Why Members of Dolly Parton’s Band Were ‘Very Bitter’ Towards Her
In the 1970s, Dolly Parton picked up a reputation that wasn’t great for someone looking to hire a band. She explained that people in Nashville felt she couldn’t keep her backing musicians. Parton was looking for a specific sound and dynamic, and she fired people if they didn’t fit this vision. According to one of her former band members, some people felt extremely bitter toward her.
Some members of Dolly Parton’s band resented her
For many musicians, the chance to play in Parton’s band was significant and exciting. She paid well and was on a seemingly endless rise. Still, it was hard work that required long hours on the road. They also felt that Parton’s new management had made it difficult to work with her.
“On top of that, a good many things promised by Dolly did not happen,” her former guitarist, Don Roth said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “I think she promised them in all good faith, but they just didn’t happen … She didn’t want to treat her backup group like a backup group. And she didn’t. She rode the bus with us, and she hung out with us. We were together all the time. She liked us and we liked her. She’s a nice lady. But she listened to her big L.A. management firm, and slowly, but surely, we weren’t doing any TV shows.”
Parton also had no problem letting people go if she didn’t feel they fit her band.
“First of all, everybody’s afraid they’re gonna get fired; there’s no stability,” Roth said. “Because if she doesn’t like you, and chances are she won’t, she will fire you. If she doesn’t like your attitude, if she doesn’t get ‘good vibes,’ as esoteric as that is, from you on or off the stage, she doesn’t care if you’re the best player in the world. She’s not going to keep you in the group.”
As a result, many of the people she let go harbored resentment toward her.
“A number of other people got fired and, of course, all the people that got fired say, ‘Oh, that [expletive] Dolly!’” Roth said. “‘She promised this and that —,’ and some people are very bitter.”
Dolly Parton acknowledged her reputation for not being able to keep a band
Parton’s reputation became so prevalent that she had to address it. While she acknowledged that she did go through musicians quickly, she didn’t fire people because of personal vindictiveness.
“I’ve probably gone through more musicians than anybody, but it’s not personal, it never is,” she said. “I have a reputation in Nashville — you can’t keep a job with Dolly Parton — but that’s not so, really.”
She explained that she just had high expectations for her backing group.
“I have to have the perfect sound for me, and I’ve nearly achieved that,” she said, adding, “I can’t work with squirrels or dope addicts or drunkards. I expect goodness from my people, and I expect them to be qualified for what I need, and I want to be proud of the band I’ve built.”
It was not easy for her to fire people
While Parton felt that pruning her band was a necessary step to support her career, it didn’t make it easy.
“When I was let go, it was done very professionally, very cordially, good feelings on both sides,” guitarist Tom Rutledge said. “[Bandleader Gregg Perry] told me. Apparently, Dolly was pretty upset about it, because she had let me go with the other band before and felt real bad about it. It was real hard for Dolly to do.”
She passed the burden of letting people go to Perry, as she found it too painful.
“Dolly once told me how sensitive she was, though,” backup singer Mary Fielder said, adding, “She didn’t ever want to hurt anybody. She was concerned with personal feelings and all that, and firing someone or hiring someone or correcting somebody — anything that could bring about feelings — she just didn’t want to have to deal with. She didn’t want hassles. I think it was easier for her to tell Gregg that she didn’t like the way so-and-so was playing.”
