Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton (12)

by Dolly Parton (Editor), Randy L. Schmidt (Editor)

“Nobody knows Dolly like Dolly,” declares Dolly Parton.
            Dolly’s is a rags-to-riches tale like no other. A dirt-poor Smoky Mountain childhood paved the way for the buxom blonde butterfly’s metamorphosis from singer-songwriter to international music superstar. The undisputed “Queen of Country Music,” Dolly has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has conquered just about every facet of the entertainment industry: music, film, television, publishing, theatre, and even theme parks. It’s been more than fifty years since Dolly Parton arrived in Nashville with just her guitar and a dream. Her story has been told many times and in many ways, but never like this.
            Dolly on Dolly is a collection of interviews spanning five decades of her career and featuring material gathered from celebrated publications including Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, and Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. Also included are interviews which have not been previously available in print. Dolly’s feisty and irresistible brand of humor, combined with her playful, pull-up-a-chair-and-stay-awhile delivery, makes for a fascinating and inviting experience in downhome philosophy and storytelling. Much like her patchwork “Coat of Many Colors,” this book harkens back to the legendary entertainer’s roots and traces her evolution, stitching it all together one piece at a time.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Autobiography, Biography Memoir, American History

416 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2017

About the author

Dolly Rebecca Parton is a Grammy Award-winning country music singer/songwriter, author, actress and philanthropist. To date, she remains one of the most successful country artists, with 25 number-one singles (a record for a female performer) and 42 top-10 country albums (more than anyone else).

She is known for her distinctive mountain soprano, sometimes bawdy humor, flamboyant dress sense, and her voluptuous figure.

Reviews

[H (no longer expecting notifications) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of reasons to consider Dolly Parton a national treasure -
"I write what I write, say what I say, ’cause I feel what I feel, and if I did it different, it would make me a liar! So I’d rather be an honest person than a good liar."

Parton wasn’t the first to be call “the blond bombshell.” I think that was Jean Harlow. She wasn’t even the first singer to be given that title. I believe that was Carolina Cotton. But Dolly has been a singer, writer, actor and much more since before Richard Nixon became president. Her talent has been recognized in many ways: “She is one of seven female artists to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award. Parton has five Academy of Country Music Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), four People's Choice Awards, and three American Music Awards. She is also in a select group to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. In 1999, Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2005, she received the National Medal of Arts, and in 2022, she was nominated for and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a nomination she had initially declined but ultimately accepted.”

I can’t say I saw a lot of heavy lifting by the authors, more like a lot of raking together. But the result should satisfy a lot of Parton’s fans. What impressed me most was her transparency. She will give you straight talk about anything from her cosmetic surgeries to her commitment to literacy. And, this isn’t someone trying to make up for a past of misdeeds. It wasn’t very long after her first big hits that she recognized her “roots” in Sevierville by giving back: "Last spring, as “live and in-person” recordings at such places as Carnegie Hall became the vogue for country singers, Miss Dolly gathered up an RCA engineering crew, stage boss Porter Wagoner and Wagoner’s Wagonmasters. She took them with her one evening to do her own “live” album. But rather than Carnegie Hall, she took them to Sevier County High School. The day before the performance that evening—a day called “Dolly Parton Day” in Sevierville—the blonde bombshell announced she was donating her part of the proceeds of that night’s show to set up a scholarship fund for deserving students at the high school. She promised to return for benefit shows whenever they were needed to maintain the fund."

And after more than 50 years she still does that and has expanded her literacy efforts to every part of the USA (and more). Her voice is unique and her song writing is often very personal but that is just what we have come to expect.

Dolly Parton’s fans span the political, racial and social spectrums. These interviews and articles are not great in every case; but, taken as a whole, will give many fans a more complete picture of this country icon.
3.5

[Dawn]

This book was interesting to a point. It's just a collection of interviews with Dolly in print. The 1979 Playboy interview was quite interesting. But after a while, 300+ pages of just interviews just got to be too much to want to keep slogging through.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a giant omnibus of Dolly Parton interviews from the beginning when she started off with Porter Wagoner all the way to present. The publications she did interviews with range from big time magazines to small indie 'zines.

There are moments of repetition over the various interviews where Dolly repeats the same rhetoric over and over, such as the story of her upbringing. But overall this is a highly entertaining collection of interviews, because we get Dolly in all her wit and vulnerability. My favorite interview in the book was from the early 80s when a reporter embedded with Dolly's life for a couple of weeks. This time period included Carl Dean's (Dolly's husband) 30th birthday. Dolly was out on tour. Even though she was quite successful by this era of her career they celebrated Carl's birthday at a HoJo hotel! Dolly rented out the banquet hall and they threw him a surprise party. Then they went outside to the HoJo's pool and volleyball pits and BBQ'd and hung out. Amazing.

