August 28, 2026 • 29 mins
In honor of Dolly Parton’s passing, Bobby shares his final interview with one of the most beloved and influential country music artists of all time. Dolly reflects on the people who believed in her early, growing up in a full house in East Tennessee, finding her voice through music, and staying true to herself through decades of fame. She also opens up about marriage, legacy, hard work, failure, faith, and why she kept creating with the same energy and humor that made the world love her. This conversation is warm, funny, honest, and deeply Dolly — a chance to hear her in her own words, remembering the life she built, the lessons she carried, and the light she gave to so many.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey guys, Bobby here. And so we were going to
have a couple episodes up at this point of the
Bobby cast, and it just felt weird to not put
something out about Dolly. And we had talked on the
Bobby Bowen show a lot about her and our memories,
but I wanted to play something. And so what I
want to play for you guys is the final time
that Dolly and I were together. This is about a
(00:28):
half hour podcast. plus interview that we did that I loved.
And she dedicated so much time, went out to her place.
We did this. I don't know. It's just so cool.
She was so cool. Was able to spend, I was
counting last night, I think seven different occasions with her,
some for relatively long. Some were show appearances. Some, I
(00:50):
know one specifically was when the fires hit East Tennessee,
the Smoky Mountain area. And she did the telethon. I
went up and helped with that. And I was just
able to be around her a lot as far as
I was around her enough that she never wasn't that
same person, which is kind of crazy because I think
we all get in good moods and bad moods and,
(01:10):
you know, hasty moods. But Dolly was always the same.
She was so kind to everybody. And to me, she
was always so generous. So I wanted to play this.
This is the last time that Dolly and I hung out.
Rest in peace to Dolly Parton, the great Dolly Parton.
Country music's going to miss her. 80 years old. I
hope you enjoy the last interview that I did with Dolly. Dolly,
I love you. I want to leave with that.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Thank you. I just want to set that there.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, I love you back. Would that be fair to say?
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, especially now. I think we've been there.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
We all love you.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So a question. I want to set it up first.
I have a story that I do on my act
where I talk about people that show up whenever you
really can't. They're there to offer you something. But nothing
in return. And I talk about Lionel Richie and how
I was freaking out one day because Ryan Seacrest, he
got sick and had to miss Idol. So I had
to go host it with like four minutes before the
show starts. He's never missed an episode. And here I am.
(02:02):
And it's not that I can't host a show, but
the stage direction is such a big part about it.
And I talk about how Lionel gets up, walks all
the way across the arena. He's got to get back
to his seat too and just gives me this real,
hey man, hands on the shoulders. You can do this.
The Commodores did this. He didn't have to do that.
Like Lionel Richie's as famous, as nice, as cool as
(02:22):
could be. Didn't have to do that. And so I
talk about how amazing it is when people will give
to you when they want nothing in return. And so
when I say a story like that to you, who
comes to mind that did not have to be there
for you, but was there?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, so many people actually have more than one. In
my early days, my Uncle Bill, who's the one that
took me around because he saw my great potential. And
he would take me around to shows and things. And
even when my daddy didn't even want me to go,
you know, getting out in the world, like my Uncle
Bill used to bring me down to Nashville in the
(02:57):
early days. So he was definitely one of the people
that didn't have to do it. He just saw that
that was my dream and my desire. But there are
many people, like in the business, many Pearl, when I
first came to Nashville, she called me over one day
and she said, Dolly, you're a right pretty girl. And
you seem like you've got you know, a lot of
(03:18):
talent because I've heard some of your songs. She said,
but don't let anybody ever tell you that you need
to be this way or you need to be that way.
You just be you. And she said, don't let none
of these old hairy-legged boys try to make you believe
that you're not as good as they are because you
can be whatever you want to be. And she didn't
(03:39):
have to do that, but she saw that I was
about to to do my number and she did not
want me to get caught up. And like some of
the girls would just kind of do whatever they needed
to do to get a break. But she saw something
else in me, but she just said, don't do it.
You just be you and believe in your talent and
believe in yourself.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Why do you think she did that?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Because she's a good person. Like you said, people that
are good tend to do good things. And I think
that was probably Lionel's good heart that saw that he'd
been in that spot before. And she probably had in
her own time and in her own way been in
that spot.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
We went to Italy, my wife and I, and I'm
from a rural town in Arkansas. I never went out
of the country until I started to have some success.
So now that we're older, get to do some cool
stuff and we go and they would have Italian music
on in these places. But I ate so early because
my schedule is pretty early. And they would turn on
American music everywhere we went. In three of the four places,
they turned on your music when we walked in. They
(04:41):
assume every American, and it's probably right, loves Dolly Parton.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Well, I'm sure every American don't. Yeah, I'm sure there's
a lot of people that slap me upside the head,
but I don't want to hear about them. It's a
great compliment. But see, I've been at this a long time.
And I've been famous in Europe for years and years
and years because... of the songs that I used to
sing and write, like Code of Many Colors, and people
(05:08):
related to that. They knew that I was brought up
in a family of 12 children, kind of a mountain
Cinderella story, and people related to my music, and so
therefore they related to me. And then when I got
to being on TV and stuff, people felt like they
knew me. So it wasn't uncommon. A lot of my
music was playing more overseas than it did here for
(05:31):
a long time, from my early records. But it's nice
to be loved by anybody, anywhere.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I was eating pasta to your music, though. Most places
we went, it was you playing over the top or
eating our pasta in Italy.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Oh, did that make you happy or was you trying
to get out of the country?
Speaker 1 (05:46):
No, it made me feel like I was at home,
which is great. My set on my show, I have
a couch and a couple lamps. And really, that's it
because when I grew up in this, we grew up
in a 900-square-foot house in Arkansas. I never had a bedroom.
My whole life, I slept on the couch. And so
my closet was underneath my couch and It was literally...
Everything was on the couch. Never had a bedroom. And
(06:08):
so that was what it was like, though, for me
growing up in a small house with a lot of
people around. Your story... similar-ish. You're from a small town
in Tennessee. What was home like for you growing up?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Well, home was like full. There was a lot of kids.
Mama had one kid on her and one kid in her,
as long as I can remember. One on her hip
and one growing in. But we lived in the house,
and we didn't have running water unless we'd run and
get it. And you know, we just kind of washed
(06:40):
in a wash pan. And people say, how in the
world did you take a bath? That many people in
the house, because there were six boys and six girls
in my family, ultimately. I mean, after we were all
there and after mom had had them all. But people say,
how did you take a bath? How'd you have any privacy?
