Dolly Parton: Queen of Country (2015) - full transcript

Well, I wanted to be a star,
but I always thought of a star
more as a singing star.

Being on the Grand Ole Opry
and getting on stage
and performing.

But I figured that
if my career went
the way I wanted it to

that I would
eventually wind up
doing the movies and Vegas.

And it was a real fun thing.

It's not as exciting to me
as my music,

but it's certainly...

You know,
it's something different and
I like a challenge.

You see the glamor
and the wigs and the lame
and the nails,

but that woman's smart.

And when the music starts,
her head goes down,
the wheels start turning.



And she can give you
a new lyric or a new melody
in 20 minutes.

She's brilliant. I love her.
Everyone should have 30
seconds a day with that woman.

I swear it.

Oh, and there's Dolly.
Where is she?

There is the woman!

[narrator] Dolly Parton's
girly soprano voice

and songs about
old time virtues

made her a major country star
in the early '70s.

Later in that decade,

she wooed pop audiences
and became a household name.

With her playful,
self deprecating comments about
her blond, sex bomb image.

[Dolly] Well,
it's certainly been bizarre,
hasn't it? [chuckles]

But I've always, you know,
loved a lot of hair,
a lot of makeup,

and a lot of shiny clothes,
and sequins, rhinestones,
whatever.



[narrator] She won the hearts
of millions of fans
with her kindness

and got the sweet nickname
of "Dolly Lama".

Somebody says,
"Oh, Dolly, you always
just look so happy."

I said, "That's the botox."

[all laughing]

And the collagen.

[narrator] More than 20
country and Western
number one hits,

including classics like
Here You Come Again,
Jolene, 9 to 5,

and of course,
I Will Always Love You,

which would become
one of the biggest hits
of the '90s.

Making lots of cash
for Dolly Parton,

who of course,
is the writer of this song,

was going cha-ching cha-ching
on the royalties.

The days of living in
a one room log cabin
were over.

It was penthouse suites
all the way
for the rest of her life.

Dolly would be rich forever.

Thanks to Whitney Houston
taking her song and making it
one of the biggest hits ever.

[narrator] From self-titled
theme park "Dollywood,"

television variety shows,
and several successful films,

including an Oscar nomination
for her role in 9 to 5,

Dolly Parton,
a singular American superstar.

I've been around
a long time

and I've been in and out
of this part of the world
many times through the years.

So I think people just
kind of feel like
they know me

I feel more like a family,
relative than a...

Than a celebrity.

I think they
just kind of think,
"Oh, Dolly's come home."

[narrator] Follow the story
of Queen of Hearts
in Queen of Country,

Dolly Parton.

Parton is one the most honored
female country performers
of all time.

She's been with us forever.
She will be with us forever.

Dolly Parton will never die.

[narrator]
25 of her singles or albums

have been certified gold,
platinum, or multi-platinum.

26 of her songs reached
number one in the
Billboard Country chart,

a record for
a female artist.

She has had 42
top 10 country albums

and 110 charted singles
over the past 40 years.

A record for any artist.

[Dolly]
Well, I love to work.

I mean, when I was just a kid,
this was always my dream,
to travel all over the world

and to write songs.
That was my gift.

And I just always wanted to
make it into a business.

And year in and year out

a lot of my dreams
that I planned,
they've come true,

so you have to be
responsible for them.

And so I just try to keep up
with the times as far as
whatever's going on out there.

And I hope to never retire,
so I'm up there now.

But I've actually enjoyed
every bit of it.

I wake up everyday
with new dreams,

so I feel like I'm
just starting out.

[narrator] Dolly has sold
100 million records
around the world.

As a sign of Dolly's
success and achievement,

she was invited to perform
as a headline act in 2014,

at Glastonbury Festival
in the UK.

Good golly it's Dolly.

This was a really big deal,
'cause this isn't her typical
crowd by any means.

To bring a music icon,
one of the greatest
songwriters,

one of the most successful
music artists of all time
to the festival

is a really,
really huge thing.

This is a big deal.

Unlikely but fantastic.
A total triumph.

[narrator] She performed
in front of 100,000 people
at almost 70-years-old.

I'm just a country girl,
now I feel like a rockstar.
[laughs]

[narrator] And to understand
where such strength of heart
and spirit comes from,

we need to go back
to the very beginning.

We were coming in
this morning,
I was looking at the mud.

That was not different
for me.

I grew up in mud.

My daddy was a farmer.
I grew up in East Tennessee,
over in America.

So that was that.
We made our living
on a farm.

So I thought,
"Well, this is not all
that different.

"Mud is mud
wherever you are."

[narrator]
Dolly Rebecca Parton was
born January 19th, 1946,

in Locust Ridge,

in the foothills
of Tennessee's
Smoky Mountains.

Dolly Parton grew up
dirt poor.

To quote one of her songs,
she was
the "backwoods Barbie".

She was the fourth
of 12 children,
living in a one room cabin.

Can you imagine it?

You know, that's obviously
great inspiration for country
songs with that background.

How poor was she?

She was so poor that
when she was born,

her father couldn't afford
to pay the doctor who
delivered the baby in cash.

So instead gave him
a bag of oatmeal.