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Born in a little cabin in Tennessee, Dolly Parton always dreamed big, and she was right to! She wrote her first song at age five and became a country music star by the time she was in her early twenties. Of course, her success didn't stop there. Dolly Parton is also an actress, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist whose "Imagination Library" reading initiative reaches children throughout the US, Canada, and the UK. There is simply no one like Dolly Parton

I've always liked Dolly Parton, and I really admire her. Still, this book taught me more! She's just a fantastic person - talented, savvy, and generous. I love that the author mentioned Dolly's Imagination Library, which is a wonderful literacy program.

This book gets 4.5 stars because it was a kind and well thought through book. But five stars goes to Dolly Parton herself! So who is Dolly Parton? By True Telley is a very interesting book. This book caught my attention as on the cover it had a lot of pink on and big blonde hair and was like "I want to know who this person is." Dolly grew up poor and became a star. It was a hard time getting to the top. She was born on January 19, 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee, she starts getting noticed in 1956. It was a hard time getting to the top. She was always busy but she did it. Dolly started on music. She loved what she was doing and never stops. She has won many awards for singing and acting. I started reading this book not knowing very much about Dolly, but I know now quite a lot.

I loved this book and I've been a fan of hers for many many years. I got to see her in person with Kenny Rogers. That was probably one of the highlights of my life. They were wonderful. I've also seen her in concert. I have love love loved her. Highly recommend.

[Sally taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first I really liked reading the interviews, but very soon it was SO repetitive, I can only hear that she is the 4th of 12 children and met Carl on her first day in Nashville, so many times! This would be a good book if you had to do research on her for some reason, but by the 4th interview I was skimming the rest of the book.
Read for Beatles Challenge: “Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey” - Read a book with a repeat word in the title

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Dolly fan, it was pretty great to be able to read some of her interviews in one space. However, as this is a collection of interviews, everything is very repetitive. All of the interviewers ask the same questions and the same stories are told that it no longer becomes interesting.

It was also a great reminder that no matter how high a pedestal I put her on, Dolly is a human with a lot of flaws, but she’s been telling us that the whole time anyway!

[Mollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved Dolly. She's smart and sassy and very successful, and she truly uses her money to help others. I picked this up on a whim in my local public library, and I am glad I did. Oh, there is repetition - of course! - after all, facts are facts.

[T.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dolly is an amazing person. The compiled interviews revealed her constant evolution to a mature woman. I respect her so much as a person for it. I recommend this book for Dolly fans.

[Ann Major · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable, Informative

I enjoyed these interviews given at different times during Dolly’s life. You learn about her dreams, music, struggles to juggle it all, and her health issues.

[Theresa Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of repetition but overall a good and informative book.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, this was me: I get it, I get it...The good lord has blessed Dolly Parton with generous helpin’ uh crumb-catchers. And she covers ‘em in sequined chiffon. And I get it, she waves her tiny hands and tucks her tiny feet under her when she tells it to ya straight while settin’ on her coach of many colors. I wanted this book to make me like Dolly, but alas... now I can only see her as a shrewd businesswoman who talks out of both sides of her folksy little mouth, god bless her. I’m not bashing shrewd businesswomen or successful women...I’m just not picking up what she’s laying down.

But then later... Well. The Ralph Emery interview was especially winning.

And then later still: Harrumph... ok, she is a doll, this Dolly. I’m liking her and I simply MUST know what she says about Best Little Whorehouse in Texas...

And then: OH GOD, Y’ALL, I’m a Dolly acolyte. She is irrepressible and inspirational.

[Rosalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.
This was okay, but certainly repetitious, with much data from a number of interviews being repeated. I would have liked a bit more background material on some subjects (most notably her legal issues with Porter Wagoner. I think that this is best just dipped into on topics that are of interest, rather than being read straight from cover to cover.
I do think that it could have been edited a bit tighter, just to avoid the serious repetition most notably about: her poor upbringing; her faith; her family; and her clothes and accessories. Perhaps this is best for the real die-hard Dolly Parton fans.

