Most of us have benefitted in some way by riding the tsunami of media tributes to the Queen of Country Music, Miss Dolly Parton, since her unexpected graduation to heaven a few weeks ago at a young age 80. I was always kind of a passive fan – especially of her terrific movies, 9 to 5, Steel Magnolias, and Coat of Many Colors – and I was reluctant to give her up to Gabriel’s band in the heavenly realms (but can you imagine how FABULOUS it will be with all the exceptionally talented Jesus-loving-musicians who have gone before us?).
I can’t wait to hear the difference Dolly’s trademark Tennessee twang adds to the dignified heavenly chorus.
I must say I’ve truly enjoyed getting to know more tidbits about the real flesh and blood Dolly beyond the grocery store check-out news-rag screaming headlines. She truly was a class act, a genuine Christ-follower, unashamed and unafraid to claim herself as such, and an immensely gifted individual. I’d love to share some of those well-I-never-knew tidbits with you. (And I hope you’ll share some of yours with me in the comments below!)
My fave Dolly song has got to be 9 to 5 – now I can shorely get my bad self down when those deep bass intro beats start kicking in do-do-do-do-do-do-dum-dum …. Just can’t keep my boogie bod still. Hey, did you know that wonderful but strange clicking percussion on the intro is actually Dolly herself tapping out the beat on her own acrylic fingernails? Now if that’s not talent, I don’t know what is! Fittingly, the cover on the original label reads, “Nails by Dolly.”
And did you know for the movie 9 to 5, while Jane Fonda was carrying around the script, trying to imagine who could do justice to the 3 main roles, she randomly ran into Dolly and was introduced to her for the first time. Within two sentences of polite conversation, Jane already had the revelation that Dolly was Doralee (hope I got that name right). When she offered a nervous Dolly the role several weeks later (it was Dolly’s first movie), she told her to just play herself. When the script was delivered to Dolly she was told to learn her lines. Not knowing any better, she memorized not just her own but everybody’s lines. Apparently Dolly had a mind like a steel trap and an exceptional memory. While filming scenes, the other actors leaned heavily on Dolly for their forgotten lines because she knew them all.
Dolly brought her own makeup and styled her own hair (wigs) for Steel Magnolias. She felt right at home playing a hair stylist and said if she’d not ended up a singing star, she surely would’ve been in that life role for real.
And did you know that she was married to the same man for nearly 60 years? Now you know she was a saint if she could manage that. And despite her massive plans for upcoming projects (she thrived on keeping busy), Dolly devoted the last two years of her life to taking care of him through his final illness.
And now for my utterly favorite well-I-never-knew tidbit of all time (I heard this story in various forms, so I hope I get it right).
First let me say this: You might know that in my new devo, Bless Your Heart: Daily Devotions to Warm Your Heart & Feed Your Soul, I talk about an amazing concept called, “radical grace.” [Meaning grace (getting more than we deserve) above and beyond expectation; radical grace is commonly extended to us by our Papa God, but rarely offered to one human by another human.]
Well, let me tell you – Dolly was one of the best human examples of extending radical grace I’ve ever seen.
She got her big show biz break as a backup singer on “The Porter Wagoner Show.” Porter was good to Dolly (an unknown, inexperienced singer at the time) and she promised him she’d stay with the show five years; her dream was to one day break off on her own and not be just the sidekick girl singer. After five years, she ended up becoming more popular than Porter and he didn’t want to let her go, so a “friendly” tussle evolved as he tried to keep her there while his own ratings slipped. After a few additional years, the tussle grew not so friendly and when Dolly finally broke ties with the show in what she thought was a fond farewell, Porter up and sued her for a shocking million dollars. As a still-getting-off-the-ground young performer, it threw Dolly down into a big financial hole. Plus she felt hurt and betrayed.
Deep, mixed emotions poured out of her wounded heart as Dolly penned her beautiful ballad, “I Will Always Love You,” – later immortalized by Whitney Houston – about Dolly’s heart-wrenching experience leaving Porter and his show. She never bad-mouthed him, but always gave him credit for giving her a great start.
Some years later, after Dolly had worked hard to become the big star she had always dreamed she’d be, she heard that Porter Wagoner was in financial trouble and was trying to sell the rights to his songs to avoid bankruptcy. Dolly quietly bought 100 of his song rights, valued at around two million dollars, and then turned around and gave them back to him. No fanfare. No interviews. No press. She gave them back to him without drawing any attention to it so not to embarrass him. She said that God impressed on her that it was the right thing to do.
Let that sink in a minute. That’s not just grace, my friend, that’s radical grace.
And that’s Dolly Parton. Someone who loved big hair, big boosies, and big outfits; a woman who stood for Jesus through the hell fires of Hollywood and continued to listen to her Savior’s still, small voice her entire life.
I know that she had her flaws, as we all do, but by golly, I’m with Dolly. Yep, you can call me a rabid fan now instead of a passive one. And I pray that one day I can be humble enough to give someone who hurt me badly back twice what he took from me. Amen.
Okay, it’s your turn dear BFF (Blessed Friend Forever). What’s your favorite Dolly tidbit?
P.S. Now is the time to reserve the dates for your Christmas or spring event if you need an inspirational speaker – I’d be delighted to come love on your ladies with a little Jesus-joy, but my open calendar dates are going fast.