July 21, 2026 • 38 mins
Everyone loves Dolly Parton. The American country singer has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, and her career has included six decades of chart-topping songs. But how did Dolly become Dolly? Where does she find inspiration for her lyrics? And why is she extra-popular in Zimbabwe?
This episode originally aired on August 13, 2018.
Got a question or idea for the show? Call our hotline at (302) 405-5925 or email higeniuses@gmail.com.
Follow us on Instagram @parttimegenius and Bluesky @parttimegenius.bsky.social!
Photo by Kristopher Harris via Wikimedia Commons. Thanks, Kristopher!
Learn more about your ad choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Guess what Mengo was that? Well, all right, so you
remember how a while back I told you that we'd
won this big prize in an event we went to.
In fact, the whole family had won a trip to Dollywood.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Yeah, of course I do. I feel like every month
I ask you when you guys are going to make
the trip.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Well, you know, it just didn't feel right to go
until I felt like it was an expert on all
things Dolly Parton. I mean, it's not like you have
to know everything about Dolly to ride a roller coaster,
but it just seemed like a good excuse to learn
more about somebody who's been such a superstar for you know,
not only our entire lives, but several decades before that.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, and we've actually been talking about doing this episode
for a while now. Dolly Pardon's obviously a legend. I
think what I find most fascinating about her is that
it's really difficult to find an artist who's appeal to
so many different types of people for so many decades.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's really impressive. So, you know, in preparation for my
family trip to Dollywood, because that's really what this is
all about, we thought, you know, today was the day
to talk about how Dolly became Dolly, and how she
found inspiration for some of her most well known songs,
and of course which African nation came to love Dolly most.
So let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listener is welcome
(01:33):
to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always
I'm joined by my good friend mangesh Hot Ticketer and
on the other side of the soundproof glass wearing this
ruby rhinestone vest and the biggest blondest wig. I really
think it's the biggest one I have ever seen. That's
our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. And you know, I
do have to give him credit for his boldness because
(01:53):
that's a tough look to pull off, and believe me,
he does not pull it off.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
But it is a lovely tribute. Oh in Tristan, I'm
sure Dolly would be more than honored well.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
And when you get down to it, that's really what
today's episode is all about. It's honoring Dolly Parton because
at this point it's safe to say that Dolly's something
of an American icon. I mean, just think about it,
like she's been in the spotlight for the better part
of six decades now, and during that time, she's made
a name for herself, you know, not only as a
prolific singer and songwriter, but as a businesswoman, a humanitarian,
(02:27):
and of course even a theme park owner. But you know,
really the thing that earns Dolly her American icon status
is the fact that she achieved all of her success
in spite of, or perhaps because of, her markedly humble beginnings.
So today we're going to look past that platinum, blonde
wig and any of the gaudy outfits that make Dolly
so instantly recognizable, and instead we're going to focus on
(02:49):
that highly skilled performer beneath all of that glitz and glamour.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
That's right, and before we get into just how humble
doll these beginnings were, I thought i'd give some perspective
by writting down a few of her major accomplishments. So
for starters, she's been nominated for forty seven Grammy Awards,
eight of which she's won. She's also been nominated for
two Oscars, two Emmys, and one Tony definitely egotting there.
She's in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, She's in the
(03:14):
Grammy Hall of Fame, She's also in the Country Music
Hall of Fame. And lastly, she's composed more than three
thousand songs in her life and sold over one hundred
million albums worldwide. That's just phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
It's just incredible. When you lay it all out like that,
it's hard to think of anyone who's pulled off anything
of that magnitude in the music world. But you know,
maybe what's most impressive to me is that even at
seventy two, Dolly really shows no signs of stopping. Not
only she's still recording and touring on a regular basis,
I mean she's still breaking records and racking up awards.
(03:48):
Just looking at a couple of these records. It was
just this past January Dolly was recognized for not one,
but two Guinness World Records. Now, the first of these
was for being the female artist with the most hits
on Billboard Hot Country Song Chart. This is a whopping
one hundred and six one hundred and six songs that
hit that chart. But the second of these records was
(04:09):
for having the most decades with a top twenty hit
on the same chart. Now, all told, Dolly's landed twenty
top hits on the chart that are spread out across
six decades, and that's actually enough to beat out other
country legends like George Jones, Reba Mcatyre, and even Elvis himself.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
That's crazy. So obviously, now we have an idea of
where Dolly is today, I think we should take a
little time to talk about where she started. And that's
this rural town in Tennessee. It's called Locust Ridge, just
next to the Smoky Mountains National Forest. And this is
important because the concept of home has really been the
driving force behind Dolly Pardon's entire career. I mean, it's
something I think we'll see throughout the show today. But
(04:47):
it wasn't just the location that made Dolly's earlier so formative.
Like her family was dirt poor. I mean, she uses
that phrase all the time, and so much so that
when Dolly was born in January of nineteen forty six,
her dad act she persuaded the local doctor to deliver
her by giving him a big sack of oatmeal, Like
that's what he traded for.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Wow. I mean, I like oatmeal as much as the
next guy. But let's be honest about this. I mean,
the doctor really got the short end of the straw
on that one, I think.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So there's at least one person who might disagree with
you on that. So Dolly's actually the fourth of twelve children,
and one of her sisters, Stella Pardon, later wrote about
their father's deal with that same doctor. So this is
what she wrote. Quote, Daddy paid doctor Thomas a sack
of meal to deliver Dolly. She was an expensive baby.
Sometimes we'd pay him with chickens whatever we had available.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
That's pretty wild. I mean, I know I'm from generally
the same region of the country, but I've still always
been curious about these Appalachian exchange right, So a sack
of oatmeal is actually worth more than live chickens. So
I guess I stand corrected here, Mango.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Well, honestly, life in Locus Ridge was kind of a
raw deal all around for the Pardons. I mean, Dolly's
father was a sharecropper. He barely made enough money for
the family to survive. He often had to barter for
goods and services, just like you know, delivering a baby
or health services. The fourteen Pardons all lived in a
one room cabin. There was no running water, no gas,
(06:11):
no electricity, and you know that just sounds like a
recipe for one of the toughest childhood's imaginable. But possibly
the worst part of it for Dolly was that she
and her siblings had to bunk together and these beds
made of straw, and it was usually like three or
four kids to each bed.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Oh wow, I mean that does sound incredibly uncomfortable. But
do you really think that was worse than not having
running water? I mean, that seems pretty rough.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So I wondered about that too. But I actually found
this quote here from an interview Dolly did with Playboy.
This is from nineteen seventy eight, and after you hear it,
I think you'll change your mind on this. So this
is Dolly recalling her childhood quote. The kids peed on
me every night. There were so many of us. We
slept three and four in the bed. I would wash
every night, and as soon as I go to bed,
(06:55):
the kids would wet on me, and I'd have to
get up in the morning and do the same thing.
That was the only warm thing we knew. In the wintertime.
That was almost a pleasure to get peede on because
it was so cold. Lord, it was as cold in
the room as it was outside. We'd bundle up just
to go to bed.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I mean, it's just heartbreaking to hear that. You know,
in light of all of that, it's maybe no wonder
that Dolly took to music at such an early age
as a way to soothe many of her troubles. I mean,
her first exposure to music was through her mother, who
was actually half Cherokee, and she played the guitar and sang.
And she was also exposed to music through her grandfather,
who was a songwriter and supposedly a mean fiddle player
(07:34):
in his own right. And so when she was seven,
Dolly's uncle gave her her first guitar, and then she
started writing some of her first songs, and apparently she
had a real knack for it from the very start.
In this interview she did with Fresh Air, Dolly reflected
on how her mother was quote always fascinated with the
fact that I could rhyme so much.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Stuff that's really sweet. And of course she's still a
gifted writer. You know, we mentioned earlier that Dolly part
is seventy two years old this year. She's been performing
for solid six decades now. It's just unimaginable, but you know,
that means that she was barely a preteen when she
launched her professional career. In fact, just three years after
receiving that first guitar, that's when Dolly was only ten
(08:15):
years old, she started performing professionally. She made appearances on
local TV radio shows in Knoxville, and then three years
after that she performed for the first time on the
Grand Old Opry. And by the time she graduated high school,
she'd actually cut recordings with three different record labels. Wow.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Well, there's no question that Dolly found her calling and
chased it full force from the very start. In fact,
I once heard her say in an interview that she
graduated high school on a Friday and then hit the
road for Nashville the very next morning.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
That's right, and obviously moving to Nashville paid off for
Dolly in all sorts of ways, not the least of
which was romantically, because on the very same day she
arrived in Nashville, Dolly bumped into her future husband at
the Wishy Washy laundromat. He was on for a few years,
older than Dollie and a complete stranger at the point,
but she was taken with him right away, and as
(09:04):
she later explained, quote, I was surprised and delighted that
while he talked to me, he looked in my face,
a rare thing for me. And two years after that
the pair got married, and I happy to say that
they're still going strong some fifty odd years later.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
I mean, talk about a meet cute. It doesn't get
much cutter than the wishy washy laundromat is the place
where you meet your future husband.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Total lynn Also, Okay, can I just say how hard
it is to talk about any aspect of Dolly Parton's
life without almost just letting her tell the story. I mean,
she has like three different charming quotes for every single occasion,
and I am trying to be selective here, but I
couldn't decide between which of these quotes on marriage to include,
so I'm actually gonna go ahead and read both of them.