[Jan Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I expected, it was just a series of interviews of hers and the author discussing those. It did repeat a lot in those interviews because she tended to say the same thing often. Some of it was pretty interesting but I had a hard time staying attended to it and wasn't something I couldn't put down. I had to make myself finish it.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was ok, a lot of information on Dolly Parton from past interviews, but it got to be very repetitive as the same material was used over and over. Since I had read several of the magazine articles over the years it was like I had already read the book.

[Lisa Mcbroom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dolly Parton goes by many names Dolly Rebecca, The Book Lady, The Iron Butterfly. This book of interviews shows more of her mystique and appeal. She is one smart cookie!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a nice collection of interviews with Dolly. I love her! I saw her live for the first time last year with my mother & she was fantastic!!

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fav is problematic

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

God I love Dolly

[Pamela Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

endlessly fascinating subject; relentlessly boring (and lazy) format

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must admit that my knowledge of Dolly Parton is somewhat peripheral.  In high school I went to an orchestra competition in Gatlinburg, but we did not go to Dollywood.  I come from the Appalachians myself, but a different part than she hails from.  I am familiar with her music, but generally her more pop-oriented music like "9 to 5," "I Will Always Love You," and "Islands In The Stream" and "Romeo" and later songs like "When I Get Where I'm Going," where she has collaborated with other artists.  So, I am by no means an insider as far as Dolly Parton's life goes.  I didn't even know she was married, something these interviews talk about a lot.  Nevertheless, as a relative outsider to Dolly's outsize importance in country music as well as the pop mainstream through her acting and crossover appeal, I can say that this book demonstrates both the promise and the pitfalls of stardom for an artist like Parton seeking to interface with music journalists who want a good story and want to stir up trouble.  The tension between the careerist ambitions of a musician like Parton and of the jouranlists who interview her comes off rather intensely here and makes for very intriguing reading.

This book consists of some very long interviews and excerpts of other interviews not included that span across the period of nearly five decades of Parton's career in music.  The first part, cleverly titled "Blonde Ambition," shows four interviews between 1967 and 1974 that look at Parton's early career and her collaboration with Porter Wagoner that lasted for several years before acrimoniously breaking up.  After that there are four interviews from 1977 to 1979 that show Parton as an elusive butterfly trying to escape easy categorization as she moves out from an exclusive focus on Nashville and readies a mid-career crossover into pop and Hollywood.  This Hollywood career is seen in four interviews from 1980 to 1982 that show her success in 9 to 5, which makes up the third part of the book.  After that there is a fourth part of the book that looks at her country comeback and her efforts at broadening her corporate empire as the "toast of Dollywood," featuring four interviews from 1984 to 1988.  After this there re four interviews from 1989 to 1999 that show her as a tough steel magnolia working hard in a business that tends to drastically favor youth.  Finally, the book closes with five interviews from 2002 to 2014 that look at Dolly Parton as an elder stateswoman of country and show her continuing to deal with cultural trends including her status as a gay icon.

Despite the sprawling degree of material included in this book, there are some threads that run through the content.  Parton has a wary relationship with the press, desiring both publicity and privacy, at times revealing personal heartache and health problems and at times giving bland platitudes that sidestep a more complete investigation into areas that she does not want to get into.  We see Parton as straddling the ground between traditional music and traditional values and clearly untraditional personal and cultural interests, seeking to be feminine and also a powerful woman, without coming across as too abrasive.  We see her attempting to secure her base in country music while also moving into pop music and movies, we see her trying to secure her base among conservative and traditional Southern baptists and other evangelicals while also reaching out to gays and lesbians, who are drawn by her campiness and the extravagance of her public persona.  We see the tension between a relentlessly positive attitude and a life filled with heartache and sadness and not fitting in, someone with obvious street smarts that would tend to be seen as a dumb blonde by all too many.  The end result shows that Dolly Parton is a complex and compelling figure, well worth reading about and studying, praying for and pondering over.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dolly has been interviewed so many times that it's easy to assume they're all filled with nothing but down home aphorisms—as a way to avoid any true divulgence of her self—especially since around the late 90s when the world decided she was more an icon, a media figure, than an artist. An interesting reveal from the early interviews here is that she knew from the beginning, comparing herself to Elton John (for example), that you get people in the door with "the gaude" and then show them your talent. It was all part of the plan.

But there are two significant things I took away from this collection.