And that was the purchase
which allowed Dolly Parton
to enter the world.

[narrator] A replica
of Dolly's childhood home
can be seen in Dollywood,

the artist theme park
in Tennessee.

A family project
that displays many
original treasures

from their days
in Locust Ridge.

With both her parents
belonging to
a Pentecostal church,

the Parton children found
music to be a large part of
their experience of religion.

[Sandro] Dolly started
singing in church.

Her grandfather was
a preacher.

She loved performing.
She loved writing songs.

She's been writing songs
since the age of seven.

She got her first guitar
at eight.

And then she was performing
on local TV shows and
radio programs

at the age of ten.

[narrator] In 1959, age 12,
Parton made her television
debut on Knoxville TV.

And in 1960,
at age 13,

she made her recording debut
with a small label

and appeared at
the Grand Ole Opry,

a weekly country music
stage concert
in Nashville, Tennessee.

And she met Johnny Cash.

So that was really
the start of her career.

[narrator] She already knew
that she wanted to be
a country singer.

Johnny Cash encouraged her
to always follow her instincts
in her music and her career.

"To thine own self be true,"
you know, those things.

I think if you
really take those
and know who you are,

and know what it is
that you want to do,

and just stick to your dreams
and don't get sidetracked
with other things,

usually that will...

If you've got the talent
and you've got
the ambition,

it'll usually happen.

[music playing]

[narrator] One day after
graduating high school
in Sevier County, in 1964,

Parton moved to Nashville,

where she believed
she had a better chance
of starting her career.

It was on her first day there
that she met and fell in love
with Carl Dean.

[Krislyn]
Not a lot of people
know who he is.

He actually owns
an asphalt road
paving business

in Nashville, Tennessee.

But he just shies away
from all the publicity.

In fact, she says he's only
seen her perform once
in his entire life.

[Dolly] We're very secure
in who we are and
we love each other a lot.

We met when I was 18
and he was, like, 22.

And we've loved each other
and we kind of grew into...

Into a lot of the real deep
feelings that we share.

And he's very independent
and I don't...

I want him to do
what makes him happy.

He wants me to do
what makes me happy.

We're not jealous of
each other as far. It's our
personality, you know...

Or of other people.

I don't know. We're together
enough to really
keep it exciting.

It's important enough
to keep it exciting.

Well, I don't know
that I want a child,

'cause I grew up
in a family of 12.

And when we married, I took
five of my younger
brothers and sisters

and we raised them
until they married
and moved away.

So now they're
having children.

And my nieces and nephews
from these children

call me "Aunt Granny" and
call Carl "Uncle Bee Paw".

Carl Dean, the mystery husband
in all of show business.

You know, for the longest time
I didn't think
he actually existed.

I mean, we never saw him.

He's unusual among
showbiz spouses

and that he's never
at his wife's side.

[narrator] In 2011,
Carl and Dolly celebrated
their 45th anniversary.

The couple are still
very happy and
with no kids.

Well, I insist on having
a very private life.

I've been married
for 45 years,
come this May.

And so, my husband and I
get along great.

It's his first marriage
and mine.

And we like each other,
but he does not
wanna be in the press.

He's proud of me,
he's proud for me.

He loves hearing about it,
he loves show business

as long as he can
watch it from...

From his chair,
and from a distance.

But we get along great,

because he does not
want the limelight.

He's a homebody
and I love to travel.

So we get along
wonderful with that,

and I make it a point
to protect his privacy

and to protect
our home life.

And when I go home,
that is private.

So it's true that you can
have it all if you just
work it right.

[narrator]
Back in Nashville in 1964,

Parton started writing
some hit songs for
other country artists.

And then, in late 1965,
age 19,

she signed with
Monument Records,

where she was not
initially pitched as
a country singer.

[Sandro] She was told
that her voice wouldn't
suit country music.

The vibrato was wrong.

She was supposed to be
a bubblegum pop artist.

Imagine a sort of 1960s
version of Britney Spears.

And you kind of get how
Dolly was marketed.

So you know,
she did okay.

But she wasn't
really sort of comfortable.

She released a bunch of hits,
but they do well ,
except for one,

which was
Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby.

And that one hit
the Billboard 100 Charts.

[narrator] It was only
after her composition,
Put It Off Until Tomorrow,

which went to number six
on the country chart in 1966,

that the label succumbed
and allowed her
to record country music.

Her first country single,
Dumb Blonde

reached number 24
on the country chart,

followed by Something Fishy,
which went to number 17.

The two songs appeared
on her first
full-length album,

Hello, I'm Dolly,
released in 1967.

That same year, Porter Wagoner
noticed the young
21-year-old Parton singing

and invited her to join
his weekly
country music program,

The Porter Wagoner Show.

[Sandro] So yes, it was 1967
that Porter Wagner,
established country star

invited Dolly
to perform with him,
become a regular,

on his hit TV show.

It was a disaster
from the start.

The problem was Dolly was
replacing someone
called Norma Jean,

a singer who was
very popular
with the audience.

She'd left the show.

So Dolly would go out
and sing to the audience,

and she'd get
booed and jeered.

They didn't care
that she was good.