So this is from twenty fourteen, when The Today Show
(09:45):
asked Dolly about her secret for staying married so long,
and this is how she replied, we know each other
so well. I know every line in his face, and
he knows every hair in my wig. I just thought
that was so cute. The quote is when she called
renewed their vows in twenty sixteen, and this is what
Dolly told the press. We're really proud of our marriage.
(10:08):
It's the first for both of us and the last,
which is just so sweet.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, those are both pretty great quotes, and really, when
you're talking about someone who has away with words like
Dolly Partons, it's kind of a disservice not to include
at least a few of them. But getting back to Nashville,
we should mention that this is where Dolly's career really
started to take off. And you think about her first
two years there. Dolly was under contract with Monument Records. Now,
(10:34):
they tried to market her more as a pop singer
than as a country singer, and Dolly actually went along
with this arrangement. But on the side, she did start
recording and selling her own country songs, and she was
mostly doing this around Nashville. So you fast forward a
couple of years. It was nineteen sixty six and Dolly
caught the attention of listeners all over the country with
(10:55):
a song called put It Off Until Tomorrow. Then a
year after that, she followed it up with a song
called dumb Blonde. Now, this was a song she wrote
about being underestimated based on her looks. It was her
first solo hit to make the charts, and it kind
of marked the beginning of this transition from more regional
star to definitely more of a national one.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Right, And I do think it was around this time
that she started partnering up with that other country singer
right like and I've got his name in the notes,
but it's like Porter or something.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah, Porter Wagner. This was mister grand old Opry himself,
and Porter hosted this half hour country music show at
the time that was called, creatively enough, the Porter Wagner Show.
And so it's fortunate that Porter was the host of it,
but he invited Dolly to come on to be a
regular performer on the show, and the two of them
also recorded this whole slew of hit country songs over
(11:43):
the next eight years or so. And in fact, in
the late sixties and early seventies, Dolly was releasing it
was like three or more albums worth of new material
every single year. And that colossal output was thanks in
no small part to that partnership with Wagner.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
So, I you know, the two went through separate ways
in the seventies, but did you get a sense of
what caused that split, Like, was it over money or
songwrights or what was it.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Honestly, you know, I think Dolly just became such a
huge star in her own right, and so she really
just wanted to focus full time on that solo career
for a while. And you know, as you might expect,
that decision created some bad blood between the two of them,
but they did eventually make up sometime in the eighties,
and they even performed together a few times after that.
But actually, I'm glad you mentioned the song rights because
(12:29):
that's one of the first cases where Dolly showed what
a shrewd business woman she could be. And I say
that because early in her career, Dolly started her own
publishing company, and she did this so she could protect
the rights to that ever growing catalog of songs, and
so as a result, she owns just about every song
she's ever recorded, and that's of course netted her millions
(12:50):
and millions of dollars in royalties over the years.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
That's pretty amazing. I feel like I've heard stories of
like Michael Stipe taking Kirk Cobaine or someone aside and
telling them about managing the rights or whatever, and it's
this recurring thing that keeps happening. But you know, for
Dolly Pardon to do that such a long time ago,
it is just so smart. It's impressing.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
But you know, now that we've covered the basics on
the first half of Dolly's career, what do you say
we slow things down and go a little more in
depth about a few of the songs that really made
her famous.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Well, I'm definitely for that, But first let's take a
quick break. You're listening to part Time Genius, and we're
talking about the life and times of the Smoky Mountain Songbird,
(13:41):
the Queen of Nashville, herself, the Iron Butterfly. This is
Miss Dolly Parton. But don't let any of those fancy
nicknames fool you, because despite her fame and success, Dolly's
never forgotten her modest roots. Is that she found ways
to channel them into her music early on, you know,
crafting songs that gave voice to these overlooked female perspectives.
(14:02):
And this was, of course, at a time when country
music was largely still a boys club. Now, she took
inspiration from the female country pioneers that came before her.
You think of names like Molly O'Day, Kitty Wells, and
of course, Patsy Klein, Sure, but then she took her
place alongside them and became this progressive messenger to rural
and working class listeners. And this would be male and
(14:25):
female alike.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yeah, and I think you were saying the way that
Dolly's background informs of music is just such a big
part of her appeal, you know, her her music can
be heartbreaking when it focuses on the uglier sides of life,
but she never seems to dwell on those negative emotions
and instead she sings about I guess learning from that pain,
or you know, staying positive about what the future holds
and when you get down to it. Obviously, those are
(14:46):
universal concepts. And in fact, there was this article a
while back in the Journal of Pop Culture and it
talks about how the people of Zimbabwe are apparently huge,
huge Dolly parton fans. That just makes me so happy. Yeah,
And the the census is that I guess zimbab Winds
identifies so strongly with her because of how open and
earnest she is about her own like underprivileged past. It's
(15:08):
pretty pretty remarkable. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
I never knew Dolly was so big and Zimbabwe, but
if you stop and think about it. That reasoning definitely
makes sense. I mean, she even talked about that kind
of kinship herself in this interview she did with Biography
a few years back. So she was asked about how
growing up in poverty prepared her for a career as
a performer, and here's what she had to say about it.
I think being brought up dirt poor left me with
(15:32):
a feeling of what it was like to go without,
so I can relate when people are having a hard time.
In my case being a songwriter, I'm able to write
not only four and about myself, but for what I
know other people are feeling, even if they don't always
have the means to get their voices heard. Being brought
up poor, I recognize and appreciate the value of a
(15:52):
dollar I never spend without thinking about it. I appreciate
all the things I have because I have been without.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Right and maybe one of the best examples of Dollie's
music being influenced by her hardships of her youth is
that classic song from nineteen seventy one, Coat of Many Colors.
It's actually based on a real incident from Dolly's childhood
and tells the story of the time when her mother
stitched a new coat for her and made from all
these sordid scraps of cloth. And as we've said, the
family was cash strapped, so they couldn't afford a new
(16:19):
coat for Dolly to wear during the school year that year.
But when the colorful patchwork coat was finished, you know,
it pretty much looked like a big quilt. I mean
to most people, it would have been obvious from one
look that this was a coat born of necessity. But
Dolly's mom wanted her to feel proud of who she
was and where she came from, and really not to
feel that shame or that constant weight of her family's poverty. Yeah,
(16:41):
So when she presented this makeshift coat to Dolly, she
actually compared it to that story in the Old Testament
of Joseph and I guess that technicol or dream coat
that he receives. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
And you know, if you think about it, Dolly grew
up in an incredibly religious environment, so that kind of
comparison was likely pretty impressive to her. I mean, who
knows how many times she'd heard that story of Joseph
while she was growing up.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Yeah, definitely. And the problem was that Dolly's classmates didn't
share that sentiment, you know, when she showed up at
school in her coat of many colors, the other saw
it for what it was, that, you know, this clear
sign of just how poor the Pardons were. And so
the other kids laughed, they made fun of the code,
and Dolly just got totally confused by this response, and
as she puts it in the song, and oh, I
(17:25):
couldn't understand it, for I felt I was rich, and
I told them of the love my mama sewed in
every stitch, but they didn't understand it. And I tried
to make them see that one is only poor only
if they choose to be.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah, it's a beautiful song, and I know it's one
of Dolly's personal favorites too, and she even brought it
back as an illustrated children's book in the early nineties,
and of course then more recently as it made for
TV movie. And he really the song's taken on kind
of this second life in schools as somewhat of an
anti bullying anthem, and it just seems very appropriate as that.
(17:57):
And so all in all, it's not a bad legacy
for kind of a ratty old coat. But it kind
of makes you wonder what happened to the original thing.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So there actually is a code of many colors in
the Dolly Pardon Museum, but it's actually a replica of
that coat that her mom made for her. So currently
the original was ripped up at some point and the
scraps were reused to make baby blankets for a few
of Dolly's siblings. But you know, the replica's there, and
it's right next to Porter Wagner's laundry slip, which is
what Dolly had used to scribble out the lyrics when
she wrote the song.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Oh that's interesting, actually, speaking of Porter, did you know
that that song I Will Always Love You was actually
written about him?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
You're talking about that Whitney Houston song for the Bodyguards.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Oubtract that's it. It's really a Dolly Parton song. It
was not a Whitney Houston song. Dolly had written it
as a sort of a goodbye when she and Porter
were parting ways, and supposedly he cried the first time
she played it for him.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
So that does make me wonder, like, how did her
husband Carl feel about it, because you know, it's a
pretty romantic song to write about a business partner.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
It definitely is. And you know, there were always rumors
that Dolly and Porter were maybe more than just friends,
but there was never any proof to back that hearsay.
