is one of the most revered women in all of music history. She is releasing her first ever rock album, , later this month, as well as a book called .
I had the chance to sit down with Parton for a one-on-one conversation about her new book, album and life in general. One of the questions I really wanted to ask the Queen was about, her theme park that opened in 1986.
You don't have to scour the internet too hard to find pictures and videos of Parton making her rounds at Dollywood for special occasions and events and whatnot. One wonders, does Dolly ever get to have a fun day as a patron in her own park?
When speaking with her, I asked if she and her husband, Carl, ever shut down the park and walk through as patrons. She hasn't, but wants to.
"No, but I've often thought I'd like to do that for my whole family. Just for my family, for my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and the grandkids and all. But that's really a hard thing to do, because people buy their season tickets, and people come and they go, it's just hard."
In true Parton fashion, she thinks about others first, concerned with season ticket holders missing out on a day.
"We'd probably have to do it after hours, and that'd be too late to have any fun.
So I guess we'll just all go as we go and have our free passes and have those whatever you call them, those tickets where you can jump lines, sorta. Or be put to the front of the line. Although I'm not one that's big on jumping the line, even if it was in my own park."
You would think that a person as famous as Parton would never wait in line, especially at her theme park. In utter shock and disbelief, I said, "you would wait in line?
"Well if I was going, I would. Would be kinda silly, wouldn't it, for me to go ahead of anybody?" she responded,
"But the good thing is, I don't ride the rides anyway.
So that works well for me. So I have an excuse. I got around that one, didn't I."
Parton's book,, arrives on Oct. 17. Her album, , comes out in November.
Dolly Parton and Carl Dean owned this 4,795 square-foot residence in Nashville from 1980 until 1996. While it's not the lavish mansion one might expect one of the biggest country stars of all time to have lived in, it's a beautiful home that's also a one-of-a-kind piece of country music history.
Built in 1941. the house features four bedrooms and three bathrooms, and the wooded, 2.4-acre property also features a detached storage building.
Amenities in the stucco home also include an eat-in kitchen, carport, covered porch and patio, deck, a master bedroom with a walk-in closet, a great room large enough for plenty of games and entertainment and dual heating and cooling units.
Dolly Parton was a striking young woman in 1965 and little has changed except for her age. See pictures of the country music legend through the years in this gallery.
The best dressed from the 2023 include several bold fashion choices and plenty of mid-summer crop tops.
See pictures from the red carpet at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, taken before Thursday night's (Sept. 28) live broadcast.
The 2023 PCCA's air live on NBC from 8-10PM ET. will host while and will receive special honors.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
