagon, the dude who announces her in the Jolene clip and with whom she sang duets for many years. They never went out. Despite his flabbergasting jacket collection.

Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner - The Last Thing on My Mind 

  • In 1982 Dolly starred in a movie called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. You can watch the whole thing here.
  • Dolly the sheep - the first cloned mammal - was named after Ms Parton. Because the donor cell used for the cloning was taken from a mammary gland.


    • We Got Tonight, with Kenny Rogers. Gotta love her cheek


    • Last but not least, Dolly owns an entire theme park - Dollywood. It features a replica of the hut she grew up in and it used to have a museum called "Rags to Riches: The Dolly Parton Story". Dollywood is officially the most popular tourist attraction in Tennessee.

    See.

    Versatile Dolly
    Dolly and Mick - 1977
     
    Dolly, Cindy Sherman-esque

    Like a busty Paris Hilton, with Cher

    Everybody comes to Dollywood

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