But you know, whatever the case, the song was a
huge hit for Dolly back in nineteen seventy four, and
then a couple decades later for Houston in nineteen ninety two.
And actually there was another big name artist who wanted
to cover the song of the years in between, but
(19:17):
Dolly turned him down cold. You might have actually heard
of this performance. His name was Elvis Presley.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I mean, it does ring about well, why would you
turn down the king? I'm curious, Like, I feel like
having him cover your song would just make it huge, right.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
That's true, But you got to think about his notoriously
bullish manager that I know we've talked about a little
bit before, and that was Colonel Tom Parker. And it
wasn't just that he wanted permission to cover the song.
He actually wanted Dolly to hand over half of the
publishing rights as well, and of course this was a
total non starter for Dolly, so she refused the deal outright,
and it turned out to be a smart move as well,
(19:55):
because By retaining those full rights, Dolly was free to
cash in on the royalties when the song became a
massive hit for Houston decades later.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Yeah. So, I was reading this interview where someone asked
Dollie if she had any favorite cover versions of her
own songs, and she kind of gave this half hearted
answer before she finally admitted that, like, honestly, her favorites
are whichever ones make her the most money, and.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
That would probably be my favorite. I'm being honest too
if I were in the same situation. But you know,
since we're on the subject of covers, we should talk
a little bit about the Dolly Parton song that's been
recorded by other artists more than any other song she's written.
And that's, of course, that nineteen seventy three hit Joe
Lane and you knows really have been a ton of
other versions released over the years. And just looking at
(20:39):
the list of these and think about the ones that
we've heard, You've got, you know, the White Stripes to
Olivia Newton, John's disco remix to even a goth rendition,
which I have to admit I haven't heard. I want
to go back and listen to this by the Sisters
of Mercy.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Yeah, I haven't heard that goth version either. We should
listen together. But but why do you think the song
in particular has had such a long life, you know,
in terms of the music scene.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Well for starters, Jolene is part of this long line
of so called cheating songs, which of course are a
staple in country music, right up there with all the
patriotic ballads. And in fact, there was this study of
the four hundred most popular country songs released between nineteen
sixty and nineteen eighty seven, and cheating situations were found
to be one of the most popular subjects and they
(21:22):
were actually second only to the more straightforward love song.
So it's it's pretty interesting how many of them there
are out there. But what makes Jolene stand out from
the crowd is it's really that vulnerability and kind of
those feelings of inadequacy that are conveyed in it. And
you know, so for anybody who hasn't heard some form
of this song, you've got Jolene, who's this you know,
(21:43):
red haired, pale skinned woman and the singer fears that
she's stolen the heart of her husband. But rather than
kind of being this sad lement or a tale of revenge.
Like so many of the other cheating songs that are
out there, Dolly's song is really this heartfelt plead directly
to the other woman. So any of the singer literally
begs Jolene not to steal her man. And many of
(22:05):
us have heard these lyrics, but some of them go,
you could have your choice of men, but I could
never love again. He's the only one for me, Jolene.
And you know, you think about that kind of diplomatic
and self debasing approach. That was really something new for
the genre. And I think that feeling of not measuring
up to your perceptions of someone else was pretty relatable
(22:26):
for a lot of people, and it was probably kind
of endearing or maybe even cathartic to know that somebody
as glamorous as Dolly Parton could still fall prey to
these insecurities.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yeah, I mean it is interesting, just you know, you
have these topics that everyone covers, but there's always an
unusual way to voice it, and that Dolly Parton just
gets that way. But you know, from what you were saying,
I was curious, is it actually autobiographical as well?
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Well, it's not exactly, but it was definitely based on
a few events from Dolly's life, like Jolene's name and
physical features were inspired by this little girl who'd ask
for Dolly's autograph after a show one night. And then
this idea of a woman showing interest in her husband
that was supposedly cripp from this real life bank teller
who had this habit of flirting with Carl Dean. So
(23:10):
here's how Dolly puts it, she got this terrible crush
on my husband, and he just loved going to the
bank because she paid him so much attention. So it's
kind of like a running joke between us when I
was saying, hell, you're spending a lot of time at
the bank. I don't believe we have that kind of money.
So it's really an innocent song all around, but it
sounds like a dreadful that's really funny.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Well, you know, we could probably spend all day talking
about Dolly's hit songs, but I do want to make
sure we cover at least a few of the non
musical contributions she's made as well.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
All right, well, let's do that, but first let's take
a quick break, Okay, Mengo, So let's talk about a
few of the times when Dolly's kind of branched out
from her singing career and tried her hand. It's something new, sure.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So one of the earliest examples of Dolly's having out
was in the nineteen eighties when she crossed over from
the stage to the movie screen. And this is when
she made her debut, starring alongside Jane Fonda Lily Tomlin.
You might remember this. It was the movie nine to.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Five of Course. Of Course.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Of Course is a comedy classic. You know, It's got
three working women finally fed up with their sexist boss
and then they start to pull all these schemes to
get even The movie was a huge hit of the
box office, and the title song Dolly wrote for it
went to number one on both the pop and the
country charts, you know, and of course it even earned
her an Oscar nomination for Best Song.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah, it was such a fun song, and it's got
that great first line. It's tumble out of bed and
stumbled at the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition
and yawn and stretch and try to come to life.
I mean, I feel like she was speaking for a
lot of us with those lyrics, definitely.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
And that's part of the reason why nine to five,
both the song and the movie have become such a
lasting part of pop culture. You know, I'd forgotten this,
but there was actually a nine to five. I have
TV showed that ran for five seasons.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
I didn't remember that.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Yeah, Gabe actually told me about it, and Dolly wrote
new songs for the Broadway version that opened in two
thousand and nine. But just a couple of weeks ago,
Dolly announced that there's even a sequel in the works
with she Fonda, Lily Tomlin. They're all going to reprise
their roles.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Oh man, that's awesome, but you know, it's so many
years later. I guess it is better late than ever.
But actually a little surprised that Dolly's willing to get
back into the pants suit. It was pretty hilarious just
reading about the experience from that movie, and she had
kind of sworn them off after filming the first movie.
And as she put it, I loved the movie and
enjoyed doing it, but I couldn't wait to get out
(25:38):
of those little suits and get into my trashy stuff.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I mean, that's obviously like classic Dolly Parton. You know,
she has that quote. I just looked like the girl
next door. If you happen to live next door to
an amusement.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Park, that's pretty great. Thanks for the Thanks for the
setup there, Because speaking of amusement parks, or really theme
parks in this case, we definitely can't let this episode
go without talking at least a little bit about Dollywood
because plenty of singers have made that jump from music
to TV and of course even movies, Dolly pretty much
(26:11):
stands alone in terms of the theme park ownership thing.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah, and it's obviously an unusual business move for a musician,
but I am sure that, like if Beyonce decided to
have a theme park, it would alter be amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, I'd show up.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
So I'm curious, like what made Dolly go for it, Like,
was she just really into roller coasters or what was it?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
It definitely wasn't the roller coaster thing. In fact, even
though Dolly's own the theme park for over thirty years now,
She's never ridden a single ride there. Apparently she suffers
from really bad motion sickness, and she said she used
to get sick from riding on the school bus, So
roller coasters are pretty much out of the question for her.
But you go back to this idea of why she
bought the park. There were a few things, really, but
(26:54):
you know, first, it actually helps to know that dolly
Wood wasn't always Dollywood. The original totally unrelated park it
opened there in nineteen sixty one. It was called Rebel Railroad.
Then it changed names and owners a few times over
the decades, and Dolly finally took over in nineteen eighty six,
and it was then that she rethemed the park really
(27:15):
more around the history of the Smoky Mountains, and she
decided to call it Dollywood. Actually this is kind of
a random aside, but the park's located in a Tennessee
town called Pigeon Forge, and apparently it was named for
this iron forge from the eighteen hundreds and for the
flocks of passenger pigeons that were native to the region.
Neither of these things still exist today. I think the
(27:36):
forge was eventually demolished and the pigeons, unfortunately, just all
went extinct.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Did Dolly grow up near the park? I mean, I
know she wasn't around when it opened, but like, was
it close to where she actually grew up?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
It definitely was. In fact, it was even in this
same county and so it was that proximity that attracted
Dolly to the park for a couple of reasons. I mean,
you know, for one thing, the park featured a chapel
that was built and named and on of doctor Robert Thomas,
who was that same doctor who delivered Dolly in exchange
for the bag of oats that we talked about earlier.
