Dolly Parton Said She Should Pay 2 Iconic Musicians for the PR They Gave Her
Dolly Parton was proud of building her career on her own terms, but she noted that two other musicians helped her go far. While Parton denied that either of these artists influenced the decisions she made in her career, she said the publicity they gave her didn’t hurt. She joked that they did so much to bring her attention that she should have put them on her payroll.
Dolly Parton said two musicians gave her great publicity
In the 1970s, both Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt recorded versions of Parton’s songs. Their covers were successful — Harris’ version of “To Daddy” hit number three on the country charts — and brought attention to Parton’s writing. Both artists also spoke glowingly about how much they liked Parton.
“They were into my music before I even met either one of ’em,” she said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “And I think they’re super. But you see, I’m not easily influenced by anyone. They’ve inspired me in many ways. And they’ve made me feel that I should take great pride in the things I do. I know one thing.”
She joked that their praise did so much to promote her music that she should have paid them.
“They’ve been great about promotin’ me,” she said. “They have done more for me, as far as their audience, their following, as far as talkin’ me up. I’m sure they’ve won me a lot of fans that would not have been aware of me beforehand. I’m always jokin’ with ’em that I should put ’em on salary for publicity.”
Emmylou Harris shared the Dolly Parton song that brought her to tears
Though Parton said she didn’t think Harris and Ronstadt influenced her, Harris felt Parton influenced her style. She said she fell in love with her voice the moment she heard it.
“I heard her years ago, when I was only into country music a little bit — before I went over the deep end — and I was amazed at her voice,” she said. “The first time I heard it, I said, ‘Who is that?’ I immediately went out and bought everything of hers I could find.”
Harris said “To Daddy,” which she would go on to cover, nearly left her in tears when she first heard it.
“There are very few people who come close to her as a song craftsman,” she said. “I mean, a song like ‘To Daddy’ has such a punch line that you want to say, ‘Hey, that’s not fair! You just set me up and knocked me over with that one.’ To me, it’s like an O. Henry short story. She sets you up and then whammo — she turns it all around. When I first heard it my lips were trembling and I was afraid I was gonna make a scene.”
Dolly Parton went on to collaborate with both musicians
Harris and Ronstadt appeared on Parton’s short-lived variety show in 1976. The three of them sang together and collaborated so beautifully that they realized they had to do it again.
“I did manage to do one show, however, that I will always be proud of. It is probably the best half-hour of television I ever did,” she wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “My guests were Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. The three of us really got comfortable with just us, our voices and guitars. The result was some of the most unspoiled, pure country music I have ever been a part of.”
They went on to release Trio in 1987 and Trio II in 1999.