I said, well, we had a little screen, you know,
a little sheet. Mom would tie a little string over there.
(07:02):
And then We'd wash up as far as possible, and
then we'd wash down as far as possible. And when
the boys cleared the room, we washed possible.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Yes, yes, I did.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Well, it basically is like that because it was about
your privacy because you knew when you could, you know,
the girls had to do their thing, the boys had
to do their things, make sure, you know, that we
cared about such things as privacy and decency. and all that.
But when you're growing up, it's just natural. Growing up
(07:37):
like we did, you learn the rules and you go
by them.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
When you have all those brothers and sisters, you have
to somehow get attention for yourself. I mean, you're born
into an environment of everybody. even indirectly seeking attention. You
got a couple of parents, 12 kids. I mean, is
that where this performance gene came from? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Well, my mother's people were all very musical. So music
was always a part of our family. My grandpa was
a preacher. He also played piano and played guitar. So
my people were the ones that sang at funerals and
weddings and shindigs and anything around locally. Some of my relatives,
somebody was always playing. But when I was young, my
(08:19):
Uncle Bill and my Uncle Louis were both, you know,
they paid attention to me. My Uncle Louis gave me
my first little baby Martin guitar because he saw how
serious I was. When everybody would come bring their instruments,
we'd sit on the porch and sing. Well, I learned
to play that little guitar, and that's when my Uncle
Bill saw the great potential. But I learned to play
(08:41):
when I was like seven. So I started writing some
serious songs. And then mama was fascinated with how I
could rhyme and write songs about stuff I'd never lived.
But I'd hear them talk about people in the war,
somebody sick, somebody this, just those old world songs they
used to sing. So I would write all these songs.
And when people would come to the house, mama would say, Ronnie,
(09:02):
get your guitar. I want you to hear what this
little thing has wrote. And so I would get my
guitar and I would sing those songs. And so I
saw right away that I was getting more attention. Because
I have a sister and two brothers older, so I
was fourth one down, and then there's eight younger. So
I didn't get a lot of attention, but I saw
(09:23):
I could get it. And I was one of those
kids that needed a lot of attention. And I knew
Mom and Daddy loved us all the same, but we
didn't get picked up unless we was getting our butt
busted or sick or something. So that guitar and my
music was my first entrance into music. getting the attention
that I needed, and I'm still at it.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, I was going to ask, do you still crave it?
I do.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
I think that's, but I crave it now because it
fulfills what I feel is my true gift. You know,
I love to write songs, and I've written tons and
tons of songs through the years. But I don't know
that it's—well, I guess it is about attention. I just
love doing it, and I want people to see that
(10:08):
I can do it. I want them to appreciate what
I am doing, that I have written these songs that
I hope are good, I think are good, but that's
for somebody else to judge. But then when they do
judge me, you know, and I get the accolades from
all that, then I feel like I've done something great.
And so, and I do crave that. So I guess
(10:30):
attention is the best word for it. Don't you guess?
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, I think I just was seeking love. Like, I
think that was it for me where I would go, okay, well,
I didn't get a lot of love growing up because
I didn't have parents, really. And so I would go
and perform or be funny and people would go, I
like that. I would be like, wow, I'm liked. And
so it didn't start working with me forever. with girls
until probably my twenties. Oh yeah. And then I just
got married a couple of years ago. I've been married
(10:54):
two years, so thank you. Never been married two years in.
So what's, but it's difficult cause I already kind of
had my ways wired. I was 40 when I got married. Well, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Did she have her ways wired?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Yeah. I mean, I feel, I feel like I'm way
more wired though. Oh, are you? Yeah. I'm, I'm almost
12 years older than her. So it's not a crazy difference,
but it's enough of a difference to where like, she
still got some landing room to where I'm, I am
who I am. I'm trying to not be that way.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
No, don't you not be. Let her change. Don't you change.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I've never heard anyone advise that. Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Well, you can't change.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
This is the greatest segment. Give me more advice like that.
You know what?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I've been with my husband for 59 years. He knew
who I was when he met me, and I knew
who he was. But I was only 18 when we met,
and he was 21. So we kind of grew up.
You know, we kind of learned each other as we went.
But I saw who he was early on. He saw
who I was. And he saw right away that I
(11:56):
wasn't going to change much. But I was able to adapt.
I think that word is better about adapting than it
is change. You got to adapt to certain things because
you can't just have it all your way.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I'm going to take her to that clip, though, of
you saying she needs to change and cut the rest
of it out except for that.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Well, I don't think you need to change. I don't
know what it's like at home. I ain't her, but
I'd like to be. But don't change.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
A similarity that I think your husband, not known for
being a super public guy. My wife does not like
to be in the spotlight.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Oh, my husband hates it.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
He don't.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
He never was.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So how do you, what was that balance? Because we
struggle with that now because I, again, I need it
to be successful. She does not want it at all.
How did you guys do that?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Well, my husband was a homebody and he's very, he's
very quiet and he didn't want to do anything but
be at home. He's a homebody. He's a cancer. You know,
if you go by the signs, I'm Capricorn, he's cancer.
Those are compatible signs. If you put any faith in that.
But if you don't, and I don't to that degree,
but he loved being who he was and loved being
(13:10):
left alone to do it. And I loved being who
I was and being left alone to do it. And
so we just found ways, things that we did like
together and things that we enjoyed doing that was us.
So maybe you be you and let her be her
and then you, Got to find some new things so
you can be us. You can be, you know, who
(13:32):
you are. Because that's the key of just trying to
find that. You can't just make somebody be what you
want them to be. They are who they are.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I'm trying to make her be what I want to be.
But she's also very strong herself.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
That's what I'm saying. You can't make anybody change. You've
just got to make them want to do some things different.
I'd be willing to. And if not, it won't last forever.
and you can come live with me and my husband.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Well, you wanna know. I will, I'll use this in
court when I show up at your house and you
guys try to kick me out. I said, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But it's not easy. We've been together all these years,
but like I say, somebody says, what do you attribute
your long marriage to? I say, well, I stay gone.
So maybe that's your answer.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Do you guys have– just an example about my wife
and I. I usually don't work three weekends in a row,
meaning I'll work all week doing the radio show or
shooting TV and I'll tour. But I really try hard
not to do three in a row to for sure
carve out that weekend. Like we try to set these
little benchmarks and pillars. Did you guys have any of
that in your relationship early on so you didn't get lost?