And then the other kind of equally sentimental reasons she
(28:10):
got involved was that she wanted to do something positive
for the area where she grew up. I mean, of
course she wanted to make money too, but there's no
doubt that she chose this investment in particular as a
way to give back to the community. And Dolly said
this much herself. There was a quote from twenty ten
where she explained that she had quote always thought that
if I made it big or got successful at what
(28:31):
I had started out to do, that I wanted to
come back to my part of the country and do
something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs
into this area. And to her credit, that's exactly what
she did. I mean, to this day, Dollywood is still
the number one employer in that same county in Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
That's pretty incredible. You know, and I'm pretty sure it's
going to be the same case for a very long
time now, because earlier this month, Dolly announced that she's
adding a new adventure land to the park. It's called
Wildwood Grove, and it's supposed to add eleven new attractions.
It's expected to cost thirty seven million dollars, which I
guess we'll make this the biggest expansion in the park's history.
(29:08):
And since Dollywood gets about two point five million visitors
each year, I'm sure this new area is going to
be put to good use.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Oh for sure. But actually, for any listeners planning their
next vacation, you should keep in mind dogs are not
allowed in Dollywood, but that's not something really to worry about,
because Dolly has you covered on this front. You can
actually just drop your pups off ahead of time at
the park's kennel, which is appropriately named Doggie Wood.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I like that, you know. I know. We already said
that Dollywood was born at least in part from Dolly's
desire to give back to Tennessee. But there are also
these more straightforward charities that Dolly's been involved in, and
I do want to highlight just a couple of them.
So the first is called the My People Fund. It
was a campaign that she launched in twenty sixteen following
the really awful wildfire in the Smoky Mons region, and
(29:56):
the fire left hundreds of residents homeless. But Dolly's campaign
used outside donations as well as some of her own
money to provide all these displaced families with one thousand
dollars per month stipends for a full six months and
on all, the My People Fund distributed just under nine
million dollars to the fire victims, and it provided an
additional three million to the region's mountain recovery team.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
That's pretty incredible, and you know, I'd expect nothing less
from an official ambassador to the Smoky Mountain National Park,
which of course Dolly Parton.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Is So I love that idea, but it's official, like
national parks actually have ambassadors.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Apparently they do. So they were looking for somebody to
represent the Smoky Mountain Park for this big seventy fifth
anniversary back in I guess it was two thousand and nine,
and so park officials asked themselves if we could pick
one person who is the most recognizable and personifies the
love of the Smokies who would it be, And the
answer was unanimous. It was Dolly Parton, not Smoky the Bear,
(30:52):
not Smokey Bear.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Well, they definitely picked the right person for the job.
But I do want to mention that Dolly's humanitarian first
aren't limited to helping just those from her own state.
You know, She's actually run her own charity organization. It's
called the Dollywood Foundation, and she's done this since ninety
six and over the years it's provide millions in school scholarships,
hospital donations, supplies for classrooms. But the outreach program that
(31:16):
I've always been most impressed by is her Imagination Library.
And this is a program she started twenty three years
ago and the whole goal was improving literacy rates among children.
And the way it works is that anyone who signs
up for the service receives one book. It's free, it's handpicked,
and they get it in the mail every month until
he or she turns five years old. And these days
(31:38):
the organization gives out more than ten million books annually,
and just this February, the program reached this major major milestone.
It donated its one hundred millionth book and wow, I
just love I know, I just love how much thought
went into this program's approach, Like you should just listen
to how Dolly explains it. Quote. Even if you're not
able to go to college, if you can read, you
(31:59):
can find out about any subject that you're interested in.
And if a book is coming to the mailbox every month,
then it's got your name on it, then you're going
to find someone to help you read it to you.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I think what really strikes me is just how many
times in this episode we've talked about Dolly Parton with
phrases like you know, just this year, or just last month,
or even a few weeks ago. I mean, you're talking
about a seventy two year old country singer and she's
still making headlines for music and movies and TV and
of course even theme parks.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, even theme parks. I mean, the whole idea of
her as some kind of unstoppable powerhouse is actually one
that Dolly seems to hold for herself. And I know
we've been quoting her a lot today, but I think
this last one just really sums up Dolly and also
the main message she wants to convey through her art.
And so here's how it goes. Quote my favorite book
(32:48):
is the Little Engine that Could, and it's the first
book we give to children who participate in my Imagination Library.
I Think I can, I Think I Can. It's a
motto that I live by, and I personally believe that
positive thinking can change anyone's life. I've always fell in
my heart that the only that that could ever stand
in my way is simply me.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
It does seem appropriate for Dolly to get the last word,
but we're not done just yet, because we got a
few more dollisms to share in today's fact offs. Are
you ready to get started?
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Mango? I think I can. I Think I can.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
So you can now take an honors course at the
University of Tennessee that's called Dolly's America. And it's this
seminar where they use Dolly's life story to help better
understand Appalachian culture. So Dolly grew up about half an
hour or so from Knoxville or the university's main campuses,
and the class actually looks at things like stereotypes of
hillbilly's and the way they represented in popular culture. It's
(33:49):
a class I'd probably like to take.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
So this is gonna sound strange, but we actually have
Dolly to thank at least partially for the existence of Buffy.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Buffy like that like vampire Slayer Buffy.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
M that's the one. So back in the eighties, Dolly
in her former manager and roommate Sandy Gallen, founded this
production company called sand Dollar, and sand Dollar actually co
produced Buffy as well as it's been off Angel and
Gallen was listed as an exec producer, but partner. She
stayed out of the spotlight, even though she deserves some
of the credit.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Wow, you know, I think we've talked about this before,
but of course you remember Dolly, who was the sheep
that was the first successful cloning of a mammal. Well,
it was in fact named after Dolly Parton. Now, the
sheep's original name was six LL three, which is not
quite as catchy in my opinion, but supposedly one of
the stockmen who was there at the time of six
(34:39):
L three's birth decided to give her the name Dolly
because she was cloned from a mammary cell. Now, I
don't think we have to explain that one, but it
makes me wonder like if Dolly Parton would have been
offended by this, But as she always does, she just
rolled with it and said, I was honored. There's no
such thing as bad publicity, so I, like said, she
even made into a little joke there.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
So I think it's funny that Dolly once decided to
enter a Dolly Parton lookalike contest in Los Angeles and
this was just for the fun of it. But the
best part, obviously is that she didn't come anywhere close
to winning. Apparently they felt that she was too short
to be convincing, and the winner ended up being someone
in drag and she of course just found this entirely hilarious,
(35:24):
you know. But the good thing was that she actually
got to walk around some of her biggest fans and
no one in the audience noticed her.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
That's awesome. Oh, here's something that I'm excited about. There's
apparently an anthology series based on Dolly songs that's being
developed for Netflix and supposedly we'll be released next year.
That will be an eight part series and each episode
will be based on a different Dolly Parton song, and
they haven't announced which songs yet, and there are obviously
so many to choose from, but I'm really looking forward
(35:53):
to seeing it.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
Yeah, it's incredible. Well, as if we need any more proof,
that Dolly always remembers where she came from and hasn't
forgotten how to do things herself. Do you know that
before she goes on tour, Dolly actually cooks a bunch
of food, puts it all in freezer bags, and then
loads it up on the bus. And she says, quote,
I do cook for a week before I go on tour,
(36:14):
so I put stuff in the freezer so we'll have
great country food if we don't have what I want
at all the places we stop.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
Oh man, that is so wonderful.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
I can't decide which fact I love most in all
of this, but just thinking about like the fact that
she is partially responsible for Buffy being out there but
taking almost no credit as a producer, the whole humility
around the lookalike contest, and of course always remembering where
she came from. With that last fact, I think I
have to give you the trophy this week.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
I was so nervous you were gonna say, I think
I have to give it to Tristan because he's still
wearing the wig.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
But it's kind of thrilled to take a side. Now.
I might have given it to him, but the wig
is just it's really kind of falling out of place,
so it's just just getting worse. Ooh no, well, you
know what. As always, we love hearing facts from our listeners,
so we'd love to hear some from you about Dolly
Partner or any fun stories you may have had from
over the years as a fan of Dolly Parton. You
(37:10):
can always email us part Time Genius at HowStuffWorks dot
com or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter. But
as always, thanks so much for listening. Thanks again for listening.
(37:32):
Part Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works
and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do
the important things we couldn't even begin to understand.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Tristan McNeil does the editing thing.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Noel Brown made the theme song and does the mixy
mixy sound thing.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Gabeluesier is our lead researcher, with support from the Research
Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eves.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
If you like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe.
