Dolly Parton Breaks Down Her Career, from '9 to 5' to 'Hannah Montana'

Every day on the set, I just watched what was going on

and I have these acrylic nails [nails clicking]

and they sounded like a typewriter to me.

And it was all about secretary

so I'd kind of look around. [nails clicking]

I just like, you know, like in the mornings I get up

♪ I tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen ♪

And different things on the set like

♪ Working nine to five ♪

♪ What a way to make a living ♪

[pensive country music]

Hi, this is Dolly Parton

and this is the timeline of my career.

[pensive country music]

♪ Just because I'm blonde don't think I'm dumb ♪

♪ 'Cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool ♪

There's nothing like the first time for anything, right,

and, of course, being a singer and a songwriter,

having your first album is especially special.

And I was Monument Records at the time

and Fred Foster, who owned Monument Records

and the publishing company I wrote with also

called Combine, well he took a real personal interest in me,

but I just remember thinking I'm doing my first album.

This is amazing.

And so, it was a real special time

and that really was kind of like when I felt like

that I was a real professional

and that I was really in the business

and that I was gonna be doing all right.

There's always a lot of nerves anytime you're doing anything

that you want to be good at,

and especially when you're new at it

and you're working with people

that you've never known before.

I'm a country girl and so I was excited, but I was nervous.

I was hoping for the best.

And I wanted to sing my best to be my best

to present myself to the musicians

and the background singers.

I wanted to impress them with my songs

'cause I wrote a lot of the songs in the album,

and I just wanted to try to begin to be a professional.

And I just remember everybody was so supportive

and so kind and generous,

but that's the way it is with country people

in country music, especially.

♪ And you thought I'd wait ♪

♪ And you thought I'd ♪

♪ Or I'll catch you in it ♪

♪ Don't try to make me ♪

♪ Feel sorry for you ♪

One of the songs from the Hello Dolly album,

or one of the songs I had on Monument Records

when I first had my first top 10 record,

was a song called Dumb Blonde.

And it says just because I'm blonde don't think I'm dumb

'cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool.

And of course, I've tried to carry that with me

all these years,

but it was that song that got the attention

of Porter Wagoner who at that time

had the number one syndicated country show in the nation.

And he had lost a girl singer, Norma Jean,

that had been a big star on his show for years.

She was gonna marry and move back to Oklahoma City,

and so he was looking for a new girl singer.

He'd seen me on some local TV

and there was a lot of talk in town

about the new girl in town, and that was me at the time.

And I was very excited that I was stirring up

a little ruckus around town.

And so Porter called me down to talk to him

and I thought that it was probably to record some songs

that I had been sending to him and to Norman Jean.

So I went into Porter's office and I said,

Oh, well, hello, I'm Dolly.

And he said, Yes, you are.

I know all about you.

And I've got an opening for a girl singer on my show.

Would you be interested?

I said, Well, I'll have to think about that.

Yes, I will. [laughs]

Anyway, it was about that quick.

So anyhow, that's when I became a member on Porter's show

and it was really that show that really, really got me

over the moon as far as my career.

That really kinda started it all for me big time.

Well, my relationship with Porter was kind of up and down.

We kind of collided all the time

'cause we were both very strong willed,

very confident people.

But when I had started with Porter's show,

I had told him that I would stay for five years

because I never had planned to be just a girl singer

in somebody else's show.

I wanted to be a girl singer that was gonna be my own person

and be a star on my own.

So, we were doing so well together doing duets

that I was really a big part of his show

and his show really became much bigger

because of our duets and our collaboration together

and just the way we worked together.

Kinda like Sonny and Cher.

You know, we're kind of fire and ice.

We'd kind of go, you know, against each other

but we fought a lot, but there was a lot of love,

there was a lot of respect.

I learned a lot from Porter.

And even though the times were rough,

I managed to stay seven years before I went out on my own.

But I wouldn't take anything for the times.

We clashed a lot.

We kind of parted on bad terms

but we pulled all that back together through the years.

Anytime you separate, whether it's a relationship,

friendship, marriage, or partnership in business,

there's always tender feelings.

You know, people get hurt at the time.

Somebody's got to lose for awhile,

but eventually we all won.

♪ Wait and you thought I'd cry ♪

♪ You called me a dumb blonde ♪

♪ Back through the years I go wandering once again ♪

♪ Back to the seasons of my youth ♪

Coat of Many Colors was a song that I wrote

while I was with The Porter Wagoner Show.

In fact, it's in my museum.

We were going on tour and Porter was getting on our tour bus

and he had stopped at the cleaners to get his costumes

that he had cleaned.

And there was a cleaning tag still on the tag

on his suit that he had hanging on the wall,

and the song just started coming to me,

The Coat of Many Colors, and I started writing it down,

you know, on that little paper.

And so, that's how I wrote Coat of Many Colors.

But it was just something that I think it had been a memory

that had always hurt me

and I'd been holding that inside and didn't know it

'cause it was a true story about that little ragged coat.

And then, it just started to come to me at that time.

And so, after I finished it,

it was a really good and moving song.

Porter liked it.

I liked it.

We recorded it and people liked it.

And it has been the little gift that keeps on giving

because all through the years I had a book about it.