Because my time management skills are not great to do
(14:40):
personal and– Private.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Well, I hadn't become a star when I met my husband.
I just came here to be one. And he knew that.
And so he went with it. But did she not
know that about you?
Speaker 1 (14:49):
She did. I think, though, when we we dated pre-COVID
for six, eight months or so long distance, then COVID
and COVID, I'm home all the time.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Well, that's when you get to know somebody.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
You know that old saying? We got to know each other.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
You don't know somebody until you have to live with them.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Until you get to poop real close to them. You
know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Well, that's when you know who you really are.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
And that's how I knew I loved her. But then
once work opened up, I'm gone again. And so I
kind of tricked her. I kind of hit her with
the rope-a-dope. I tricked her. I was like, look how
home I am. And then I'm gone all the time.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Don't you blame her false on COVID. So both of
you have to take the blame.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Oh, it's all me. I've also learned that.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
So she said, right?
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yes, I've learned it's all me.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
It's not all you.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I have to apologize for what I do in her dreams.
That's a thing now. Like if she has a bad
dream and I do something bad in her dream, then
I have to.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I better tickle her or I will say too much.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Well, you talk about fame. Like what is it?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Fame.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Well, I guess the word fame is after you. I
think that word must have been invented after people were
already stars, had to be. Because I think fame and
success are not necessarily the same words. And successful and
success are not the same words. You can be a success,
but not successful enough. If you're not, if you don't
(16:14):
know how to enjoy it, if you can't enjoy it,
if you don't appreciate it, if it doesn't work for
you and make you happy, because that's, that is, you know,
money as that, whoever said it, money can make a man,
but you know, I mean, man can make money, but
money cannot make a man. It's the same, you know,
it's like you've got to. But fame, I guess that
(16:34):
just means you've made it, and there you are, just
like a star. But it's like that movie, Rhinestone, there
was a line in it that I always laughed at.
A star is just a big ball of gas, you know.
And that's kind of what it is if you look
at it like that. So it's what, I guess, what
you tag it to. I feel like I'm famous, meaning everybody.
I think fame means that everybody knows who you are.
(16:57):
You know, you're famous because everybody knows your name. And you,
you know, they'll see you on TV. But that still doesn't,
should not make you a different person.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Hang tight. The Bobbycast will be right back. And we're
back on The Bobbycast.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Or does it make you more of who you kind
of are? really are? Since you have access and since
you have resources, does fame, success make you more of
who you originally are and what do you think?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
I think so. I'd like to think so. In my case,
it does because I've never been a diva. I'm thankful
that I'm successful. I always wanted to have money. I
wrote a song called Sacrificing and it says, I was
going to be rich no matter how much it took.
I was going to be rich no matter... how much
it costs, and I was going to win no matter
(18:00):
how much I lost, you know, and that to me,
those two lines, you know, it's like if you're willing
to sacrifice all through the years, I kept my eye
on the prize, you know, and you ask if it's
worth the sacrifice, but you don't, you know, it's like
empty or full, you know, I've carried my pail, but
you don't drink the water if you don't dig the well,
(18:21):
you know, it's like all those things you, I think
that I'm the same person I always was. I'm just
more relaxed now. I'm more comfortable because I can afford
to be. That's what you were saying. I can afford
to be myself. Just like when I started cutting, I
had to wait. I never could make money, big money,
singing bluegrass.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
And I love bluegrass.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
And so when I did my bluegrass album, I said
I had to get rich in order to sing like
I could. You know? It's like you kind of, you know,
you can look at things like that. But I guess
everybody has their own. a version of what they think
fame and stardom is. I'm a celebrity, but all those
words like celebrity star, you know, and fame, they're just
(19:04):
words to tag the people that hopefully that have become
successful at what they're best at. And if you're, like
I said, if you're a true success, that means you
should be able to enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Do you enjoy it?
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
When did you start being able to enjoy it?
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Well, when I quit being able to enjoy it, I'm
going to quit altogether. Now, there are times I get
stressed out because there's so much you have to do
that you just get, you know, you just burn out.
You just beat. Then you think all kinds of things. Well,
you know, maybe it's time. You know, maybe I should
do this and do that. But, I mean, you're up
the next morning thinking about something you want to go do.
(19:41):
You can't help it if that's who you are. You know,
it's like my song. I wrote a song called Whatever
You Are, Be That. Whatever you do, do that because
anything else, is just an act. So whoever you are,
be that. So if you're a comedian, be that. If
you're a DJ, be that. Whatever you are, that's true
to you and that's how you express yourself. We don't
(20:03):
have to make ourselves over or allow somebody else to
make us over. We need to be who we are
and find ways to make that work for us.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I've found that if I lie or fabricate a story,
it's not that I'm too good for it. I just
can't remember it all the time. So I try not to.
So I don't. I just try to tell the truth
and be as honest as I can. Not because I'm
too good to lie, because I would love to lie
and remember it, because this is more entertaining, but I
can't remember it. So stay honest with you. I feel
like that's been a big part of who you are,
is just honesty at all costs. Was that always the
(20:37):
idea with you?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Well, I don't think, no, I don't think about it
like that. I always say, oh, my lies are true. No,
it's like, I think sometimes you have to make excuses
that might turn out, like a lot of people might
say that that's a lie. But usually it's an excuse
you have to make. You have to be in the
truth mostly to spare someone else's feelings.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
So white lies are okay.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
But for myself. Well, I'm not saying a lie is okay.
I'm just saying sometimes..
Speaker 1 (21:08):
When you say I come to your house, that's a lie.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
When I what?
Speaker 1 (21:11):
When you say I can come to your house and
live with you and your husband, that's a little..
Speaker 2 (21:15):
That's a lie.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Right, that's my point, yeah. That's what I'm saying here.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
But my good heart would allow you to if you
needed to.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
If you needed to come. Of course, I was saying
it to be funny. But my good heart would welcome
you into my house. So I guess that's when you're successful.
If you appreciate what you've got and be able to
help somebody else with it.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
The album, Rockstar... And the book, behind the scenes, they
are both so new. Meaning, you put new songs on
an album, you didn't have to do that. You could
have just done these amazing songs with these amazing artists
and do your version of it. Same thing with a book.
It is a book of something you've never released before.
(21:59):
Your fashion. Fashion. You have created fashion for so many people.
So why keep on pushing as hard as you do?