And if you really really like what you've heard, maybe
could leave a good review for us.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Do we do we forget Jason?
Speaker 1 (38:03):
Jason whom
Guess what Mengo was that? Well, all right, so you
remember how a while back I told you that we'd
won this big prize in an event we went to.
In fact, the whole family had won a trip to Dollywood.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Yeah, of course I do. I feel like every month
I ask you when you guys are going to make
the trip.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Well, you know, it just didn't feel right to go
until I felt like it was an expert on all
things Dolly Parton. I mean, it's not like you have
to know everything about Dolly to ride a roller coaster,
but it just seemed like a good excuse to learn
more about somebody who's been such a superstar for you know,
not only our entire lives, but several decades before that.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, and we've actually been talking about doing this episode
for a while now. Dolly Pardon's obviously a legend. I
think what I find most fascinating about her is that
it's really difficult to find an artist who's appeal to
so many different types of people for so many decades.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
It's really impressive. So, you know, in preparation for my
family trip to Dollywood, because that's really what this is
all about, we thought, you know, today was the day
to talk about how Dolly became Dolly, and how she
found inspiration for some of her most well known songs,
and of course which African nation came to love Dolly most.
So let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listener is welcome
(01:33):
to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always
I'm joined by my good friend mangesh Hot Ticketer and
on the other side of the soundproof glass wearing this
ruby rhinestone vest and the biggest blondest wig. I really
think it's the biggest one I have ever seen. That's
our friend and producer Tristan McNeil. And you know, I
do have to give him credit for his boldness because
(01:53):
that's a tough look to pull off, and believe me,
he does not pull it off.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
But it is a lovely tribute. Oh in Tristan, I'm
sure Dolly would be more than honored well.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
And when you get down to it, that's really what
today's episode is all about. It's honoring Dolly Parton because
at this point it's safe to say that Dolly's something
of an American icon. I mean, just think about it,
like she's been in the spotlight for the better part
of six decades now, and during that time, she's made
a name for herself, you know, not only as a
prolific singer and songwriter, but as a businesswoman, a humanitarian,
(02:27):
and of course even a theme park owner. But you know,
really the thing that earns Dolly her American icon status
is the fact that she achieved all of her success
in spite of, or perhaps because of, her markedly humble beginnings.
So today we're going to look past that platinum, blonde
wig and any of the gaudy outfits that make Dolly
so instantly recognizable, and instead we're going to focus on
(02:49):
that highly skilled performer beneath all of that glitz and glamour.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
That's right, and before we get into just how humble
doll these beginnings were, I thought i'd give some perspective
by writting down a few of her major accomplishments. So
for starters, she's been nominated for forty seven Grammy Awards,
eight of which she's won. She's also been nominated for
two Oscars, two Emmys, and one Tony definitely egotting there.
She's in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, She's in the
(03:14):
Grammy Hall of Fame, She's also in the Country Music
Hall of Fame. And lastly, she's composed more than three
thousand songs in her life and sold over one hundred
million albums worldwide. That's just phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
It's just incredible. When you lay it all out like that,
it's hard to think of anyone who's pulled off anything
of that magnitude in the music world. But you know,
maybe what's most impressive to me is that even at
seventy two, Dolly really shows no signs of stopping. Not
only she's still recording and touring on a regular basis,
I mean she's still breaking records and racking up awards.
(03:48):
Just looking at a couple of these records. It was
just this past January Dolly was recognized for not one,
but two Guinness World Records. Now, the first of these
was for being the female artist with the most hits
on Billboard Hot Country Song Chart. This is a whopping
one hundred and six one hundred and six songs that
hit that chart. But the second of these records was
(04:09):
for having the most decades with a top twenty hit
on the same chart. Now, all told, Dolly's landed twenty
top hits on the chart that are spread out across
six decades, and that's actually enough to beat out other
country legends like George Jones, Reba Mcatyre, and even Elvis himself.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
That's crazy. So obviously, now we have an idea of
where Dolly is today, I think we should take a
little time to talk about where she started. And that's
this rural town in Tennessee. It's called Locust Ridge, just
next to the Smoky Mountains National Forest. And this is
important because the concept of home has really been the
driving force behind Dolly Pardon's entire career. I mean, it's
something I think we'll see throughout the show today. But
(04:47):
it wasn't just the location that made Dolly's earlier so formative.
Like her family was dirt poor. I mean, she uses
that phrase all the time, and so much so that
when Dolly was born in January of nineteen forty six,
her dad act she persuaded the local doctor to deliver
her by giving him a big sack of oatmeal, Like
that's what he traded for.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Wow. I mean, I like oatmeal as much as the
next guy. But let's be honest about this. I mean,
the doctor really got the short end of the straw
on that one, I think.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So there's at least one person who might disagree with
you on that. So Dolly's actually the fourth of twelve children,
and one of her sisters, Stella Pardon, later wrote about
their father's deal with that same doctor. So this is
what she wrote. Quote, Daddy paid doctor Thomas a sack
of meal to deliver Dolly. She was an expensive baby.
Sometimes we'd pay him with chickens whatever we had available.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
That's pretty wild. I mean, I know I'm from generally
the same region of the country, but I've still always
been curious about these Appalachian exchange right, So a sack
of oatmeal is actually worth more than live chickens. So
I guess I stand corrected here, Mango.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Well, honestly, life in Locus Ridge was kind of a
raw deal all around for the Pardons. I mean, Dolly's
father was a sharecropper. He barely made enough money for
the family to survive. He often had to barter for
goods and services, just like you know, delivering a baby
or health services. The fourteen Pardons all lived in a
one room cabin. There was no running water, no gas,
(06:11):
no electricity, and you know that just sounds like a
recipe for one of the toughest childhood's imaginable. But possibly
the worst part of it for Dolly was that she
and her siblings had to bunk together and these beds
made of straw, and it was usually like three or
four kids to each bed.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Oh wow, I mean that does sound incredibly uncomfortable. But
do you really think that was worse than not having
running water? I mean, that seems pretty rough.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
So I wondered about that too. But I actually found
this quote here from an interview Dolly did with Playboy.
This is from nineteen seventy eight, and after you hear it,
I think you'll change your mind on this. So this
is Dolly recalling her childhood quote. The kids peed on
me every night. There were so many of us. We
slept three and four in the bed. I would wash
every night, and as soon as I go to bed,
(06:55):
the kids would wet on me, and I'd have to
get up in the morning and do the same thing.
That was the only warm thing we knew. In the wintertime.
That was almost a pleasure to get peede on because
it was so cold. Lord, it was as cold in
the room as it was outside. We'd bundle up just
to go to bed.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I mean, it's just heartbreaking to hear that. You know,
in light of all of that, it's maybe no wonder
that Dolly took to music at such an early age
as a way to soothe many of her troubles. I mean,
her first exposure to music was through her mother, who
was actually half Cherokee, and she played the guitar and sang.
And she was also exposed to music through her grandfather,
who was a songwriter and supposedly a mean fiddle player
(07:34):
in his own right. And so when she was seven,
Dolly's uncle gave her her first guitar, and then she
started writing some of her first songs, and apparently she
had a real knack for it from the very start.
In this interview she did with Fresh Air, Dolly reflected
on how her mother was quote always fascinated with the
fact that I could rhyme so much.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Stuff that's really sweet. And of course she's still a
gifted writer. You know, we mentioned earlier that Dolly part
is seventy two years old this year. She's been performing
for solid six decades now. It's just unimaginable, but you know,
that means that she was barely a preteen when she
launched her professional career. In fact, just three years after
receiving that first guitar, that's when Dolly was only ten
(08:15):
years old, she started performing professionally. She made appearances on
local TV radio shows in Knoxville, and then three years
after that she performed for the first time on the
Grand Old Opry. And by the time she graduated high school,
she'd actually cut recordings with three different record labels. Wow.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Well, there's no question that Dolly found her calling and
chased it full force from the very start. In fact,
I once heard her say in an interview that she
graduated high school on a Friday and then hit the
road for Nashville the very next morning.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
That's right, and obviously moving to Nashville paid off for
Dolly in all sorts of ways, not the least of
which was romantically, because on the very same day she
arrived in Nashville, Dolly bumped into her future husband at
the Wishy Washy laundromat. He was on for a few years,
older than Dollie and a complete stranger at the point,
but she was taken with him right away, and as
(09:04):
she later explained, quote, I was surprised and delighted that
while he talked to me, he looked in my face,
a rare thing for me. And two years after that
the pair got married, and I happy to say that
they're still going strong some fifty odd years later.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
I mean, talk about a meet cute. It doesn't get
much cutter than the wishy washy laundromat is the place
where you meet your future husband.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Total lynn Also, Okay, can I just say how hard
it is to talk about any aspect of Dolly Parton's
life without almost just letting her tell the story. I mean,
she has like three different charming quotes for every single occasion,
and I am trying to be selective here, but I
couldn't decide between which of these quotes on marriage to include,
so I'm actually gonna go ahead and read both of them.
