Dolly Parton’s Friends and Family Were Wary of Her Management
As Dolly Parton’s career advanced, she took on new management. They helped her cross over from a strictly country crowd to more mainstream fans. Undoubtedly, her new manager helped boost her career. Still, her friends and family weren’t sure what to make of the change in Parton’s life. They believed her new management team brought her away from her roots.
Dolly Parton’s loved ones believed she had changed because of her new management
In 1977, Parton traveled to Sevierville, Tennessee, for their celebration of Dolly Parton Day. She greeted the crowd and chatted happily with people from school. While she was perfectly friendly, some attendees felt Parton had changed. She had a security team with her and left quickly after the show.
“I think by far there were more comments about it this time than ever before,” her school principal, Jack McMahan, said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “I’m sure they have to follow their ordinary routine, but on the other hand, no one is going to hurt Dolly around here. I don’t know whether the new management puts more pressure on scheduling and things like that, or whether that’s just their basic setup. And I realize Dolly has to have her rest. But I could tell a lot more of an enclosed setup around Dolly this time. Actually, they just kept her closed in.”
Those who had known Parton all her life believed her ability to connect with crowds was part of what made her so special. They believed her new management was taking this quality away.
“I don’t know about this management,” her friend Ruth Green said. “When you lose a personal relationship with your friends … But, you know, people will still love her. Dolly’s just that kind of person.”
They didn’t like that they struggled to see her after shows
One of her loved ones’ biggest complaints about Parton’s new management was that they made it difficult for them to see her. After concerts, Parton retreated to her tour bus and headed to the next city.
“Of course, I realize that more people wanted to see her than she would have time to talk to, but even her mother only got to see her a few minutes,” McMahan recalled. “Mrs. Parton said, ‘Well, I gave her to the public three or four years ago, and that’s the way it’s been ever since. I hardly ever get a chance to really see or talk to her.’”
Green and Parton’s grandfather had similar experiences after a show.
“Dolly’s grandfather was in here the other day,” Parton’s friend Ruth Green said. “He asked how I liked Dolly’s last show, and I said I liked it fine, except I didn’t get a chance to reminisce like we used to. He said he didn’t either, The minute she left the stage, she was gone. They had the bus parked where nobody could get at her. Mrs. Parton said nobody got to see Dolly, not even her.”
Dolly Parton loved the direction her new management took her career
While Parton’s family were wary of her new management, she loved all that they did for her career. She and her manager, Sandy Gallin, were also fast friends.
“The major player in my crossover success was Sandy Gallin,” Parton wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “When I met Sandy, we hit it off instantly. From the time I was a kid singing to chickens over a tin-can mike, he was the only person I ever met other than Uncle Bill who wanted me to be a star even more than I did. I’m not saying that is the basis for our friendship, but it certainly gave us a good place to start.”
On their first meeting, Parton realized that Gallin would be a permanent fixture in her life.
“He was laughing for joy at having found me,” she wrote. “I instantly felt as if all my life I had been waiting for Sandy. In that one moment, I realized I had found someone who understood me completely. That made me want to cry.”
The pair remained friends until Gallin’s death.
