Dolly Parton: American Hustler

“It’s all about the year that we all pitched in enough money to buy a wedding ring for Mama,” she says. “She’d never had a ring, having so many kids and no money. So that’s one of the storylines in the movie. Then the other is a Christmas miracle that happens when we almost froze to death in a blizzard up there in a holler in the Smoky Mountains. So it really has a lot of colors, a lot of love, forgiveness, acceptance and miracles and fun and music.

“The song ‘Coat Of Many Colors’ tells a good story and we covered it all, I think, in the movie. But as far as being able to expand on those ideas and visually see all of that come together, I think people really love seeing that done. I know I do.”

As if a new album and new TV movie (which Parton herself appears in, as the “Town Tramp” from whom she adopted her signature makeup, hair and wardrobe) weren’t enough for one year, Parton also, along with Emmylou Harris and Linda Rondstadt, rereleased their Trio catalog in the form of The Complete Trio Collection. The collection features both 1987’s Trio and 1999’s Trio II, as well as a number of previously unreleased songs.

“We realized we still had about 20 songs left,” Parton says of the Trio reissue. “We’re not getting any younger. Well, they’re not getting any younger. I’m not getting any older. But seriously, Linda has Parkinson’s disease now and she’s not able to sing anymore. I don’t know if it had to do with the fact that we would love to see that out while we’re still young enough to enjoy it ourselves, to see that come to be while we’re still around to enjoy it.”

She’s also featured on the soundtrack for the blockbuster summer Netflix series Stranger Things, her song “The Bargain Store,” off her 1975 album of the same name, the only country song to make the cut on an otherwise ’80s pop and rock leaning collection. Upon hearing that was the song the series chose, Parton laughed, explaining, “You know, back in the day everybody thought it was too risqué, but I didn’t think about it being risqué when I wrote it. I just thought it was about somebody putting their life back together. They thought it was too suggestive, like ‘the bargain store is open, come inside.’ I guess they thought come inside meant COME INSIDE. I just meant come inside my life, inside my heart and help me put the pieces back together. Oh, I’ve been through that a lot in the old days. Well it’s a new day and age now. You can say anything.”

She also scored her 26th number one song with “Forever Country,” a medley spearheaded by the Country Music Association that prominently features her classic song “I Will Always Love You” alongside John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again.” The video for the medley, which is a veritable who’s-who of contemporary country music, closes with Parton standing alone in a field, bathed in sunlight, a slight smile on her face as she sings the song’s final lines. It’s a startling image, and a fitting one. After all, the very first CMA Awards ceremony took place in 1967, the same year Parton made her debut. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to say that the neither the CMA nor country music itself would be the same today without her considerable influence.

That influence wasn’t born overnight, but rather was the result of 50 years of hard work, a little luck and a whole lot of love. It should come as little surprise, then, that even after 49 years, Parton is as relevant as ever, still sound-tracking our biggest cultural moments and still adding to her superhuman collection of accolades. It’s why, too, those younger artists, as with so many aspiring young women around the world, look to Parton for guidance, particularly in a country music climate that, despite no shortage of female talent, favors men singing about denim-clad caricatures of women over providing real women with storytelling platforms of their own.

“You just need to keep your mind on your business and be true to yourself and know what your strengths and what your weaknesses are and try to strengthen your weaknesses and make your strengths stronger,” Parton says. “Those were some interesting girls today. I appreciated the admiration and respect. You don’t know what you’re going to mean to people when you’re starting out but thinking that I have been an inspiration and some sort of guidepost in some ways as a woman makes me feel proud.”

As the interview concludes, Parton hops up out of her chair, still smiling. She’s gracious and appreciative, cracking jokes at every turn. Her manager offers her a 10-minute break before the next round of interviews begins, but she declines. She wants to keep going and make the most of her time. For the woman who’s done everything, everything simply is not enough.

“There’s all kinds of things I still want to do,” she says. “I still want to have a line of cosmetics, a line of wigs and a line of clothing. If I live long enough, I’ll see them done. And if not, there’s still projects that could be done without me. But I’m still working on getting those things done. I want to continue to write, to do more movies, and I’m still working on a Broadway musical of my life story. So I’ve still got lots of stuff to do and little time to do it in, so I have to hustle.”

Parton’s legacy, which will no doubt continue to grow in scope, is a complex one. It’s the legacy of a virtuosic writer, an unparalleled businesswoman, a dedicated wife, a skilled performer, a loyal friend, a generous humanitarian. It’s a roadmap for artistic young women and a source of comfort for those who don’t yet feel at home in their colorful coats. Most of all, though, it’s a legacy of love. Pure, simple love.