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Oh, well, I'm not pushing. That's just, I want to
leave things, like we were talking earlier before we even
went on the air about working so hard, but I
feel like I've got to make hay while the sun shines.
I'm 77 years old, and I've done a lot in
my time, and I'm thankful for every bit of it.
But there's stuff out there that I want to have
my hands on to be part of my legacy. I
(22:30):
want to be part of all these things that I
know somebody's going to cash in on when I'm dead.
So why not make it right? Why not do it?
And why not do it great? Well, certainly with the book,
you know, I had a book called Songteller and it
was all about my songwriting. Why I wrote songs, how
I was feeling when I wrote songs, what inspired them,
what period of, you know, in my life I was in.
(22:51):
And so this one is the behind the scenes and
it's about who can tell my story better than me?
I know those feelings. I know those thoughts. I know
the pain and the sorrow and the joy and fun
of all of it and the people and the jerks
and everything that has to do with my life. Nobody
can guess that. You might guess at it, but you're
(23:12):
not going to know. So I'm doing that because I
want to get as much stuff out as I can
with as much quality as I can. So it don't
just get counterfeited when I'm dead and gone. And I've
got my next.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Book is going to be called Star of the Show.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
It's like a three, you know, there's a song teller
behind the scenes and the one I'm calling Star of
the Show, which is the name of one of my songs.
And it's about my life on the road. The musicians,
the travel, the hotels, the craziness and all the stuff.
So I want to tell those stories. I don't want
somebody else to tell them. But anyway, getting back to
(23:50):
what you're saying, I'm the kind of person, I have
to be busy, and I can tell, and you're the
same way. I've got a lot of energy, and if
I didn't use that to be creative, I'd just turn
that in on myself, and that'd be dangerous. Or I'd
turn it in on somebody else. That would be worse.
So I think that if you're creative and you have
these thoughts, you have to just keep on doing it. And,
(24:13):
you know, it's like I can't even imagine just quitting.
That's why I say I'll never retire. I might have
to quit if my husband got sick and I need
to be with him. And if I was ill, you know,
it would have to be a serious illness. You know,
I'd still be writing if my right arm worked. You know,
if my arms worked, I could still write. But I
(24:35):
just want to do everything I can because it won't
always be this way. I won't always have this opportunity.
And God's been good to me and people have been
good to me. And I get scared sometimes when everybody
tries to put me on some sort of a pedestal.
I think, God, don't put me up there. All you
can do is just knock me off. You know, I'm
not all that. You know, I talk about things like
(24:56):
I'm not an angel. I just play one on TV
and that's the truth. So I'm a lot of things.
But when I try to be mostly is a good
person and try to be creative and try to be
good to others.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Final three questions. I have a lot of people that
will be watching this. And they're watching because they want
to laugh and have a good time, but hopefully to
be inspired to just commit to being better. If it's
a mom, if it's a dad, or a better fireman,
or working at a bank. And it's just committing to it.
And a lot of people have trouble just committing to
(25:29):
it because of the fear of failure. And I have
to imagine that someone that has all these successes, as yourself,
has had a fair share of pretty big failures too.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
Well, we all have failures, but you don't look at
it like that if you're a smart person. Because even
just like when I had my variety show years ago,
it was entitled to be going to be this or that,
and I got a ton of money for it, which
they had to pay me for anyway. even though it
didn't last. But I was disappointed that it didn't work,
(26:02):
but it didn't work for all the reasons I knew
it wasn't going to work when we started it. I
wasn't me. I couldn't be me. They were trying to
revamp the old variety shows. And I'm just a one
kind of person. I'm just me. And if we can
work off of me, I can make it successful. But
if I try to go outside of my comfort zone,
(26:23):
I never can make it work. But I learned so
much about that show. You learn what you should not
look at it like a failure, but as a stepping stone.
I learned so much from that of what not to do,
what not to allow to happen next time, that even
in other shows I've done since then that I've produced
or worked in, I've learned from that. So everything is
(26:48):
something you can learn from. It's just a stepping stone.
And so I I'm even, you know, I really am
almost glad that it didn't work because I didn't want
to continue. I was under stress with it because I
wasn't happy doing that. So as it was, I could
have still been on there if they'd have let me,
(27:08):
you know, do more of who I am. But we
all have those things in our lives, and we're all,
you know, it takes a while to overcome it. You know,
you're embarrassed by certain things and all that. But if
you're the right kind of talent and the right kind
of person, you'll just take that as a good lesson. Which,
by the way, I'm going to do a comedy album
(27:30):
one of these days since you're having a comedy show.
That's going to be one of my next things. People
have always said..
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Your songs are super funny and witty, like even the
ones you don't mean to be funny. Yeah. What do
you think is the most clever line, the most clever
couplet rhyming line that you have in your song? Off
the top of your head.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I just think that one I just said, you know,
I was going to be rich... no matter how much
it cost. And I was going to win no matter
how much I lost. Or one of my favorite lines
in the songs I've written is a cup of ambition.
You know, I get excited about those kind of things.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
But I don't know.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
I can't think right off the top of my head,
but a lot of my songs have a lot of comedy.
But I want to do a stand-up comedy album someday
because I like being funny.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Me too. I just wish I was..
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Well, you are funny. I want to say you are
funny and you are good and you are capable of
so many things and you are so liked.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
I start crying. This is not even about me. I know.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Let me just say this.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Go ahead. I don't like compliments are tough for me.
But you're a DJ.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Let me just say, a lot of these people that
watch this, they'll be all over the world, all over
the country. But you, we think of you as like
a local boy. And here in Nashville, I mean, you
are just fantastic on the radio. Everybody loves the Bobby
Bowles show. I mean, it's like we get up to
do it, you know, Amy and all the people you
(28:56):
have on the show. And then when you go out
and do some of these shows, like American Idol, and
you just have a spirit and an energy and a little,
I don't know, you've just got magic somehow. And I
think you're good. Thank you in order to just be
allowed to be good.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
I don't need any more questions after that. I think
we're going to end on that. And I'm not even
going to air any other interview, just that last segment
over and over.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Well, we like you here. You're a local boy to us.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Thank you very much. You are the best. Thank you
for the time and the inspiration to so many and
for letting me fondle your jewelry here.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
On the side.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Get off of me.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
You've got to come to my and Carl's house, and
he's got to give you permission.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
You told me at the beginning I had permission. All right.
Thank you, guys. Back to you guys. There's nobody there.