Dolly has been quite revealing from the very beginning. She didn't hesitate to say in the early 80s, for example, that her intentionally crossover albums between 'Here You Come Again' in 1977 and '9 to 5 and Odd Jobs' in 1980 (non-inclusive) were of substandard quality. Certainly they are among the least celebrated of her recordings, but to flat-out say it? I love it. It speaks to the temporality, or the limited lifespan, of specific magazine issues back then, and in particular I mean to say that people spoke without fear of their words being hurled at them at epithets in future, that sort of self-editing that happens now that makes celebrity profiles seem like "sponsored post" bios written by PR reps.

And you can't help but notice in this chronological collection the way these articles went from in-depth New Journalism pieces with writers joining Dolly on the road and embedding themselves in the life of a touring country/crossover star to simple Q&As. In one of the last ones, the writer said "I caught up with Dolly over the phone..." where you can tell she either had to work harder to be understood or the writer had to work harder to comprehend (or the reader had to work harder to interpret) the nuance in her quotes.

[Ashlin Edmisten · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of interviews from 1967 to 2014, Dolly on Dolly gives a little insight into the life of a very talented, driven woman. The collection is an interesting read - a chronology of Dolly's successes, failures, and battles along the way. She mentions that she'd like to have a theme park, in the next interview it's time for Dollywood to open. In the beginning, Dolly worked a lot harder to get her voice heard, she battled her image as a "Dumb Blonde" and interloper to become one of the most famous country stars of the time. She cashed in on her "trashy" look, turning it in to her gimmick. As interesting as she was, I didn't recognize the Dolly from the 1960s, 1970s, or even most of the 1980s. She was effervescent, but a bit more crude than I conceptualize her. Some of the early interviews were so sexist, asinine, or inappropriate that I would have to put the book down to come back to them. In spite of the indelicacies, Dolly worked her magic, fine-tuned her zingers, and came off as friendly. As time passed the Dolly that I know and love emerged - a philanthropist, an incredible talent, a friend to everyone, and a jokester. Thank God for Dolly.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subject matter is exceptional: Dolly deserves all the credit she gets. I started the book not knowing a lot about her, and felt I got a good look at her life - I don’t think she holds a lot back, and good on her for that. She embraced her celebrity and never took herself so seriously she had to be surrounded by people that made her believe she was untouchable (a la Tom Cruise). What makes her special is her talent, mixed with incredible determination and a sense of self (and humor!). I gave the book 3 stars because it’s pretty repetitive (how could it not be). Happy to have read it.

[Lisa Burris · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the core a collection of articles about Dolly Parton, Dolly on Dolly details Parton's journey from fresh-faced, eager musical dreamer to the beloved icon we all know today. Along the way, we celebrate her triumphs (leaving Porter Wagoner to take command of her own career, starring in 9 to 5) and mourn her tragedies (a nervous breakdown in the 80s and a health scare that almost cost her her life). In the end, despite the canned "Dollyisms," Dolly Parton is revealed as a truth-sayer, more real than her appearance would have us think.

[Adam Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely starts to get repetitive by the end, but it’s still a really good insight into what seems to be a woman beloved by almost everyone she meets. It seems to be one of the few occasions when the hype is entirely justified.

What I found most interesting about this record of her life was her own distinct journey: young and naive, a breakout star, famous yet humble, worn down and depressed, older yet still naive, then finally fully content with who she is.

It was a wild ride and this book is a great companion to a life well lived.

[Abbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading her interviews pulled from a variety of magazines and papers. She has always had such a unique sense of humor and outlook on life. I also really related to her health issues, which she experienced at about the same time of life I am now. It was reassuring to hear a high-power, super active and successful woman have health challenges and how she overcame them.

Encouraging, funny, and always Dolly, was a fun read.

[Katie Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child of the 90s, I “knew” Dolly, and have grown to love Dolly and her music, but my interest has always been to learn more. This book was the PERFECT dive into the real Dolly history. Instead of biographical hand picked stories, I got to experience Dolly through the eyes of the world around her, which was very cool as well as informative! Would highly recommend to someone who wants to really dive into Dolly world and grow to love her even more.

[Kerri Seaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of a bunch of Dolly interviews from early in her career to more recent. It could get repetitive as each interview was meant to stand on its own, in all different publications so you ended up hearing about Dolly’s background in the same way again and again. But it was fun to see the progression of her career through media interviews

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Dolly and now I love her more! She's funny, charismatic, and giving. However, these interviews make it clear that she reveals little while being generous with her time and attention. She's a consummate showman and she's so funny!

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dolly is fun and funny and I think 5 interviews would have been plenty. After a few, the stories are repeated and unless you really REALLY love you some Dolly, it feels like a chore to slog through interview after interview to look for the gems.