Dear Dolly
Gary Wade reflects on a friendship rooted in Sevier County and the music, wit, and generosity that shaped Dolly Parton’s extraordinary legacy.
Almost everyone in these parts knows your remarkable story. Born on January 19, 1946, in a two-room home on Locust Ridge in the Sevier County mountains to Robert Lee and Avie Lee Parton, you were the fourth of a family of 12 children. In those days, most people in our small community just hoped to get by. By the time you started school at tiny Caton's Chapel School, our state ranked 46th of the 48 states in the US by most economic measures. Moreover, studies indicated that our home county ranked 93rd of 95 in the state. Although there was some tourism in Gatlinburg related to our national park and a small business district in Sevierville, most of our people farmed. Post World War II, it seemed like the only time folks here had a few dollars in their pockets was when their tobacco allotment sold. In short, prospects for real success in those years were not good.
Somehow the poverty here had no limitation to your personal horizons. Your family had music and a faith in God. Your grandfather Jake Owens, a country preacher, inspired the kind of faith that carried you and your brothers and sisters through the hard times. By the time you were six, you were singing at home and in church. By seven, you were learning to play the guitar. At eight, you had your very own. Even then, you knew where you were going and, looking back, you found so many ways to get there. To paraphrase your familiar quote, you were willing to put up with the rain to gain your rainbow.
With the help of your uncle Bill Owen, you were singing on Knoxville's WIVK radio and on a grocery store owner's early morning television show on WBIR. Who could forget the jingle which began, "Pick up the morning paper when it hits the street, Cas Walker prices just can't be beat...." That's when I saw a beautiful girl only two years older already hitting the "bigtime" - at least in my world. I learned later that by then you were writing songs, writing and recording "Puppy Love" before you started at the Sevier County High School!
Dolly, despite your budding success, you never forgot where you came from.
By the time I began at our alma mater, you were a member of the band, playing the drums of all things. Come to think of it, I have never seen an acoustic guitar at halftime of a football game! When you were a senior in the fall of 1963, I was thrilled to get a smile when we passed in the hall between classes. You looked especially good when you wore that burgundy vest. That said, my super outgoing younger brother, Sid, one-upped me. Knowing you were a semi-celebrity, he found a seat next to you at band practice and bragged about being your pal. Incidentally, twenty-five years later, Sid helped lead private fundraising for your statue at the courthouse.
I was amazed to learn that you had traveled to Nashville to start your career on the very next day after your graduation in 1964. Surely, I thought, no one from our little town could be so bold. In the words of Mark Twain: "With ignorance and confidence, success is sure!" Obviously, you possessed self-assurance, were brave enough to chase your dream, and the work ethic and talent to back it up. At first, as I learned later, you made a living writing songs and by the time I graduated from high school in 1966, you had married a handsome young contractor who cherished his low profile as much as you delighted in the spotlight. In the next year, of course, you joined the popular "Porter Wagoner Show," which through 1974 included regular TV appearances and several duet and single albums in country music. By 1969, you were a card-carrying member of the Grand Ole Opry. It was when you left Porter's show, you penned a beautiful tribute to his mentorship, "I Will Always Love You."
In the spirit of “not coming back down the ladder of success,” your greatest gift of all may never end.
Dolly, despite your budding success, you never forgot where you came from. For years, you put on a show locally to benefit our high school band. Proceeds from your concerts paid for uniforms and much more. When you were still with Porter, I came home to practice law. In 1977, I was elected mayor, an office few sought in small town Sevierville. While I was mostly in charge of barking dogs and late garbage pickups, I learned that there was a perk. The mayor got to serve as emcee for the band benefit you put on each year at our high school. Nervous as a cat, I needed your help to get through my modest role without thoroughly embarrassing myself. I beamed when you recognized me and gave me a hug.
Humor aside, for your many achievements, you have my absolute admiration.