I'm just pointing. Okay. All right.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Thanks for listening to The Bobbycast. Share this episode with
a friend, because they don't pay to advertise us.
Hey guys, Bobby here. And so we were going to
have a couple episodes up at this point of the
Bobby cast, and it just felt weird to not put
something out about Dolly. And we had talked on the
Bobby Bowen show a lot about her and our memories,
but I wanted to play something. And so what I
want to play for you guys is the final time
that Dolly and I were together. This is about a
(00:28):
half hour podcast. plus interview that we did that I loved.
And she dedicated so much time, went out to her place.
We did this. I don't know. It's just so cool.
She was so cool. Was able to spend, I was
counting last night, I think seven different occasions with her,
some for relatively long. Some were show appearances. Some, I
(00:50):
know one specifically was when the fires hit East Tennessee,
the Smoky Mountain area. And she did the telethon. I
went up and helped with that. And I was just
able to be around her a lot as far as
I was around her enough that she never wasn't that
same person, which is kind of crazy because I think
we all get in good moods and bad moods and,
(01:10):
you know, hasty moods. But Dolly was always the same.
She was so kind to everybody. And to me, she
was always so generous. So I wanted to play this.
This is the last time that Dolly and I hung out.
Rest in peace to Dolly Parton, the great Dolly Parton.
Country music's going to miss her. 80 years old. I
hope you enjoy the last interview that I did with Dolly. Dolly,
I love you. I want to leave with that.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Thank you. I just want to set that there.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, I love you back. Would that be fair to say?
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, especially now. I think we've been there.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
We all love you.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
So a question. I want to set it up first.
I have a story that I do on my act
where I talk about people that show up whenever you
really can't. They're there to offer you something. But nothing
in return. And I talk about Lionel Richie and how
I was freaking out one day because Ryan Seacrest, he
got sick and had to miss Idol. So I had
to go host it with like four minutes before the
show starts. He's never missed an episode. And here I am.
(02:02):
And it's not that I can't host a show, but
the stage direction is such a big part about it.
And I talk about how Lionel gets up, walks all
the way across the arena. He's got to get back
to his seat too and just gives me this real,
hey man, hands on the shoulders. You can do this.
The Commodores did this. He didn't have to do that.
Like Lionel Richie's as famous, as nice, as cool as
(02:22):
could be. Didn't have to do that. And so I
talk about how amazing it is when people will give
to you when they want nothing in return. And so
when I say a story like that to you, who
comes to mind that did not have to be there
for you, but was there?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, so many people actually have more than one. In
my early days, my Uncle Bill, who's the one that
took me around because he saw my great potential. And
he would take me around to shows and things. And
even when my daddy didn't even want me to go,
you know, getting out in the world, like my Uncle
Bill used to bring me down to Nashville in the
(02:57):
early days. So he was definitely one of the people
that didn't have to do it. He just saw that
that was my dream and my desire. But there are
many people, like in the business, many Pearl, when I
first came to Nashville, she called me over one day
and she said, Dolly, you're a right pretty girl. And
you seem like you've got you know, a lot of
(03:18):
talent because I've heard some of your songs. She said,
but don't let anybody ever tell you that you need
to be this way or you need to be that way.
You just be you. And she said, don't let none
of these old hairy-legged boys try to make you believe
that you're not as good as they are because you
can be whatever you want to be. And she didn't
(03:39):
have to do that, but she saw that I was
about to to do my number and she did not
want me to get caught up. And like some of
the girls would just kind of do whatever they needed
to do to get a break. But she saw something
else in me, but she just said, don't do it.
You just be you and believe in your talent and
believe in yourself.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Why do you think she did that?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Because she's a good person. Like you said, people that
are good tend to do good things. And I think
that was probably Lionel's good heart that saw that he'd
been in that spot before. And she probably had in
her own time and in her own way been in
that spot.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
We went to Italy, my wife and I, and I'm
from a rural town in Arkansas. I never went out
of the country until I started to have some success.
So now that we're older, get to do some cool
stuff and we go and they would have Italian music
on in these places. But I ate so early because
my schedule is pretty early. And they would turn on
American music everywhere we went. In three of the four places,
they turned on your music when we walked in. They
(04:41):
assume every American, and it's probably right, loves Dolly Parton.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Well, I'm sure every American don't. Yeah, I'm sure there's
a lot of people that slap me upside the head,
but I don't want to hear about them. It's a
great compliment. But see, I've been at this a long time.
And I've been famous in Europe for years and years
and years because... of the songs that I used to
sing and write, like Code of Many Colors, and people
(05:08):
related to that. They knew that I was brought up
in a family of 12 children, kind of a mountain
Cinderella story, and people related to my music, and so
therefore they related to me. And then when I got
to being on TV and stuff, people felt like they
knew me. So it wasn't uncommon. A lot of my
music was playing more overseas than it did here for
(05:31):
a long time, from my early records. But it's nice
to be loved by anybody, anywhere.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I was eating pasta to your music, though. Most places
we went, it was you playing over the top or
eating our pasta in Italy.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Oh, did that make you happy or was you trying
to get out of the country?
Speaker 1 (05:46):
No, it made me feel like I was at home,
which is great. My set on my show, I have
a couch and a couple lamps. And really, that's it
because when I grew up in this, we grew up
in a 900-square-foot house in Arkansas. I never had a bedroom.
My whole life, I slept on the couch. And so
my closet was underneath my couch and It was literally...
Everything was on the couch. Never had a bedroom. And
(06:08):
so that was what it was like, though, for me
growing up in a small house with a lot of
people around. Your story... similar-ish. You're from a small town
in Tennessee. What was home like for you growing up?
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Well, home was like full. There was a lot of kids.
Mama had one kid on her and one kid in her,
as long as I can remember. One on her hip
and one growing in. But we lived in the house,
and we didn't have running water unless we'd run and
get it. And you know, we just kind of washed
(06:40):
in a wash pan. And people say, how in the
world did you take a bath? That many people in
the house, because there were six boys and six girls
in my family, ultimately. I mean, after we were all
there and after mom had had them all. But people say,
how did you take a bath? How'd you have any privacy?
I said, well, we had a little screen, you know,
a little sheet. Mom would tie a little string over there.
(07:02):
And then We'd wash up as far as possible, and
then we'd wash down as far as possible. And when
the boys cleared the room, we washed possible.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Yes, yes, I did.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Well, it basically is like that because it was about
your privacy because you knew when you could, you know,
the girls had to do their thing, the boys had
to do their things, make sure, you know, that we
cared about such things as privacy and decency. and all that.
