Dolly Parton is many things—a skillful songwriter, talented guitarist, unique singer, fashion icon, and de facto Queen of Appalachia. But she might have never accomplished these feats on an international level had it not been for the fact that she’s also a deft businesswoman. From her earliest days in Nashville trying to make it as a songwriter, Parton knew the “business” was just as important as the “music.”
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Over her decades-long career, Parton has shared this business acumen with others who might have needed it—some of whom didn’t even know they needed it, like producer Ken Mansfield. In his book Between Wyomings: My God and an iPod on the Open Road, Mansfield described a “beg your Parton” moment when Parton decided to stick her neck (and maybe a couple of other things, too) out to try and help with a business deal. Mansfield didn’t ask. Parton just knew.
For whatever it’s worth, the deal Parton was trying to help with didn’t go through. But for the country music icon’s sake, we’ll say that might have had more to do with Mansfield’s pitch than her good-intentioned ruse. After all, the man on the other side of it certainly seemed affected…just maybe not enough to sign with Mansfield.
A Fortuitous Business Meeting in Sunny Sausalito
In the early 1990s, Dolly Parton was spending time in California while she recorded her iconic Trio II album with friends and colleagues Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. While on break from the studio, Parton and another musician working on the session grabbed a bite to eat at Mikayla on the top floor of the Casa Madrone hotel in Sausalito. Ken Mansfield just so happened to pick Mikayla as the spot for his business meeting with Gary Chappell, who was an executive with a record distribution company called Real Music.
Mansfield was hoping to convince Chappell to forge a deal between Real Music and Clubhouse Records, a smaller company Mansfield was representing. The producer arrived at Mikayla before Chappell, and, noticing Parton in the dining room, stopped by to say a quick hello. (The two already had a friendly rapport, having worked together multiple times. Mansfield also hosted Parton in his home when he introduced her to Ringo Starr in the 1970s.)
He didn’t stay long, though, and quickly got back to his place a few tables away from Parton to prepare for his meeting. When Chappell arrived, Mansfield recalled, “Gary hadn’t noticed Dolly was in the room, and I was so intent on my purpose that I forgot to point out that she was there. I didn’t stop to think that it might be rather impressive to show off the fact Dolly and I were friends.”
Dolly did, though.
Dolly Parton Took Ken Mansfield’s Matters Into Her Own Hands
Ken Mansfield explained that, unbeknownst to him, Dolly Parton was picking up on what was going down a few tables over. “I think her interpretation was that I wasn’t doing too well in making my case,” the producer wrote in Between Wyomings. So, she took matters into her own hands, following Chappell toward the bathroom when she noticed him heading that way. She waited outside the men’s bathroom until Chappell came out and worked that signature Dolly Parton charm.
“Dolly stopped him as he exited and said she noticed that he was having lunch with Ken Mansfield,” Mansfield wrote. “She wanted to know if [Gary] was a friend of mine. Of course, he was taken aback by the encounter with the world’s most famous blonde. After catching his breath, Gary replied that, yes, he was indeed a friend of mine. Dolly then gave Gary a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and said that if he was a friend of Ken Mansfield, then she was a friend of his. At this point, she turned and disappeared into the ladies’ room.”
Mansfield didn’t know that Parton had met with Chappell near the bathrooms. “All I knew was that when Gary came back to the table, he was in a daze and could hardly talk,” he recalled. “He finally gathered himself together and told me what happened. I looked over at Dolly’s table, and she smiled and gave me a little wink. She knew what it was like to scramble and just wanted to help out an old friend.”
Photo by Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
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