My ten years in office gave me the opportunity to cross your path regularly, each visit was always better than the time before. I marveled at your beauty, your charm, and your remarkable wit. As I look back, my understanding of your exceptional career is illustrated by the day, with the permission of the Tennessee General Assembly, our city dedicated Dolly Parton Parkway, a section of highway 411, ironically the "flattest stretch in the city." Those were your words, not mine. Office holders from all over East Tennessee wanted to be there. One of the more well-known state politicians asked to speak. I first noticed that he had some difficulty raising his eyes to your face as he admired certain other parts of your attractive anatomy, but he was able to offer some constructive advice: "Dolly," he concluded, "As you continue to go up the ladder of success, please remember all of those you pass along the way because they will still be there as you come back down." "Thank you, sir," you answered, "but I am not coming back down!" And for the next forty years you never did.
In the early 80s, you dreamed of a theme park. Your Dollywood is now over 40 years old and an attraction for guests that rivals your beloved Great Smoky Mountain National Park. That is an attraction which will endure for years to come. Of importance to the governors and other political leaders you have befriended in Nashville, the state relies on our tourism economy to meet its annual tax needs. To sum up our change from agriculture to tourism, the late Tom Ogle of Gatlinburg pointed out that the restaurant and hotel businesses here beat “trying to plow the Parkway.” Recently retired City Manager of Pigeon Forge, Earlene Teaster, a friend who followed her entire career, credits your presence as a main reason for the prosperity in her community: “What would our city be without Dolly?”
Turning back to your career in the entertainment business, you became a favorite guest of Johnny Carson, appearing some 25 times on his late night Tonight Show. "I'm here as much as you are," you quipped in reference to his penchant for frequently calling on guest hosts to substitute. On that same evening, you debuted a favorite of your original tunes, [despite all of your many successes] "I never really made it till the Johnny Carson show." You later hosted the popular Saturday Night Live, and in 1987, you had your own variety show on television (If I failed to thank you enough for allowing me to serve as your fictional high school boyfriend in the Thanksgiving Reunion Special, let me emphasize my appreciation for the five minutes of fame!) You also starred in movies with such notables as Jane Fonda, Sylvester Stallone, Lily Tomlin, Julia Roberts, and Burt Reynolds. Several duets like "Islands in the Stream" with Kenny Rogers were bigtime hits. Your "Trio" album with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt reached platinum status in the US. You won 11 Grammy and three Emmys. As a Hall of Famer in country (and in rock), your stature earned you the title of "Queen of Country Music." Heck, at 77, you were a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader -- and the best looking of the lot! Self-deprecatingly, you often point out that it "takes a lot of money to look this cheap!" Another of my favorites among your many famous quotes, always poking fun at yourself in an earthly way as you use the science of medicine to maintain your youthful looks: "If I see something sagging, bagging, or dragging, I'll get nipped, tucked, and sucked!" That kind of candor made you even more popular.
Humor aside, for your many achievements, you have my absolute admiration. Millions throughout this country and beyond would surely agree that you merited your stardom. Always "dreaming more," you adopted Children's Hospital in Knoxville and even opened a truck stop off I-65 in the last months of your life on earth. But for all that recognition, you never forgot your family, your friends, and, importantly, your people back home. You kicked off the Sevier County High School scholarship program after our Smoky Bears won its first state championship. Over the years you donated millions and encouraged others to give to our local hospital and cancer center and the victims of the 2016 wildfires in and around our national park. Two years ago, when Hurricane Helene devastated East Tennessee and North Carolina, you set the standard for generosity. In the spirit of "not coming back down the ladder of success," your greatest gift of all may never end. Imagination Library, the flagship program of the Dollywood Foundation, has donated 330 million books to children since its inception. From birth to age five, all children in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia receive a book each month. Foundation president, Jeff Conyers, reports some 3.3 million books per month will continue under your signature. For that and so much more, thank you, dear friend. You had a heart made of solid gold.