They just cared that
she wasn't Norma Jean.

But as we've learned before,
Dolly's a survivor
in show business.

You know,
she doesn't just
run away crying.

She sticks it out.
She sticks everything out.

And she gets in front of
the microphone,

she wins them over
with her music,

and eventually she becomes
a success on that show.

And her and Wagner
release several records
together.

Some hit duets.

And he's around for quite
a long time in her career,
getting her established.

Producing her records,
writing with her,

and was very much part of
the Dolly Parton success story
in the early years.

[Dolly] And he used to
wear a lot of
rhinestone suits,

and all that,
and that was the thing to do
in country music.

So once I
got into that...

I'd already been wearing
the hair and the makeup.

I thought, "Oh, yes!
You gotta shine.

If you're gonna go on stage,
you need to shine.

Let people see you
like you're a star."

So I've always enjoyed
playing dress up.

[narrator] In 1969, while
traveling with Porter Wagner
on a tour bus,

a song came to Parton.

Unable to find paper,

Dolly wrote the lyrics
on the back of
a dry cleaning receipt

from one of Wagner's suits.

The song was recorded
in April, 1971,

and reached number four
on the US
Country Singles Chart.

It tells how Parton's mother
stitched together a coat
for her daughter

out of rags
given to the family.

As she sewed,
she told her child
the biblical story of Joseph

and his coat of many colors.

[Sandro] Country music,
it's all about authenticity.

Dolly Parton's iconic
1971 live performance
of Coat of Many Colors

was basically
her calling card
in the industry.

The one that made everyone
sit up and take notice
outside of Nashville,

in the world beyond.

Because she told a story
which was based on
her own childhood,

as we've learned,
that was
pretty impoverished.

And the coat of many colors
made by her mother, most
famous coat in showbiz,

still a signature moment
in her concerts today.

A great song,
very authentic.

You write what you know.

She sings about
what she knows.

There's real emotion
in that song, real truth.

And it really made it work
back then as it works now.

♪ Made only from rags
But I wore it so proudly ♪

♪ Although we had no money
I was rich as I could be ♪

♪ In my coat of many colors
Momma made for me ♪

[narrator] Parton kept
the original coat,

now on display
at her Chasing Rainbows
Museum in Dollywood.

Although her solo singles
and the Wagner duets
were successful,

her biggest hit
of this period
was Jolene.

One of her biggest hits to
date and it's really iconic
in the country music world.

It was released in late 1973,

and in the US it hit
the top of the charts
in February, 1974.

And I think it
really represents

an iconic moment
in country music.

But also,
it's an iconic song
for her as well.

[narrator]
According to Parton,

the song was inspired
by a red-headed bank clerk,

who flirted with her husband
Carl Dean at his local
bank branch.

Around time,
they were newly married.

Throughout the song,
Dolly desperately begs Jolene
not to take her man.

♪ Jolene, Jolene
Jolene, Jolene ♪

♪ I'm begging of you
Please don't take my man ♪

♪ Jolene, Jolene
Jolene, Jolene ♪

♪ Please don't take him
Just because you can ♪

Jolene, not just
a fantastic song,
also my ringtone.

Now there is a song
that really proves
how it survived.

So it hit number one
for Dolly in America
in 1974, I believe.

It took a couple of years
to cross over to England,

but she cracked
the top 10 in 1976
with that one.

And yeah, Jolene.
That was the one that got
her started in Britain.

We fell in love with her then,
and we've never fallen out
of love with her since.

I love people
and maybe it shows.

'Cause I always say that I
see somebody I love
in everybody I meet.

Like family members.
Somebody always reminds
me of somebody else.

But I just love people
and I've always been
so grateful

that people have accepted me
and loved me
all through the years

and followed my career.
Kept food on my table,
so to speak.

[narrator] Parton stayed
with Porter Wagner
for seven years.

To mark her professional
break with him,

she wrote a song in 1974,

I Will Always Love You.

[Sandro] This is a guy
who had given her a chance
on his TV show

and had worked with her
on her early records,

establishing her
path to fame.

They had a professional split,
but they remained friends.

And so she wrote the song,
I Will Always Love You,
as a tribute.

Never guessing, perhaps,
that it would become
the huge song that it did.

♪ If I should stay ♪

♪ I would only be in ♪

♪ Your way ♪

♪ So I'll go ♪

[narrator] Parton was
interested until Presley's
manager told her

that it was
standard procedure
for the songwriter

to sign over half
of the publishing rights

to any song
recorded by Presley.

Dolly refused.

That decision
has been credited
with helping to make her

many millions of dollars
in royalties from the song
over the years.

In 1992,
the movie The Bodyguard
was released,

starring Kevin Costner
and Whitney Houston.

The original soundtrack for
the movie became the best
selling soundtrack of all time.

And the lead single,
performed by Whitney Houston,

is a cover of
I Will Always Love You,
by Dolly Parton.

With 20 million units sold,

Whitney's version of the song
is the seventh best selling
of all time.

♪ And I ♪

♪ Will always love you ♪

♪ I will always love you ♪

So, Dolly Parton wrote
the classic song,
I Will Always Love You,

but it was Whitney Houston
who made it
an international success.