So this is from twenty fourteen, when The Today Show
(09:45):
asked Dolly about her secret for staying married so long,
and this is how she replied, we know each other
so well. I know every line in his face, and
he knows every hair in my wig. I just thought
that was so cute. The quote is when she called
renewed their vows in twenty sixteen, and this is what
Dolly told the press. We're really proud of our marriage.
(10:08):
It's the first for both of us and the last,
which is just so sweet.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Yeah, those are both pretty great quotes, and really, when
you're talking about someone who has away with words like
Dolly Partons, it's kind of a disservice not to include
at least a few of them. But getting back to Nashville,
we should mention that this is where Dolly's career really
started to take off. And you think about her first
two years there. Dolly was under contract with Monument Records. Now,
(10:34):
they tried to market her more as a pop singer
than as a country singer, and Dolly actually went along
with this arrangement. But on the side, she did start
recording and selling her own country songs, and she was
mostly doing this around Nashville. So you fast forward a
couple of years. It was nineteen sixty six and Dolly
caught the attention of listeners all over the country with
(10:55):
a song called put It Off Until Tomorrow. Then a
year after that, she followed it up with a song
called dumb Blonde. Now, this was a song she wrote
about being underestimated based on her looks. It was her
first solo hit to make the charts, and it kind
of marked the beginning of this transition from more regional
star to definitely more of a national one.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Right, And I do think it was around this time
that she started partnering up with that other country singer
right like and I've got his name in the notes,
but it's like Porter or something.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah, Porter Wagner. This was mister grand old Opry himself,
and Porter hosted this half hour country music show at
the time that was called, creatively enough, the Porter Wagner Show.
And so it's fortunate that Porter was the host of it,
but he invited Dolly to come on to be a
regular performer on the show, and the two of them
also recorded this whole slew of hit country songs over
(11:43):
the next eight years or so. And in fact, in
the late sixties and early seventies, Dolly was releasing it
was like three or more albums worth of new material
every single year. And that colossal output was thanks in
no small part to that partnership with Wagner.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
So, I you know, the two went through separate ways
in the seventies, but did you get a sense of
what caused that split, Like, was it over money or
songwrights or what was it.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Honestly, you know, I think Dolly just became such a
huge star in her own right, and so she really
just wanted to focus full time on that solo career
for a while. And you know, as you might expect,
that decision created some bad blood between the two of them,
but they did eventually make up sometime in the eighties,
and they even performed together a few times after that.
But actually, I'm glad you mentioned the song rights because
(12:29):
that's one of the first cases where Dolly showed what
a shrewd business woman she could be. And I say
that because early in her career, Dolly started her own
publishing company, and she did this so she could protect
the rights to that ever growing catalog of songs, and
so as a result, she owns just about every song
she's ever recorded, and that's of course netted her millions
(12:50):
and millions of dollars in royalties over the years.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
That's pretty amazing. I feel like I've heard stories of
like Michael Stipe taking Kirk Cobaine or someone aside and
telling them about managing the rights or whatever, and it's
this recurring thing that keeps happening. But you know, for
Dolly Pardon to do that such a long time ago,
it is just so smart. It's impressing.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
But you know, now that we've covered the basics on
the first half of Dolly's career, what do you say
we slow things down and go a little more in
depth about a few of the songs that really made
her famous.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
Well, I'm definitely for that, But first let's take a
quick break. You're listening to part Time Genius, and we're
talking about the life and times of the Smoky Mountain Songbird,
(13:41):
the Queen of Nashville, herself, the Iron Butterfly. This is
Miss Dolly Parton. But don't let any of those fancy
nicknames fool you, because despite her fame and success, Dolly's
never forgotten her modest roots. Is that she found ways
to channel them into her music early on, you know,
crafting songs that gave voice to these overlooked female perspectives.
(14:02):
And this was, of course, at a time when country
music was largely still a boys club. Now, she took
inspiration from the female country pioneers that came before her.
You think of names like Molly O'Day, Kitty Wells, and
of course, Patsy Klein, Sure, but then she took her
place alongside them and became this progressive messenger to rural
and working class listeners. And this would be male and
(14:25):
female alike.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
Yeah, and I think you were saying the way that
Dolly's background informs of music is just such a big
part of her appeal, you know, her her music can
be heartbreaking when it focuses on the uglier sides of life,
but she never seems to dwell on those negative emotions
and instead she sings about I guess learning from that pain,
or you know, staying positive about what the future holds
and when you get down to it. Obviously, those are
(14:46):
universal concepts. And in fact, there was this article a
while back in the Journal of Pop Culture and it
talks about how the people of Zimbabwe are apparently huge,
huge Dolly parton fans. That just makes me so happy. Yeah,
And the the census is that I guess zimbab Winds
identifies so strongly with her because of how open and
earnest she is about her own like underprivileged past. It's
(15:08):
pretty pretty remarkable. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
I never knew Dolly was so big and Zimbabwe, but
if you stop and think about it. That reasoning definitely
makes sense. I mean, she even talked about that kind
of kinship herself in this interview she did with Biography
a few years back. So she was asked about how
growing up in poverty prepared her for a career as
a performer, and here's what she had to say about it.
I think being brought up dirt poor left me with
(15:32):
a feeling of what it was like to go without,
so I can relate when people are having a hard time.
In my case being a songwriter, I'm able to write
not only four and about myself, but for what I
know other people are feeling, even if they don't always
have the means to get their voices heard. Being brought
up poor, I recognize and appreciate the value of a
(15:52):
dollar I never spend without thinking about it. I appreciate
all the things I have because I have been without.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Right and maybe one of the best examples of Dollie's
music being influenced by her hardships of her youth is
that classic song from nineteen seventy one, Coat of Many Colors.
It's actually based on a real incident from Dolly's childhood
and tells the story of the time when her mother
stitched a new coat for her and made from all
these sordid scraps of cloth. And as we've said, the
family was cash strapped, so they couldn't afford a new
(16:19):
coat for Dolly to wear during the school year that year.
But when the colorful patchwork coat was finished, you know,
it pretty much looked like a big quilt. I mean
to most people, it would have been obvious from one
look that this was a coat born of necessity. But
Dolly's mom wanted her to feel proud of who she
was and where she came from, and really not to
feel that shame or that constant weight of her family's poverty. Yeah,
(16:41):
So when she presented this makeshift coat to Dolly, she
actually compared it to that story in the Old Testament
of Joseph and I guess that technicol or dream coat
that he receives. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
And you know, if you think about it, Dolly grew
up in an incredibly religious environment, so that kind of
comparison was likely pretty impressive to her. I mean, who
knows how many times she'd heard that story of Joseph
while she was growing up.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Yeah, definitely. And the problem was that Dolly's classmates didn't
share that sentiment, you know, when she showed up at
school in her coat of many colors, the other saw
it for what it was, that, you know, this clear
sign of just how poor the Pardons were. And so
the other kids laughed, they made fun of the code,
and Dolly just got totally confused by this response, and
as she puts it in the song, and oh, I
(17:25):
couldn't understand it, for I felt I was rich, and
I told them of the love my mama sewed in
every stitch, but they didn't understand it. And I tried
to make them see that one is only poor only
if they choose to be.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Yeah, it's a beautiful song, and I know it's one
of Dolly's personal favorites too, and she even brought it
back as an illustrated children's book in the early nineties,
and of course then more recently as it made for
TV movie. And he really the song's taken on kind
of this second life in schools as somewhat of an
anti bullying anthem, and it just seems very appropriate as that.
(17:57):
And so all in all, it's not a bad legacy
for kind of a ratty old coat. But it kind
of makes you wonder what happened to the original thing.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So there actually is a code of many colors in
the Dolly Pardon Museum, but it's actually a replica of
that coat that her mom made for her. So currently
the original was ripped up at some point and the
scraps were reused to make baby blankets for a few
of Dolly's siblings. But you know, the replica's there, and
it's right next to Porter Wagner's laundry slip, which is
what Dolly had used to scribble out the lyrics when
she wrote the song.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Oh that's interesting, actually, speaking of Porter, did you know
that that song I Will Always Love You was actually
written about him?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
You're talking about that Whitney Houston song for the Bodyguards.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Oubtract that's it. It's really a Dolly Parton song. It
was not a Whitney Houston song. Dolly had written it
as a sort of a goodbye when she and Porter
were parting ways, and supposedly he cried the first time
she played it for him.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
So that does make me wonder, like, how did her
husband Carl feel about it, because you know, it's a
pretty romantic song to write about a business partner.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
It definitely is. And you know, there were always rumors
that Dolly and Porter were maybe more than just friends,
but there was never any proof to back that hearsay.