But when you're growing up, it's just natural. Growing up
(07:37):
like we did, you learn the rules and you go
by them.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
When you have all those brothers and sisters, you have
to somehow get attention for yourself. I mean, you're born
into an environment of everybody. even indirectly seeking attention. You
got a couple of parents, 12 kids. I mean, is
that where this performance gene came from? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Well, my mother's people were all very musical. So music
was always a part of our family. My grandpa was
a preacher. He also played piano and played guitar. So
my people were the ones that sang at funerals and
weddings and shindigs and anything around locally. Some of my relatives,
somebody was always playing. But when I was young, my
(08:19):
Uncle Bill and my Uncle Louis were both, you know,
they paid attention to me. My Uncle Louis gave me
my first little baby Martin guitar because he saw how
serious I was. When everybody would come bring their instruments,
we'd sit on the porch and sing. Well, I learned
to play that little guitar, and that's when my Uncle
Bill saw the great potential. But I learned to play
(08:41):
when I was like seven. So I started writing some
serious songs. And then mama was fascinated with how I
could rhyme and write songs about stuff I'd never lived.
But I'd hear them talk about people in the war,
somebody sick, somebody this, just those old world songs they
used to sing. So I would write all these songs.
And when people would come to the house, mama would say, Ronnie,
(09:02):
get your guitar. I want you to hear what this
little thing has wrote. And so I would get my
guitar and I would sing those songs. And so I
saw right away that I was getting more attention. Because
I have a sister and two brothers older, so I
was fourth one down, and then there's eight younger. So
I didn't get a lot of attention, but I saw
(09:23):
I could get it. And I was one of those
kids that needed a lot of attention. And I knew
Mom and Daddy loved us all the same, but we
didn't get picked up unless we was getting our butt
busted or sick or something. So that guitar and my
music was my first entrance into music. getting the attention
that I needed, and I'm still at it.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah, I was going to ask, do you still crave it?
I do.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
I think that's, but I crave it now because it
fulfills what I feel is my true gift. You know,
I love to write songs, and I've written tons and
tons of songs through the years. But I don't know
that it's—well, I guess it is about attention. I just
love doing it, and I want people to see that
(10:08):
I can do it. I want them to appreciate what
I am doing, that I have written these songs that
I hope are good, I think are good, but that's
for somebody else to judge. But then when they do
judge me, you know, and I get the accolades from
all that, then I feel like I've done something great.
And so, and I do crave that. So I guess
(10:30):
attention is the best word for it. Don't you guess?
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, I think I just was seeking love. Like, I
think that was it for me where I would go, okay, well,
I didn't get a lot of love growing up because
I didn't have parents, really. And so I would go
and perform or be funny and people would go, I
like that. I would be like, wow, I'm liked. And
so it didn't start working with me forever. with girls
until probably my twenties. Oh yeah. And then I just
got married a couple of years ago. I've been married
(10:54):
two years, so thank you. Never been married two years in.
So what's, but it's difficult cause I already kind of
had my ways wired. I was 40 when I got married. Well, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Did she have her ways wired?
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Yeah. I mean, I feel, I feel like I'm way
more wired though. Oh, are you? Yeah. I'm, I'm almost
12 years older than her. So it's not a crazy difference,
but it's enough of a difference to where like, she
still got some landing room to where I'm, I am
who I am. I'm trying to not be that way.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
No, don't you not be. Let her change. Don't you change.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I've never heard anyone advise that. Okay.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Well, you can't change.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
This is the greatest segment. Give me more advice like that.
You know what?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I've been with my husband for 59 years. He knew
who I was when he met me, and I knew
who he was. But I was only 18 when we met,
and he was 21. So we kind of grew up.
You know, we kind of learned each other as we went.
But I saw who he was early on. He saw
who I was. And he saw right away that I
(11:56):
wasn't going to change much. But I was able to adapt.
I think that word is better about adapting than it
is change. You got to adapt to certain things because
you can't just have it all your way.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I'm going to take her to that clip, though, of
you saying she needs to change and cut the rest
of it out except for that.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Well, I don't think you need to change. I don't
know what it's like at home. I ain't her, but
I'd like to be. But don't change.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
A similarity that I think your husband, not known for
being a super public guy. My wife does not like
to be in the spotlight.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Oh, my husband hates it.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
He don't.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
He never was.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So how do you, what was that balance? Because we
struggle with that now because I, again, I need it
to be successful. She does not want it at all.
How did you guys do that?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Well, my husband was a homebody and he's very, he's
very quiet and he didn't want to do anything but
be at home. He's a homebody. He's a cancer. You know,
if you go by the signs, I'm Capricorn, he's cancer.
Those are compatible signs. If you put any faith in that.
But if you don't, and I don't to that degree,
but he loved being who he was and loved being
(13:10):
left alone to do it. And I loved being who
I was and being left alone to do it. And
so we just found ways, things that we did like
together and things that we enjoyed doing that was us.
So maybe you be you and let her be her
and then you, Got to find some new things so
you can be us. You can be, you know, who
(13:32):
you are. Because that's the key of just trying to
find that. You can't just make somebody be what you
want them to be. They are who they are.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I'm trying to make her be what I want to be.
But she's also very strong herself.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
That's what I'm saying. You can't make anybody change. You've
just got to make them want to do some things different.
I'd be willing to. And if not, it won't last forever.
and you can come live with me and my husband.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Well, you wanna know. I will, I'll use this in
court when I show up at your house and you
guys try to kick me out. I said, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
But it's not easy. We've been together all these years,
but like I say, somebody says, what do you attribute
your long marriage to? I say, well, I stay gone.
So maybe that's your answer.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Do you guys have– just an example about my wife
and I. I usually don't work three weekends in a row,
meaning I'll work all week doing the radio show or
shooting TV and I'll tour. But I really try hard
not to do three in a row to for sure
carve out that weekend. Like we try to set these
little benchmarks and pillars. Did you guys have any of
that in your relationship early on so you didn't get lost?
Because my time management skills are not great to do
(14:40):
personal and– Private.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Well, I hadn't become a star when I met my husband.
I just came here to be one. And he knew that.
And so he went with it. But did she not
know that about you?