Becoming one of
the biggest hits
of all time,

and making huge fame
for Whitney, huge money,

but also making lots of cash
for Dolly Parton,

who of course
as the writer of the song,

was going
cha-ching cha-ching
on the royalties.

The days of living in
a one room log cabin
were over.

It was penthouse suites
all the way
for the rest of her life.

Dolly would be rich forever,
thanks to Whitney Houston
taking her song

and making it
one of the
biggest hits ever.

[narrator] And in 1994,
it was Dolly Parton herself

who gave the award
for Best Female Pop Vocalist
to Whitney.

I'd like to thank Whitney for
making my song such
an enormous hit.

And I really feel
good about that,

'cause when I wrote
that song 22 years ago,
I had a heartache.

But it's amazing
how healing money can be.

[laughing]

And the Grammy goes to...

Whitney Houston!

[narrator] In the mid '70s,
Parton began to embark

on a high profile
crossover campaign,

attempting to
aim her music in a more
mainstream direction

and increase her visibility
outside of the confines
of country music.

In 1976,
she began working closely
with Sandy Gallin,

who would serve as
her personal manager
for the next 25 years.

[Sandro] What they decide is,
now that she's established
as a country artist,

they need to take it
to the next level.

They need to cross over,
become mainstream,
go in the pop direction.

That's what she did.

A large part of her success
is due to Sandy Gallin.

They teamed also
in a TV production company
called Sandollar.

If you remember
the TV show
Buffy the Vampire Slayer,

that was produced
by Dolly Parton
and Sandy Gallin.

So it was a partnership
that extended beyond music

into TV and movies as well.

They were very much
on the same wavelength.

He sensed that Dolly was
very, very ambitious.

She wasn't happy
just hanging
around Nashville

strumming a guitar and
singing her country songs.

You know, she wanted to be
in the mainstream pop world,
an international star.

Sandy had been
around showbiz a while.

He was the man
to help her get there,

and together they were
a fantastic combination.

[narrator]
With her 1976 album
All I Can Do,

which she co-produced
with Porter Wagoner,

Parton began taking
more of an active role
in production,

and began specifically
aiming her music
in the pop direction.

Her first entirely
self-produced effort,
New Harvest... First Gathering,

was released in 1977,
but did not perform well.

But success eventually
came later that year.

[Krislyn] So in 1977,
she had an album
called Here You Come Again

and it became her first
million dollar seller.

So this was exciting for her.

She had teamed up
with Gary Klein, who had
helped her produce this album.

And it was number one
on the country charts,

but it became number 20
on the pop charts.

She was finally
that crossover success.

[narrator] The song is
a rare example
of a Parton hit

that she did not
write herself.

♪ Here you come again ♪

♪ Just when I'm about
To get myself together ♪

♪ You waltz right in the door
Just like you've done before ♪

♪ And wrap my heart
Around your little finger ♪

♪ Here you come again ♪

The same track also brought
her first Grammy Award

for Best Female Country
Vocal Performance.

As a little girl growing up,
she dreamed of being
in that position.

She worked really hard for it.
She got though it
on her own merits.

Writing songs,
working with talented people,
showing incredible drive.

And when she stood there
on the Grammy stage, she'd
finally joined the legends.

But she wasn't finished.
There were still
new mountains to conquer.

I was excited about it,

because it was the kind of
thing that was so close
to my own personality

that you know, I didn't feel
like I had to really act
or worry too much about it.

Although I am.

But it wasn't like
a real scary thing.

[narrator] Trying to expand
her audience base,

Dolly was wisely
turning her talents
to television.

She proved to be a natural,

and was often in talk shows
and on TV specials.

In 1976,
she got her own
variety talk show,

simply titled Dolly!

It achieved high ratings,
but managed to last
only one season,

with Parton negotiating
out of her contract

citing stress
to her vocal chords.

But Parton's big screen debut
was astoundingly successful.

She plated a brassy
Southern woman,
Doralee Rhodes, in 9 to 5,

opposite Lily Tomlin
and Jane Fonda,
in 1980.

[Dolly] Well, I think
Jane is a very complex person.

I think she's
very intelligent,
very creative.

I find her very caring,
but I find her also very shy.

And almost naive
in a very sweet
little girl way.

And it's the side of her
that I really was
surprised to find.

[Krislyn]
9 to 5 was a huge hit.
It was a successful movie.

But also the song 9 to 5
was a monster hit.

And she actually had
a triple hit there,

because it was number one
on the country charts,

the adult contemporary
and the pop charts
simultaneously.

And it also got her
an Oscar nomination for
best original song.

The music video
for 9 to 5 is great,

because it's just
classic iconic moments
from the film.

So you get to see Jane Fonda,
and Lily Tomlin and Dolly,

tying up their boss that
they can't stand,
Dabney Coleman,

kind of kidnapping him
and giving him a taste
of his own medicine.

So throughout that entire song
you see all those fun moments
in the film.