But you know, whatever the case, the song was a
huge hit for Dolly back in nineteen seventy four, and
then a couple decades later for Houston in nineteen ninety two.
And actually there was another big name artist who wanted
to cover the song of the years in between, but
(19:17):
Dolly turned him down cold. You might have actually heard
of this performance. His name was Elvis Presley.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
I mean, it does ring about well, why would you
turn down the king? I'm curious, Like, I feel like
having him cover your song would just make it huge, right.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
That's true, But you got to think about his notoriously
bullish manager that I know we've talked about a little
bit before, and that was Colonel Tom Parker. And it
wasn't just that he wanted permission to cover the song.
He actually wanted Dolly to hand over half of the
publishing rights as well, and of course this was a
total non starter for Dolly, so she refused the deal outright,
and it turned out to be a smart move as well,
(19:55):
because By retaining those full rights, Dolly was free to
cash in on the royalties when the song became a
massive hit for Houston decades later.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Yeah. So, I was reading this interview where someone asked
Dollie if she had any favorite cover versions of her
own songs, and she kind of gave this half hearted
answer before she finally admitted that, like, honestly, her favorites
are whichever ones make her the most money, and.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
That would probably be my favorite. I'm being honest too
if I were in the same situation. But you know,
since we're on the subject of covers, we should talk
a little bit about the Dolly Parton song that's been
recorded by other artists more than any other song she's written.
And that's, of course, that nineteen seventy three hit Joe
Lane and you knows really have been a ton of
other versions released over the years. And just looking at
(20:39):
the list of these and think about the ones that
we've heard, You've got, you know, the White Stripes to
Olivia Newton, John's disco remix to even a goth rendition,
which I have to admit I haven't heard. I want
to go back and listen to this by the Sisters
of Mercy.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Yeah, I haven't heard that goth version either. We should
listen together. But but why do you think the song
in particular has had such a long life, you know,
in terms of the music scene.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Well for starters, Jolene is part of this long line
of so called cheating songs, which of course are a
staple in country music, right up there with all the
patriotic ballads. And in fact, there was this study of
the four hundred most popular country songs released between nineteen
sixty and nineteen eighty seven, and cheating situations were found
to be one of the most popular subjects and they
(21:22):
were actually second only to the more straightforward love song.
So it's it's pretty interesting how many of them there
are out there. But what makes Jolene stand out from
the crowd is it's really that vulnerability and kind of
those feelings of inadequacy that are conveyed in it. And
you know, so for anybody who hasn't heard some form
of this song, you've got Jolene, who's this you know,
(21:43):
red haired, pale skinned woman and the singer fears that
she's stolen the heart of her husband. But rather than
kind of being this sad lement or a tale of revenge.
Like so many of the other cheating songs that are
out there, Dolly's song is really this heartfelt plead directly
to the other woman. So any of the singer literally
begs Jolene not to steal her man. And many of
(22:05):
us have heard these lyrics, but some of them go,
you could have your choice of men, but I could
never love again. He's the only one for me, Jolene.
And you know, you think about that kind of diplomatic
and self debasing approach. That was really something new for
the genre. And I think that feeling of not measuring
up to your perceptions of someone else was pretty relatable
(22:26):
for a lot of people, and it was probably kind
of endearing or maybe even cathartic to know that somebody
as glamorous as Dolly Parton could still fall prey to
these insecurities.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yeah, I mean it is interesting, just you know, you
have these topics that everyone covers, but there's always an
unusual way to voice it, and that Dolly Parton just
gets that way. But you know, from what you were saying,
I was curious, is it actually autobiographical as well?
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Well, it's not exactly, but it was definitely based on
a few events from Dolly's life, like Jolene's name and
physical features were inspired by this little girl who'd ask
for Dolly's autograph after a show one night. And then
this idea of a woman showing interest in her husband
that was supposedly cripp from this real life bank teller
who had this habit of flirting with Carl Dean. So
(23:10):
here's how Dolly puts it, she got this terrible crush
on my husband, and he just loved going to the
bank because she paid him so much attention. So it's
kind of like a running joke between us when I
was saying, hell, you're spending a lot of time at
the bank. I don't believe we have that kind of money.
So it's really an innocent song all around, but it
sounds like a dreadful that's really funny.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Well, you know, we could probably spend all day talking
about Dolly's hit songs, but I do want to make
sure we cover at least a few of the non
musical contributions she's made as well.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
All right, well, let's do that, but first let's take
a quick break, Okay, Mengo, So let's talk about a
few of the times when Dolly's kind of branched out
from her singing career and tried her hand. It's something new, sure.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
So one of the earliest examples of Dolly's having out
was in the nineteen eighties when she crossed over from
the stage to the movie screen. And this is when
she made her debut, starring alongside Jane Fonda Lily Tomlin.
You might remember this. It was the movie nine to.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Five of Course. Of Course.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Of Course is a comedy classic. You know, It's got
three working women finally fed up with their sexist boss
and then they start to pull all these schemes to
get even The movie was a huge hit of the
box office, and the title song Dolly wrote for it
went to number one on both the pop and the
country charts, you know, and of course it even earned
her an Oscar nomination for Best Song.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah, it was such a fun song, and it's got
that great first line. It's tumble out of bed and
stumbled at the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition
and yawn and stretch and try to come to life.
I mean, I feel like she was speaking for a
lot of us with those lyrics, definitely.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
And that's part of the reason why nine to five,
both the song and the movie have become such a
lasting part of pop culture. You know, I'd forgotten this,
but there was actually a nine to five. I have
TV showed that ran for five seasons.
Speaker 1 (25:02):
I didn't remember that.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Yeah, Gabe actually told me about it, and Dolly wrote
new songs for the Broadway version that opened in two
thousand and nine. But just a couple of weeks ago,
Dolly announced that there's even a sequel in the works
with she Fonda, Lily Tomlin. They're all going to reprise
their roles.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Oh man, that's awesome, but you know, it's so many
years later. I guess it is better late than ever.
But actually a little surprised that Dolly's willing to get
back into the pants suit. It was pretty hilarious just
reading about the experience from that movie, and she had
kind of sworn them off after filming the first movie.
And as she put it, I loved the movie and
enjoyed doing it, but I couldn't wait to get out
(25:38):
of those little suits and get into my trashy stuff.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
I mean, that's obviously like classic Dolly Parton. You know,
she has that quote. I just looked like the girl
next door. If you happen to live next door to
an amusement.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Park, that's pretty great. Thanks for the Thanks for the
setup there, Because speaking of amusement parks, or really theme
parks in this case, we definitely can't let this episode
go without talking at least a little bit about Dollywood
because plenty of singers have made that jump from music
to TV and of course even movies, Dolly pretty much
(26:11):
stands alone in terms of the theme park ownership thing.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Yeah, and it's obviously an unusual business move for a musician,
but I am sure that, like if Beyonce decided to
have a theme park, it would alter be amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, I'd show up.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
So I'm curious, like what made Dolly go for it, Like,
was she just really into roller coasters or what was it?
Speaker 1 (26:32):
It definitely wasn't the roller coaster thing. In fact, even
though Dolly's own the theme park for over thirty years now,
She's never ridden a single ride there. Apparently she suffers
from really bad motion sickness, and she said she used
to get sick from riding on the school bus, So
roller coasters are pretty much out of the question for her.
But you go back to this idea of why she
bought the park. There were a few things, really, but
(26:54):
you know, first, it actually helps to know that dolly
Wood wasn't always Dollywood. The original totally unrelated park it
opened there in nineteen sixty one. It was called Rebel Railroad.
Then it changed names and owners a few times over
the decades, and Dolly finally took over in nineteen eighty six,
and it was then that she rethemed the park really
(27:15):
more around the history of the Smoky Mountains, and she
decided to call it Dollywood. Actually this is kind of
a random aside, but the park's located in a Tennessee
town called Pigeon Forge, and apparently it was named for
this iron forge from the eighteen hundreds and for the
flocks of passenger pigeons that were native to the region.
Neither of these things still exist today. I think the
(27:36):
forge was eventually demolished and the pigeons, unfortunately, just all
went extinct.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Did Dolly grow up near the park? I mean, I
know she wasn't around when it opened, but like, was
it close to where she actually grew up?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
It definitely was. In fact, it was even in this
same county and so it was that proximity that attracted
Dolly to the park for a couple of reasons. I mean,
you know, for one thing, the park featured a chapel
that was built and named and on of doctor Robert Thomas,
who was that same doctor who delivered Dolly in exchange
for the bag of oats that we talked about earlier.
