Remember When Chet Atkins Told Dolly Parton to “Tone Down” Her Look

When Porter Wagoner first brought Dolly Parton to Chet Atkins in 1967, shortly after her move to Nashville, the producer was hesitant to sign the young singer to RCA Records, turned off by her higher-pitched voice. As a mentor and a producer of Parton’s earlier albums, the two built a mutual respect for one another and would regularly collaborate from the mid-1970s onward, including their 1975 duet “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind.” Written by Parton, the song was released on Atkins’ 1976 album, The Best of Chet Atkins & Friends.

Throughout the years, Atkins and Parton also performed the Appalachian folk song “Black Smoke’s a-Risin’,” with Atkins on banjo, and “Foggy Mountain Top” among others. Their friendship continued through Atkins’ death in 2001, despite some advice he gave Parton early in her career.

Before becoming a country superstar, Parton faced criticism for her big hair and makeup. “I was [teasing] my hair, my family’s hair because I had a knack for that,” said Parton during an episode of her What Would Dolly Do? Radio podcast with co-host  Kelleigh Bannen in 2023. “But I was wearing too much makeup, and a lot of the mothers in school thought that I was a bad influence on some of their girls, thinking I was too cheap, a little too this, too that. And their daughters were the ones that were making all the trouble, running with the boys and all that. And I was actually pretty innocent in that respect.”

Once Parton was with RCA, her overdone appearance was a natural part of her look, and something Atkins suggested she “tone down.”

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“You’re a right pretty girl. You don’t need all that.”

“One of my dear friends and one of the most beloved people in the whole business was Chet Atkins,” recalled Parton. “He was running RCA at the time, and he pulled me over to the side because he really liked me. He said, ‘Dolly, I really don’t believe that people are going to take you [seriously] as a singer and songwriter unless you tone down your look. You’re a right pretty girl. You don’t need all that.’”

While she respected Atkins and his opinions, Parton had no plans to tone anything down. “‘Well, okay, I’ll take that to heart, Mr. Atkins. Thank you for your advice,’” Parton remembered telling the producer. “And of course, I just got worse with it. And years later, after I became a star, he sidled up beside me and said, ‘Now, ain’t you glad you listened to my good advice?’”

Go to hell. I ain’t doing it.

Dolly Parton

When Bannen asked Parton, “What would Dolly do if somebody told her she should tone down her look?” she responded, “I’d say, ‘Go to hell. I ain’t doing it.’”

Parton added, “My true belief with most things, you’ve got to really find out who you are, what makes you happy, what you’re comfortable in, and if you feel like you look your best, according to your rules, then you are going to do your best. I really believe that. And I think everybody has their own little things they love. To me, that is what fashion is.”

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