♪ Dream just to
Watch 'em shatter ♪

♪ You're just a step
On the boss-man's ladder ♪

♪ But you got dreams
He'll take away ♪

♪ You're in the same boat
With a lotta your friends ♪

♪ Waitin' for the day
Your ship'll come in ♪

♪ And the tide's gonna turn
And it's all gonna
Roll your way ♪

♪ Workin' 9 to 5 ♪

[narrator] The title track
won two Grammy Awards

for Best Country Song and
for Best Female Country
Vocal performance.

So suddenly
she was a music star,
she was a movie star.

The world
was Dolly's oyster.

Well, I wanted to be a star,
but I always thought of a star
more as a singing star.

Being on the Grand Ole Opry
and being on stage
and performing.

But I figured that
if my career went
the way I wanted it to

that I would
eventually wind up
doing the movies and Vegas.

And it was a real fun thing.

It's not as exciting to me
as my music,
but it's certainly...

You know,
it's something different and
I like a challenge.

[narrator]
The success of the movie
was adapted for Broadway

at the start
of the new century.

Dolly Parton wrote the music
and the lyrics for it.

Well, I've never
done Broadway.

This is the first rime
I've done anything here.

So when Bob Greenblatt,
who produced
the 9 to 5 musical,

he asked me if I'd write it,
since I'd written the theme
song 30 years ago

for the movie
with Jane Fonda
and Lily Tomlin...

So I said,
"Well, I'll give it a try."

And I did.

And four years later
or more, here we are.

[narrator] The musical
premiered in Los Angeles
in September 2008.

And opened on Broadway
New York on April 2009,

with Megan Hilty taking over
the role of Doralee Rhodes.

[Dolly] Well, actually
I'm very proud
of Megan Hilty.

And I think they make too much
of the fact that
she's playing Dolly Parton,

because she's really not.

We both were playing
Doralee Rhodes,

who's the character.
'Cause when I did the movie,

I wasn't really
being Dolly Parton.

I mean, they were trying to
get me to play
a girl from Texas

and I'd never
been a secretary,
so we were both acting.

But the fact that I
was in the role first

and had the big boobs
and the little waist.

But she's got
a beautiful little body.

She's got plenty of
stuff of her own.

They're just kind of trying
to make it look
a little more like that.

But she's certainly
a nice reflection of me.

I was never that cute...

So when they say that
I think, "Yes!"

But she's done great
with her acting.

She didn't really need
pointers from me.

[narrator] It received 15
Drama Desk Award nominations.

The most received
by a production
in a single year.

As well as four
Tony Awards nominations.

Including Best Original Score
for Dolly Parton.

[Dolly] Well, I feel great.
I feel proud and honored

and humbled
by the whole thing.

It's one thing to get
a chance to write something
for Broadway,

but it's another entirely
to be nominated
for a Tony Award.

So it's been a great thrill.

[Stephanie]
Amazing.

I think people are under
the impression that she kind
of popped in and popped out.

She was an integral part
of our daily rehearsal.

And she was there...
I think she left maybe
three or four days ago.

She was there for
every preview performance,

in the wings,
giving us high fives.
Greatest support.

And you know, you see
the glamor and the wigs and
the lame and the nails,

but that woman is smart.

And when the music starts,
her head goes down,
the wheels start turning.

And she can give you
a new lyric or a new melody
in 20 minutes.

She's brilliant.
The thing that's brilliant
about Dolly is

this is a woman that
does not need to do this,
she wants to do this.

It's a first time experience
for an icon.

And to have shared that
with her and
collaborated with her...

And it's her first time
collaborating like this.

To have people sit down
and say I need this,
or I need that...

Well, she's not used to that.

And she's been so open
to the process, and
really gotten into it.

It's an honor.

I love her. Everyone
should have 30 seconds
a day with that woman.

[Dolly] I love my work.
I love what I do.

I'm just thankful I've had
the opportunity to make a
living at what I love to do.

And that's such a wonderful
cast and crew over there.

Working with them
has been a true joy.

And no matter whatever
happens with the show,

if it lasts forever
or just a month,

I wouldn't take nothing
for this experience.

[narrator]
The Broadway production
however, was short-lived.

Closing in September 2009.

But a national tour of the US
was launched in 2010

and followed by
a UK premier in 2012.

So by the early '80s,
Dolly Parton is
a showbiz colossus.

Bestriding the world
of both movies and music.

She has another box office hit
with The Best Little
Whorehouse in Texas,

a controversial but
successful acting choice.

And then she hits
the top of the charts again,

duetting with Kenny Rogers
on Islands in the Stream.

Actually not a song
she wrote this time,

but written by the Bee Gees.

[narrator]
Released in 1983,

Islands in the Stream nabbed
Bonnie Tyler's
Total Eclipse Of The Heart

out of number one
on the Billboard Hot 100,

and spent two weeks there.

It sold more than
two million copies
in the United States.

Twenty-two years later,
in 2005,

the song was voted
Best Country Duet Of All Time

on the Country
Music Television.

Parton and Rogers were
reunited to perform
their massive hit.

It was a smash hit
on both the country
and pop charts,

and won too many awards
to mention.

♪ Islands in the stream
That is what we are ♪

♪ No one in between
How can we be wrong ♪

♪ Sail away with me
To another world ♪

♪ And we rely
On each other, ah-ha ♪

♪ From one lover
To another, ah-ha ♪

[narrator] In 2013,
Parton and Kenny Rogers
reunited

for the title song
of his album
You Can't Make Old Friends.