Speaker 1 (14:49):
She did. I think, though, when we we dated pre-COVID
for six, eight months or so long distance, then COVID
and COVID, I'm home all the time.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Well, that's when you get to know somebody.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
You know that old saying? We got to know each other.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
You don't know somebody until you have to live with them.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Until you get to poop real close to them. You
know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Well, that's when you know who you really are.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
And that's how I knew I loved her. But then
once work opened up, I'm gone again. And so I
kind of tricked her. I kind of hit her with
the rope-a-dope. I tricked her. I was like, look how
home I am. And then I'm gone all the time.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Don't you blame her false on COVID. So both of
you have to take the blame.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Oh, it's all me. I've also learned that.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
So she said, right?
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yes, I've learned it's all me.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
It's not all you.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
I have to apologize for what I do in her dreams.
That's a thing now. Like if she has a bad
dream and I do something bad in her dream, then
I have to.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I better tickle her or I will say too much.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Well, you talk about fame. Like what is it?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Fame.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Well, I guess the word fame is after you. I
think that word must have been invented after people were
already stars, had to be. Because I think fame and
success are not necessarily the same words. And successful and
success are not the same words. You can be a success,
but not successful enough. If you're not, if you don't
(16:14):
know how to enjoy it, if you can't enjoy it,
if you don't appreciate it, if it doesn't work for
you and make you happy, because that's, that is, you know,
money as that, whoever said it, money can make a man,
but you know, I mean, man can make money, but
money cannot make a man. It's the same, you know,
it's like you've got to. But fame, I guess that
(16:34):
just means you've made it, and there you are, just
like a star. But it's like that movie, Rhinestone, there
was a line in it that I always laughed at.
A star is just a big ball of gas, you know.
And that's kind of what it is if you look
at it like that. So it's what, I guess, what
you tag it to. I feel like I'm famous, meaning everybody.
I think fame means that everybody knows who you are.
(16:57):
You know, you're famous because everybody knows your name. And you,
you know, they'll see you on TV. But that still doesn't,
should not make you a different person.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Hang tight. The Bobbycast will be right back. And we're
back on The Bobbycast.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Or does it make you more of who you kind
of are? really are? Since you have access and since
you have resources, does fame, success make you more of
who you originally are and what do you think?
Speaker 2 (17:38):
I think so. I'd like to think so. In my case,
it does because I've never been a diva. I'm thankful
that I'm successful. I always wanted to have money. I
wrote a song called Sacrificing and it says, I was
going to be rich no matter how much it took.
I was going to be rich no matter... how much
it costs, and I was going to win no matter
(18:00):
how much I lost, you know, and that to me,
those two lines, you know, it's like if you're willing
to sacrifice all through the years, I kept my eye
on the prize, you know, and you ask if it's
worth the sacrifice, but you don't, you know, it's like
empty or full, you know, I've carried my pail, but
you don't drink the water if you don't dig the well,
(18:21):
you know, it's like all those things you, I think
that I'm the same person I always was. I'm just
more relaxed now. I'm more comfortable because I can afford
to be. That's what you were saying. I can afford
to be myself. Just like when I started cutting, I
had to wait. I never could make money, big money,
singing bluegrass.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
And I love bluegrass.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
And so when I did my bluegrass album, I said
I had to get rich in order to sing like
I could. You know? It's like you kind of, you know,
you can look at things like that. But I guess
everybody has their own. a version of what they think
fame and stardom is. I'm a celebrity, but all those
words like celebrity star, you know, and fame, they're just
(19:04):
words to tag the people that hopefully that have become
successful at what they're best at. And if you're, like
I said, if you're a true success, that means you
should be able to enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Do you enjoy it?
Speaker 2 (19:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
When did you start being able to enjoy it?
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Well, when I quit being able to enjoy it, I'm
going to quit altogether. Now, there are times I get
stressed out because there's so much you have to do
that you just get, you know, you just burn out.
You just beat. Then you think all kinds of things. Well,
you know, maybe it's time. You know, maybe I should
do this and do that. But, I mean, you're up
the next morning thinking about something you want to go do.
(19:41):
You can't help it if that's who you are. You know,
it's like my song. I wrote a song called Whatever
You Are, Be That. Whatever you do, do that because
anything else, is just an act. So whoever you are,
be that. So if you're a comedian, be that. If
you're a DJ, be that. Whatever you are, that's true
to you and that's how you express yourself. We don't
(20:03):
have to make ourselves over or allow somebody else to
make us over. We need to be who we are
and find ways to make that work for us.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
I've found that if I lie or fabricate a story,
it's not that I'm too good for it. I just
can't remember it all the time. So I try not to.
So I don't. I just try to tell the truth
and be as honest as I can. Not because I'm
too good to lie, because I would love to lie
and remember it, because this is more entertaining, but I
can't remember it. So stay honest with you. I feel
like that's been a big part of who you are,
is just honesty at all costs. Was that always the
(20:37):
idea with you?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Well, I don't think, no, I don't think about it
like that. I always say, oh, my lies are true. No,
it's like, I think sometimes you have to make excuses
that might turn out, like a lot of people might
say that that's a lie. But usually it's an excuse
you have to make. You have to be in the
truth mostly to spare someone else's feelings.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
So white lies are okay.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
But for myself. Well, I'm not saying a lie is okay.
I'm just saying sometimes..
Speaker 1 (21:08):
When you say I come to your house, that's a lie.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
When I what?
Speaker 1 (21:11):
When you say I can come to your house and
live with you and your husband, that's a little..
Speaker 2 (21:15):
That's a lie.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Right, that's my point, yeah. That's what I'm saying here.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
But my good heart would allow you to if you
needed to.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
If you needed to come. Of course, I was saying
it to be funny. But my good heart would welcome
you into my house. So I guess that's when you're successful.
If you appreciate what you've got and be able to
help somebody else with it.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
The album, Rockstar... And the book, behind the scenes, they
are both so new. Meaning, you put new songs on
an album, you didn't have to do that. You could
have just done these amazing songs with these amazing artists
and do your version of it. Same thing with a book.
It is a book of something you've never released before.
(21:59):
Your fashion. Fashion. You have created fashion for so many people.
So why keep on pushing as hard as you do?
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Oh, well, I'm not pushing. That's just, I want to
leave things, like we were talking earlier before we even
went on the air about working so hard, but I
feel like I've got to make hay while the sun shines.
I'm 77 years old, and I've done a lot in
my time, and I'm thankful for every bit of it.
