Dolly Parton’s Preacher Grandfather Was Sure She Was ‘Doomed to Hell’
Dolly Parton grew up with a devoutly religious mother and a grandfather who was a preacher. He was the inspiration for her song, “Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man,” and he really did preach “hell so hot that you could feel the heat.” When Parton began experimenting with her look, her Grandpa Jake did not approve.
Dolly Parton’s Grandpa Jake was convinced the devil was dressing his granddaughter
Parton believes she got much of her love for God and music from her grandfather.
“In return, I gave him a fit when it came to my tight clothes, bleached hair, and makeup,” she wrote in her first memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “He was just sure I was doomed to hell.”
He’d call her “Jezebel,” then shake his head and say: “Lord, the devil must have made you wear your clothes that way and bleach your hair like that.”
Parton would respond: “No offense, Granddaddy, but I did this all by myself. The devil had nothing to do with it.”
Grandpa Jake didn’t approve of much of his family
Grandpa Jake was a devout, serious man. But many of the Owneses (Parton’s mother’s side of the family) had a looser outlook on life. Just like Grandpa Jake raised his eyebrows at Parton’s lifestyle, he had reservations about how much of his family lived.
“For the most part, my mother’s family, the Owenses, are vagabonds,” wrote Parton. “They live to play music and will let nothing, earning a living, for example, stand in the way of that.”
Parton’s Uncle Bill (the man who taught her how to play guitar), in particular, wasn’t bothered by things like earning a good, honest living.
“My Uncle Bill, for example, always genuinely believed that there was a huge fortune to be made with little to no effort, if not today, then certainly tomorrow,” wrote Parton.
This didn’t sit well with Reverend Jake Owens.
More about Dolly Parton’s Grandpa Reverend Jake Owens
Just as Parton felt called to sing and make music the second she was able to, Grandpa Jake felt called to preach.
“He began preaching when he was seventeen, years before he was actually ordained,” wrote Parton. “There were few ordained ministers in our parts anyway. If a young man felt led to preach the gospel, he just let it fly. Many of them couldn’t even read or write. They just watched other people preach and then copied the way they did it.”
Reverend Jake Owens was more educated than most of the other preachers in the area.
“He was a music teacher of sorts and even taught public school as a substitute,” wrote Parton.
The inspiration for “Daddy Was and Old Time Preacher Man,” Reverend Jake Owens was looked at as “a rock” in the Parton and Owens families.
“His real name, Jacob, naturally enough, comes from the Bible, as did everything he ever thought or did,” wrote Parton. “He never had a drink of alcohol or smoked a cigarette. He never even overate or did anything else to excess. He loved his Lord and he loved his family.”