So Dolly was
on top of the world.

She had 12 top ten hits
in the mid '80s.

But it's kind of interesting,
because in 1986,

when her contract was up
with RCO Records,

it expired and they didn't
renew the contract.

So Columbia Records
snapped her right up and
she was well on her way again.

[Sandro] And then she teams up
with Emmylou Harris
and Linda Ronstadt,

on the album Trio.

And that brings her
another Grammy Award.

I mean, she was running
out of space
on her mantelpiece,

there were so many
trophies coming her way.

[narrator] The album spent
five weeks at number one

on Billboards Country
Album chart.

Selling several million copies
and producing four
top ten country hits.

Including the cover of
Phil Spector's To Know Him
Is to Love Him.

♪ To know, know, know him
Is to love, love, love him ♪

♪ Just to see him smile ♪

♪ Makes my life worthwhile ♪

♪ To know, know, know him ♪

In 1989, one year after
winning the Grammy for

Best Country Performance
Duo Or Group In Vocals for
the album Trio,

Dolly played the role
of Truvy Jones

in the highly acclaimed
movie Steel Magnolias.

Well, they'll feel like
it's touched every emotion
in their body.

You laugh, you cry.
It brings you closer
to family,

it brings you closer
to friends.

It's about family,
love, and friendship,

and people,
and life in a small town.

I think it's just about
the human heart.

[narrator] The same year,
Parton released her album,
White Limozeen,

and spawned two
number one hits

with Why'd You Come in Here
Lookin' Like That
and Yellow Roses.

But by the beginning
of the '90s,

Dolly started to struggle
with her country music career.

[Sandro] Dolly wanted to
get back to her country roots.

That's what releasing
the country album
White Limozeen was all about.

But this was a changing time
in country music.

The veteran performers,
which by now included Dolly,
were being pushed out.

And suddenly,
a new batch of emerging
young performers

were the ones who were
really exciting Nashville.

She suddenly finds herself
as a queen without a country.

She thought that she would
return to Nashville in triumph,

but it's like,
"That's okay, grandma.
We got these kids now

strumming their guitar."

So it was a bit of
a confusing time for Dolly.

[crowd clamoring]

[narrator]
In the mid-1990s,

finding her new songs
less well received on
the country charts,

she shifted to
bluegrass music

and released the critically
acclaimed Grammy Award
winning albums

The Grass Is Blue in 1999,
and the Little Sparrow
in 2001.

Her album Halos & Horns
in 2002,

included Parton's bluegrass
version of the Led Zeppelin
classic Stairway to Heaven.

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ If there's a bustle
In your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now ♪

♪ It's just a spring clean
For the May Queen ♪

Throughout the 1990s,
Parton also worked
a lot in television.

She was involved
in producing voice work,

often playing herself
for animated
television series

such as
Alvin And The Chipmunks
in 1987,

The Magic School Bus
in 1994,

and The Simpsons in 1999.

You know what
this is all about.

We're very excited about
the Imagination Library
being here.

I gotta make sure
I say your town right.

It's Rotherham?
Did I get it right?

I've been practicing.

'Cause it don't look
like that on paper.

In the states, anything that's
HAM, we have to say, Rotherham.

Right. Like Birmingham.

Anyway, so we are
very happy to be here,

and of course,
the Imagination Library

is a program very dear
to my heart.

Because this is something
we started

back in the States
about 10 years ago.

It was something just
for my people in my county,
my hometown.

And of course,
it just kind of took off,

and now it's all over
the United States.

We're in about 700 counties.

In about 42 states.

And we've given away
4.5 million books
this past year.

And in about two months,

we're going to be giving away
11 million books.

So that's a lot of books
to go out to a lot of kids.

[narrator] The Imagination
Library started in
Sevier County in 1996.

It is part of
the Dollywood Foundation,

and has since expanded
to over 1600
local communities

in the US, Canada
and United Kingdom.

It has gone from
just a few dozen books

to over 60 million books
mailed each month,

and reaching over
750,000 children.

Already, statistics and
independent reports

have shown Dolly Parton's
Imagination Library

drastically improves
early childhood literacy

for children enrolled
in the program.

Further studies have shown
improved scores during
early literacy testing.

It started because of
a lot of my own relatives

that didn't get a chance
to go to school,
couldn't read and write.

My own father
grew up very poor
and very large family.

Didn't get a chance
to go to school, so he
couldn't read and write.

But he was so smart.

And several of my
other relatives as well.

So I wanted to start
where children can learn
at a very early age

to love books,
to learn to read.

It helps to bring
the family together.

You must pick up a child.

If it gets its own
little book in the mail,

which they do,
with its own little name,

you're gonna have to
read to that child.

So it is my belief
that if you can read,

whether you get a chance
to go to college, or even
to school, to afford it.

If you can read,
you can
self-educate yourself.

So it was really about...

It started from
a very sincere and
honest little place,

then it got
all over Tennessee.

The governor at that time,
Governor Phil Bredesen
took it...

It was all over Tennessee.
Then it went all over
the United States.