But there's stuff out there that I want to have
my hands on to be part of my legacy. I
(22:30):
want to be part of all these things that I
know somebody's going to cash in on when I'm dead.
So why not make it right? Why not do it?
And why not do it great? Well, certainly with the book,
you know, I had a book called Songteller and it
was all about my songwriting. Why I wrote songs, how
I was feeling when I wrote songs, what inspired them,
what period of, you know, in my life I was in.
(22:51):
And so this one is the behind the scenes and
it's about who can tell my story better than me?
I know those feelings. I know those thoughts. I know
the pain and the sorrow and the joy and fun
of all of it and the people and the jerks
and everything that has to do with my life. Nobody
can guess that. You might guess at it, but you're
(23:12):
not going to know. So I'm doing that because I
want to get as much stuff out as I can
with as much quality as I can. So it don't
just get counterfeited when I'm dead and gone. And I've
got my next.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Book is going to be called Star of the Show.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
It's like a three, you know, there's a song teller
behind the scenes and the one I'm calling Star of
the Show, which is the name of one of my songs.
And it's about my life on the road. The musicians,
the travel, the hotels, the craziness and all the stuff.
So I want to tell those stories. I don't want
somebody else to tell them. But anyway, getting back to
(23:50):
what you're saying, I'm the kind of person, I have
to be busy, and I can tell, and you're the
same way. I've got a lot of energy, and if
I didn't use that to be creative, I'd just turn
that in on myself, and that'd be dangerous. Or I'd
turn it in on somebody else. That would be worse.
So I think that if you're creative and you have
these thoughts, you have to just keep on doing it. And,
(24:13):
you know, it's like I can't even imagine just quitting.
That's why I say I'll never retire. I might have
to quit if my husband got sick and I need
to be with him. And if I was ill, you know,
it would have to be a serious illness. You know,
I'd still be writing if my right arm worked. You know,
if my arms worked, I could still write. But I
(24:35):
just want to do everything I can because it won't
always be this way. I won't always have this opportunity.
And God's been good to me and people have been
good to me. And I get scared sometimes when everybody
tries to put me on some sort of a pedestal.
I think, God, don't put me up there. All you
can do is just knock me off. You know, I'm
not all that. You know, I talk about things like
(24:56):
I'm not an angel. I just play one on TV
and that's the truth. So I'm a lot of things.
But when I try to be mostly is a good
person and try to be creative and try to be
good to others.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Final three questions. I have a lot of people that
will be watching this. And they're watching because they want
to laugh and have a good time, but hopefully to
be inspired to just commit to being better. If it's
a mom, if it's a dad, or a better fireman,
or working at a bank. And it's just committing to it.
And a lot of people have trouble just committing to
(25:29):
it because of the fear of failure. And I have
to imagine that someone that has all these successes, as yourself,
has had a fair share of pretty big failures too.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
Well, we all have failures, but you don't look at
it like that if you're a smart person. Because even
just like when I had my variety show years ago,
it was entitled to be going to be this or that,
and I got a ton of money for it, which
they had to pay me for anyway. even though it
didn't last. But I was disappointed that it didn't work,
(26:02):
but it didn't work for all the reasons I knew
it wasn't going to work when we started it. I
wasn't me. I couldn't be me. They were trying to
revamp the old variety shows. And I'm just a one
kind of person. I'm just me. And if we can
work off of me, I can make it successful. But
if I try to go outside of my comfort zone,
(26:23):
I never can make it work. But I learned so
much about that show. You learn what you should not
look at it like a failure, but as a stepping stone.
I learned so much from that of what not to do,
what not to allow to happen next time, that even
in other shows I've done since then that I've produced
or worked in, I've learned from that. So everything is
(26:48):
something you can learn from. It's just a stepping stone.
And so I I'm even, you know, I really am
almost glad that it didn't work because I didn't want
to continue. I was under stress with it because I
wasn't happy doing that. So as it was, I could
have still been on there if they'd have let me,
(27:08):
you know, do more of who I am. But we
all have those things in our lives, and we're all,
you know, it takes a while to overcome it. You know,
you're embarrassed by certain things and all that. But if
you're the right kind of talent and the right kind
of person, you'll just take that as a good lesson. Which,
by the way, I'm going to do a comedy album
(27:30):
one of these days since you're having a comedy show.
That's going to be one of my next things. People
have always said..
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Your songs are super funny and witty, like even the
ones you don't mean to be funny. Yeah. What do
you think is the most clever line, the most clever
couplet rhyming line that you have in your song? Off
the top of your head.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
I just think that one I just said, you know,
I was going to be rich... no matter how much
it cost. And I was going to win no matter
how much I lost. Or one of my favorite lines
in the songs I've written is a cup of ambition.
You know, I get excited about those kind of things.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
But I don't know.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
I can't think right off the top of my head,
but a lot of my songs have a lot of comedy.
But I want to do a stand-up comedy album someday
because I like being funny.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Me too. I just wish I was..
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Well, you are funny. I want to say you are
funny and you are good and you are capable of
so many things and you are so liked.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
I start crying. This is not even about me. I know.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Let me just say this.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Go ahead. I don't like compliments are tough for me.
But you're a DJ.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Let me just say, a lot of these people that
watch this, they'll be all over the world, all over
the country. But you, we think of you as like
a local boy. And here in Nashville, I mean, you
are just fantastic on the radio. Everybody loves the Bobby
Bowles show. I mean, it's like we get up to
do it, you know, Amy and all the people you
(28:56):
have on the show. And then when you go out
and do some of these shows, like American Idol, and
you just have a spirit and an energy and a little,
I don't know, you've just got magic somehow. And I
think you're good. Thank you in order to just be
allowed to be good.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
I don't need any more questions after that. I think
we're going to end on that. And I'm not even
going to air any other interview, just that last segment
over and over.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Well, we like you here. You're a local boy to us.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Thank you very much. You are the best. Thank you
for the time and the inspiration to so many and
for letting me fondle your jewelry here.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
On the side.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Get off of me.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
You've got to come to my and Carl's house, and
he's got to give you permission.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
You told me at the beginning I had permission. All right.
Thank you, guys. Back to you guys. There's nobody there.
I'm just pointing. Okay. All right.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Thanks for listening to The Bobbycast. Share this episode with
a friend, because they don't pay to advertise us.
Hosts And Creators
Bobby Bones
Amy Brown
Lunchbox
Eddie Garcia
Raymundo
Mike D
Abby Anderson
Scuba Steve
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