And then the other kind of equally sentimental reasons she
(28:10):
got involved was that she wanted to do something positive
for the area where she grew up. I mean, of
course she wanted to make money too, but there's no
doubt that she chose this investment in particular as a
way to give back to the community. And Dolly said
this much herself. There was a quote from twenty ten
where she explained that she had quote always thought that
if I made it big or got successful at what
(28:31):
I had started out to do, that I wanted to
come back to my part of the country and do
something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs
into this area. And to her credit, that's exactly what
she did. I mean, to this day, Dollywood is still
the number one employer in that same county in Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
That's pretty incredible. You know, and I'm pretty sure it's
going to be the same case for a very long
time now, because earlier this month, Dolly announced that she's
adding a new adventure land to the park. It's called
Wildwood Grove, and it's supposed to add eleven new attractions.
It's expected to cost thirty seven million dollars, which I
guess we'll make this the biggest expansion in the park's history.
(29:08):
And since Dollywood gets about two point five million visitors
each year, I'm sure this new area is going to
be put to good use.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Oh for sure. But actually, for any listeners planning their
next vacation, you should keep in mind dogs are not
allowed in Dollywood, but that's not something really to worry about,
because Dolly has you covered on this front. You can
actually just drop your pups off ahead of time at
the park's kennel, which is appropriately named Doggie Wood.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I like that, you know. I know. We already said
that Dollywood was born at least in part from Dolly's
desire to give back to Tennessee. But there are also
these more straightforward charities that Dolly's been involved in, and
I do want to highlight just a couple of them.
So the first is called the My People Fund. It
was a campaign that she launched in twenty sixteen following
the really awful wildfire in the Smoky Mons region, and
(29:56):
the fire left hundreds of residents homeless. But Dolly's campaign
used outside donations as well as some of her own
money to provide all these displaced families with one thousand
dollars per month stipends for a full six months and
on all, the My People Fund distributed just under nine
million dollars to the fire victims, and it provided an
additional three million to the region's mountain recovery team.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
That's pretty incredible, and you know, I'd expect nothing less
from an official ambassador to the Smoky Mountain National Park,
which of course Dolly Parton.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Is So I love that idea, but it's official, like
national parks actually have ambassadors.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Apparently they do. So they were looking for somebody to
represent the Smoky Mountain Park for this big seventy fifth
anniversary back in I guess it was two thousand and nine,
and so park officials asked themselves if we could pick
one person who is the most recognizable and personifies the
love of the Smokies who would it be, And the
answer was unanimous. It was Dolly Parton, not Smoky the Bear,
(30:52):
not Smokey Bear.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Well, they definitely picked the right person for the job.
But I do want to mention that Dolly's humanitarian first
aren't limited to helping just those from her own state.
You know, She's actually run her own charity organization. It's
called the Dollywood Foundation, and she's done this since ninety
six and over the years it's provide millions in school scholarships,
hospital donations, supplies for classrooms. But the outreach program that
(31:16):
I've always been most impressed by is her Imagination Library.
And this is a program she started twenty three years
ago and the whole goal was improving literacy rates among children.
And the way it works is that anyone who signs
up for the service receives one book. It's free, it's handpicked,
and they get it in the mail every month until
he or she turns five years old. And these days
(31:38):
the organization gives out more than ten million books annually,
and just this February, the program reached this major major milestone.
It donated its one hundred millionth book and wow, I
just love I know, I just love how much thought
went into this program's approach, Like you should just listen
to how Dolly explains it. Quote. Even if you're not
able to go to college, if you can read, you
(31:59):
can find out about any subject that you're interested in.
And if a book is coming to the mailbox every month,
then it's got your name on it, then you're going
to find someone to help you read it to you.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I think what really strikes me is just how many
times in this episode we've talked about Dolly Parton with
phrases like you know, just this year, or just last month,
or even a few weeks ago. I mean, you're talking
about a seventy two year old country singer and she's
still making headlines for music and movies and TV and
of course even theme parks.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, even theme parks. I mean, the whole idea of
her as some kind of unstoppable powerhouse is actually one
that Dolly seems to hold for herself. And I know
we've been quoting her a lot today, but I think
this last one just really sums up Dolly and also
the main message she wants to convey through her art.
And so here's how it goes. Quote my favorite book
(32:48):
is the Little Engine that Could, and it's the first
book we give to children who participate in my Imagination Library.
I Think I can, I Think I Can. It's a
motto that I live by, and I personally believe that
positive thinking can change anyone's life. I've always fell in
my heart that the only that that could ever stand
in my way is simply me.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
It does seem appropriate for Dolly to get the last word,
but we're not done just yet, because we got a
few more dollisms to share in today's fact offs. Are
you ready to get started?
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Mango? I think I can. I Think I can.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
So you can now take an honors course at the
University of Tennessee that's called Dolly's America. And it's this
seminar where they use Dolly's life story to help better
understand Appalachian culture. So Dolly grew up about half an
hour or so from Knoxville or the university's main campuses,
and the class actually looks at things like stereotypes of
hillbilly's and the way they represented in popular culture. It's
(33:49):
a class I'd probably like to take.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
So this is gonna sound strange, but we actually have
Dolly to thank at least partially for the existence of Buffy.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Buffy like that like vampire Slayer Buffy.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
M that's the one. So back in the eighties, Dolly
in her former manager and roommate Sandy Gallen, founded this
production company called sand Dollar, and sand Dollar actually co
produced Buffy as well as it's been off Angel and
Gallen was listed as an exec producer, but partner. She
stayed out of the spotlight, even though she deserves some
of the credit.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Wow, you know, I think we've talked about this before,
but of course you remember Dolly, who was the sheep
that was the first successful cloning of a mammal. Well,
it was in fact named after Dolly Parton. Now, the
sheep's original name was six LL three, which is not
quite as catchy in my opinion, but supposedly one of
the stockmen who was there at the time of six
(34:39):
L three's birth decided to give her the name Dolly
because she was cloned from a mammary cell. Now, I
don't think we have to explain that one, but it
makes me wonder like if Dolly Parton would have been
offended by this, But as she always does, she just
rolled with it and said, I was honored. There's no
such thing as bad publicity, so I, like said, she
even made into a little joke there.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
So I think it's funny that Dolly once decided to
enter a Dolly Parton lookalike contest in Los Angeles and
this was just for the fun of it. But the
best part, obviously is that she didn't come anywhere close
to winning. Apparently they felt that she was too short
to be convincing, and the winner ended up being someone
in drag and she of course just found this entirely hilarious,
(35:24):
you know. But the good thing was that she actually
got to walk around some of her biggest fans and
no one in the audience noticed her.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
That's awesome. Oh, here's something that I'm excited about. There's
apparently an anthology series based on Dolly songs that's being
developed for Netflix and supposedly we'll be released next year.
That will be an eight part series and each episode
will be based on a different Dolly Parton song, and
they haven't announced which songs yet, and there are obviously
so many to choose from, but I'm really looking forward
(35:53):
to seeing it.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
Yeah, it's incredible. Well, as if we need any more proof,
that Dolly always remembers where she came from and hasn't
forgotten how to do things herself. Do you know that
before she goes on tour, Dolly actually cooks a bunch
of food, puts it all in freezer bags, and then
loads it up on the bus. And she says, quote,
I do cook for a week before I go on tour,
(36:14):
so I put stuff in the freezer so we'll have
great country food if we don't have what I want
at all the places we stop.
Speaker 1 (36:21):
Oh man, that is so wonderful.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
I can't decide which fact I love most in all
of this, but just thinking about like the fact that
she is partially responsible for Buffy being out there but
taking almost no credit as a producer, the whole humility
around the lookalike contest, and of course always remembering where
she came from. With that last fact, I think I
have to give you the trophy this week.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
I was so nervous you were gonna say, I think
I have to give it to Tristan because he's still
wearing the wig.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
But it's kind of thrilled to take a side. Now.
I might have given it to him, but the wig
is just it's really kind of falling out of place,
so it's just just getting worse. Ooh no, well, you
know what. As always, we love hearing facts from our listeners,
so we'd love to hear some from you about Dolly
Partner or any fun stories you may have had from
over the years as a fan of Dolly Parton. You
(37:10):
can always email us part Time Genius at HowStuffWorks dot
com or hit us up on Facebook or Twitter. But
as always, thanks so much for listening. Thanks again for listening.
(37:32):
Part Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works
and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do
the important things we couldn't even begin to understand.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Tristan McNeil does the editing thing.
Speaker 1 (37:41):
Noel Brown made the theme song and does the mixy
mixy sound thing.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
Jerry Rowland does the exact producer thing.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
Gabeluesier is our lead researcher, with support from the Research
Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eves.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Jeff Cook gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
If you like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe.
And if you really really like what you've heard, maybe
could leave a good review for us.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Do we do we forget Jason?
Speaker 1 (38:03):
Jason whom
Part-Time Genius News
Hosts And Creators
Will Pearson
Mangesh Hattikudur
Popular Podcasts
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com