Then we went to Canada
with it.

Then we came to Rotherham,
here in England.

And now we're
opening in Scotland.

Just a way to get books
in the hands of kids

from the time they're born
till they start kindergarten.

It would be great.

In fact,
I told them at Dollywood,
"I need to bring this home,

'cause we need
a gold Oscar at
the Dollywood Museum."

So whether I win or not
it's gonna be fun.

And I'm gonna take
pictures of everything

just as if I won
and put them in
the museum anyway.

[narrator] In 2006,
Dolly was going again
to Hollywood.

So it's fun and I'm very
excited with my song,
which is nominated.

I'm excited that I
get to sing it on the show.

I'm excited that I get
to see all these
big old movie stars.

I'm still that much
of a hillbilly.
It's a thrill.

[man] And among them,
is there somebody

you really wanna see tonight
and touch base with?

[Dolly] Well,
I wanna see 'em all.

I got to speak with
George Clooney yesterday.

We were together
for a while.

Ooh, he's a knockout
and the nicest guy.

[narrator] She had written
the lead single
Travelin' Thru,

for the movie Transamerica,

starring Felicity Huffman.

This got her
her second Academy Award
nomination

for Best Original Song.

But because the movie was
about a trans-gender woman,

Dolly received
a lot of death threats,

'cause people were
upset by the subject.

[narrator] The song is about
a journey on the road
to find home and identity.

Parton said
she wrote the song,

because she believes
that it's all right
to be who you are.

She gave a rousing
performance of the song
live on stage

during the Oscar ceremony
in March, 2006.

♪ I can't tell you
Where I'm going ♪

♪ I'm not sure of
Where I've been ♪

♪ But I know I must
Keep travelin' till my road
Comes to an end ♪

[narrator] The song did not
win the Oscar that year.

But at the end of the 2000s,
Dolly was back
in the music scene.

Showbiz careers
are very much
like roller coasters.

They're full of
ups and downs.

And you know,
in recent years,

Dolly Parton has
really been embraced
as a great survivor.

She seems to have
been with us
our whole lives.

And then a whole new
generation have discovered

and keep discovering
Dolly's music.

It's passed down
from parents to kids.

These are timeless songs.

[narrator] In 2011,
she released an emotional
album, Better Day.

Well, this new album,
I've written all the songs
on it as well.

It's called Better day.

And it's just an album that
has more of an uplifting
message in it.

Even the love songs,
even some of the sad ones

about losing is saying,
"I'm gonna pick myself up.

I'm stronger than
you might know.

And I'm gonna
start again and do better."

But a lot of the songs
are really
just about true love,

and just about
things are not
good right now,

but things go in cycles,
everything's gonna
get better.

And that's basically
what the song says.

The blues ain't here to stay.
There is a better day
and that will move away,

'cause we're gonna
actually do better.

So we'll tour that as well,

and do a lot of
uplifting songs.

Stuff that make
people feel good

at a time when it's
kind of rough
on a lot of folks.

[narrator] Parton said that
Better Day was inspired

by the disparate
world problems

such as the Japanese tsunami,
the ongoing conflict
in the Middle East,

and America's
economic crisis.

The lead single,
Together You and I,

was originally written
in the early 1970s.

and recorded with
Porter Wagner on their 1974
collaborative album.

♪ Always be together
You and I ♪

♪ Together you and I
Can stop the rain
And make the sun shine ♪

♪ Paint a pretty rainbow brush
With love across the sky ♪

Parton then embarked
on the Better Day World Tour,

with 49 shows
around the world.

First of all,
I love to perform.

I love my band.
We've been
doing this together

for 30-35 years.

And some people have
been in my band
even longer than that.

But it's like a family...
We love...
We love being together.

We love the audience.
We love performing.

And we just had
such a great time

the last two times we were
in this part of the world.

The fans wanted us
to come back.

We thought, "Well, we'll
just keep going back until
they tell us to stop coming."

So we're very
excited about it.

We actually start the tour
in the States in July.

And then we come here
in August.

And then we go to Australia
in November.

So we're actually gonna
pretty much be...

We'll have some time off
in between,

but we'll be spending
the rest of the year on tour,

because we love it
and we're promoting
the new album.

And so we'll have
some new things to do
in the show.

Of course, we'll continue
to do the classic songs that
people know and wanna hear.

But we'll have
some new things to do.

Some comedy,
some fun pieces that
they haven't seen.

So it won't be
an exact duplicate of what
they've seen before.

So they can look forward
to some new stuff.

[narrator] Her 42nd
studio album, Blue Smoke,

was released in the US
in May, 2014,

and debuted at number six
on the Billboard 200 chart,

making it her
first top 10 album

and her highest-charting
solo album ever.

The Blue Smoke World Tour
would take the artist

all the way to
the Glastonbury Festival
in the UK.

Unlikely but fantastic.
A total triumph.

First of all,
I am really excited.

I can't believe that I've
never done this before.

But it has never worked out
where we were in
this part of the country

during the time that
you were doing the festival.

But I have done
several shows before.

But nothing
that they tell me
that's this big.

But I'm excited about it.

