The Man Who Was ‘Mr. Everything’ to Dolly Parton
Don Warden was Dolly Parton’s everything. Well, he was her manager. But the Queen of Country thought of him as more than that. They worked on The Porter Wagoner Show together and left at the same time. After that, Warden went to work for Parton for nearly five decades. Warden died on March 11, 2017 at 87 years old. Here’s what the “Coat of Many Colors” singer has to say about her “Mr. Everything.”
Dolly Parton could always count on Don Warden
As Parton wrote her 1994 memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business, she and Warden had worked together for 25 years.
“Throughout that time, Don has been as solid as a rock, loyal, trustworthy, and constant,” wrote Parton. “I call him ‘Mr. Everything.’
In show business and in life, Warden was someone Parton could depend on. And she liked to think he could depend on her, too.
“If I were hanging from the edge of a cliff, Don Warden is the one person on this earth I would want to be holding on to my hand,” she wrote. “Actually, let me amend that. My husband Carl is the person I would want holding on to my hand. Don Warden is the person I would want on the phone calling for backup.”
‘I Know Don Warden’
Warden wasn’t a particularly big man, but he was the “tallest man” the “Jolene” singer knew. He was well known and well liked.
“Anybody who knows him—and he knows everybody—looks up to him,” she wrote. “At one time there was even a T-shirt being sold around Nashville that read I KNOW DON WARDEN. People are still calling me and asking, ‘How can I get one of those Don Warden T-shirts?’ Sometimes it feels like people are only using me to get to Don.”
Warden started playing music with Wagoner when he was first getting his start. He played steel guitar as one of the Wagonmasters. He sang the high part on “Satisfied Mind.” He knew a lot about the music industry.
“He knows absolutely everything about the business,” wrote Parton. “A much rarer thing than that is that he’s willing to share what he knows. I always get a kick out of seeing young people come to ‘sit at the feet of the master’ and learn from Don.”
Dolly was also good friend’s with Don’s wife Ann
The “Two Doors Down” singer wasn’t just close with Don. She was good friends with his wife, Ann, as well.
“Another great angel that God has brought into my life is Don’s wife, Ann,” wrote Parton. “I truly believe I would have met her somewhere else if she had never known Don. I know Don is awfully glad she does. She’s a beautiful Missouri girl who used to be a model, but she’s even more beautiful inside. She loves to draw and paint and has a real gift for decorating.”
Ann did a lot of the decorating at Dollywood, including on Parton’s Tennessee Mountain Home. She also designed the “Dolly Doll” that came out in 1975.
“Ann and Don are such treasures to me, and I thank God for them every day,” she wrote.