We've done
a lot of outdoor shows,
a lot of fairs

and that sort of thing.
So I'm kind of used to

kind of playing outdoors.

But this is gonna be
a big deal.

And since this is
the biggest festival
in the world,

I even wrote a song
about the mud.

So we'll be doing that
in the show.

I thought, "We have to
write a song about
the Glastonbury mud."

Even though
the sun's shining today.

But anyhow,
we're excited about it.

So on June 29th, 2014,

she performed in Glastonbury
at the music festival.

This was a really big deal,
'cause this isn't her typical
crowd by any means.

She had a huge crowd
of over 100,000 people.

They were all there
to hear her classic songs.

Everything from
9 to 5 to Jolene.

It wad kind of tricky
knowing what to do under
a festival situation.

Because in my show,
as a rule, I usually do
a couple of hours.

And they said
you can do about an hour.
Maybe an hour and ten.

So I thought, "Well,
I can't do a whole bunch
of sad, slow songs,

'cause everybody's
drunk and high."

We don't wanna
bring them down
that bad.

So I thought there's
two or three songs
they have to hear,

like maybe
Coat Of Many Colors
and few things,

you know, that's part of
my whole life and my background.

But we've tried to do a set
where we can keep it
moving pretty good.

[narrator] Dolly received
an impressive award

for 100 million records
sold worldwide.

She performed
her all time classics,

and also new songs,

including her cover
of Bon Jovi's hit
Lay Your Hands On Me.

And she had a little surprise
for her fans.

In fact, Richie Sambora's
gonna come perform
with me tonight.

He was at the O2 in London,

so he's gonna come play on
Lay Your Hands On Me,

'cause he co-wrote that
with Jon Bon Jovi,
of course.

[crowd cheering]

♪ Lay your hands on me ♪

♪ Lay your hands on me ♪

♪ Lay your hands on me ♪

♪ Lay your hands on me ♪

♪ Lay your hands on me ♪

[narrator] But there was
an even bigger song
that everyone

had come to sing along.

♪ Jolene, Jolene
Jolene, Jolene ♪

♪ I'm begging of you
Please don't take my man ♪

♪ Jolene, Jolene
Jolene, Jolene ♪

♪ Please don't take him
Just because you can ♪

♪

[inaudible]

Besides all
her musical finesse
and acting talent,

Parton is
a savvy businesswoman

and heads
Dolly Parton Enterprises.

A 100 million dollar
media empire.

She has owned
two radio stations,

and continues to co-own
Sandollar Productions.

A highly successful
television and film
production company.

She is the owner
and founder of Dollywood,

her theme park in Tennessee,

and owns a lot of land
in the region.

In fact, I was
telling someone earlier,

I have a lot of land
up in East Tennessee,

and we do a lot of festivals
through my Dollywood Company.

And I often thought
I might start having
a festival

up in East Tennessee.

So maybe I'll get
some good pointers
from this one.

[narrator] Dolly has been
a major influence
on new artists.

She is Miley Cyrus' godmother.

Who as her, made a successful
crossover between
country and pop.

So Dolly definitely influenced
Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift.

She made it possible
for all of
these country artists

to cross over
into the pop world.

They would not have
the same success, had Dolly
not paved the way for them.

Taylor Swift's latest album,
1989, she announces her
first ever pure pop album,

signifying her move
away from country.

She's even dabbled
in movie acting as well.

So you know,
she's the new Dolly Parton.

Well, you know,
she's deficient in
a couple of areas,

but, you know, who can
match Dolly everywhere?
Let's face it.

[narrator]
At almost 70-years-old,

and after more than
a half a century career,

she continues to love life
and to be grateful everyday.

She was saddened by the death
of her close friend
Michael Jackson, in 2009,

an recorded a tribute to
the King Of Pop.

[Dolly] I always felt
that Michael had
the heart of an angel.

And I'm sure that
he's rejoicing
with them now.

Of course,
we'll all miss him.

But I know that
he'll live on
through his music.

And this should remind us all
to treat everyday as our last,

and let people in out lives
really know how special
they are to us.

[narrator] In 2012,
Whitney Houston passed away,

letting Dolly declare,
"I will always love you,
Whitney."

[inaudible]

Dolly continues to
live near Nashville

and to share the love
on stage with her fans.

[Sandro] Dolly Parton is
one of the great
showbiz icons.

One of the all time
great performers.

She's been with us forever.
She will be with us forever.

Dolly Parton will never die.

She will just go on
singing those great songs,
sending herself up.

Let me tell you why I
think she survived
for so long.

It's because she has
a quality that
the great stars need

if they want to stay around.

And that is being
self-deprecating.

She's always happy
to make herself
the butt of the joke.

That what
makes her relatable.

No diva behavior.
She sends herself up.
Everybody loves her.

And as well as everybody
continuing to love her,

they continue to
love her music.

Her songs are timeless.
They'll be with us forever

and I hope Dolly
will be, too.

[Dolly] Actually,
I'm always doing...
Saying all my silly stuff.

I never know what's
gonna come out of
my mouth next.

But anyway,
people just get a kick
out of the funny stuff I say,

or the cute things,
or my take
on certain things.

So that's one of
the things that we do.

♪

♪