It's in the Imagination Library.

I did a movie Coat of Many Colors on NBC.

I did a Christmas movie called Christmas of Many Colors,

a kind of an extension of The Coat of Many Colors.

So, it's just really been a special little movie,

I mean a little song that's lended itself to movies

as well as other things.

But, that particular album I recorded then

also included a lot of other stories and songs

that I had written from back home.

Well, when the Coat of Many Colors album got nominated

for the CMA album of the year,

that was really a wonderful, wonderful compliment to me.

Any of those kinds of things, I don't work for awards,

but any kind of acknowledgement like that,

especially as a songwriter, makes you really, really proud.

And that was just some of those things

in the very, very beginning of my career

that I often go back and think about.

So being here where I am now looking back, you know,

it's all those things that made me who I am

and, you know, that kinda keeps keeps me where I am.

It keeps me sane.

It's kind of connecting always to my childhood.

♪ You made my coat of many colors that I was so proud of ♪

♪ Leroy's more than trouble ♪

♪ Now, he stands about six foot four ♪

When I left The Porter Wagoner Show,

I wanted to be free.

I wanted to be me.

I wanted to do something that I could do, you know,

as an individual.

I didn't care if I was a girl or a boy,

I just happened to be a girl.

I was a singer.

I was a songwriter.

I was an entertainer.

I was a musician, and I wanted to do something good.

So there was a company called Show Biz

and so I went to them and asked if they would be interested

in doing a show with me, and they were,

and it was called Dolly.

It was the first show, I did a variety show later.

This was the very first one where I had

a lot of guest artists on.

The theme song was Love is Like a Butterfly.

I would come down out of a swing every day

when I did the show, or every week.

And of course, then at the end of it, I would close it.

My signature song was I Will Always Love You.

And so, I got to meet a lot of wonderful artists

during that time.

That's when I met Kenny Rogers.

And I had Linda and Emmylou on the show.

I had The Fifth Dimension.

I had KC and the Sunshine Band.

We had all these people, you know,

that were coming to be on the show

that I was just bowled over that I had these kind of people,

me still kind of be in a country girl and all

and that was kind of really not in country music,

but I was trying to broaden my horizons,

trying to be more, you know, to appeal to a broader audience

and all that.

So, it really was a learning experience for me.

And a lot of hard work.

Anytime you do a weekly show like that,

you gotta kinda work all week to get it done.

But I met so many people.

I learned so many things that I applied

to so many other projects later on down the line

'cause I've learned about being a business woman,

learned about being involved in the production,

learned about how you have to kind of stand up for yourself,

and not only for yourself, for other people around you.

So it's all a learning experience.

And that was a wonderful time because I was me.

♪ He's got a .32 gun in his pocket for fun ♪

♪ And got a razor in his shoe ♪

You know, he didn't say a word to me about yesterday.

He's too happy.

His wife left this morning on a two-month cruise

for the South Seas.

Yeah, lucky her.

I don't know.

She still has to come back to him, poor thing.

9 to 5 was really a joy for me

and it was like something I was not expecting.

I had been offered movie roles at different times.

I had not been interested in doing the movies

'cause at that time my writing career, my entertaining,

I was traveling, touring, I was doing really well with that.

And so I didn't want to kind of get sidetracked just then,

but when Jane Fonda came to me

and presented this idea to me, I thought,

well, how can I not do this?

Jane Fonda's a huge star.

I always loved her and I loved her daddy, Henry.

And I love Lily Tomlin.

And she told me that Lily was going to be in

and I thought, well, how hard can this be?

I thought, well, if it's a big success,

I can just join in there with Lily and Jane.

And if it's a big flop, I'll just blame it on them

'cause nobody thinks about me being a movie star

so nobody's gonna blame me.

So I thought, well, what have I got to lose?

I've got everything to gain and nothing to lose.

But that was one of the greatest times in my life

that every day on that set, we were at Fox,

at Fox Studios in L.A. and the weather was beautiful,

life was beautiful.

I was beginning to really blossom as a human being,

as an artist, as all the things I dreamed of being,

coming into my own and having some control

because part of my deal with Jane was that I would do it

but I said I have to write the theme song

and I get to record it.

That was part of my deal.

Everyday on the set, I just watched what was going on

and I have these acrylic nails [nails clicking]

and they sounded like a typewriter to me.

And it was all about secretary

so I'd kind of look around. [nails clicking]

I just like, you know, like in the mornings I get up.

♪ I tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen ♪

And different things on the set like

♪ Working nine to five ♪

♪ What a way to make a living ♪

And every day I'd pick up different stories,

different things I'd see the women doing

and I'd go back to my hotel room at night,

get my guitar and play it, and put it down on tape.

So it was over a period of time I wrote the theme song

just kind of playing off of all the girls.

And then when I got ready to record it,

I brought all the women, not the men, just to all the women

'cause it was about the women in the workplace,

and everybody on set, even the script girls,

whoever they were, I brought them all down to the studio

to sing on it with me.

And I played my nails on a separate track

and it says, Nails by Dolly, [laughs]

which I think is funny.

So all through the years now I have to play my nails.

But that was a joyful time.

Dabney Coleman who played Mr. Hart,

and he was like a real turd in the movie,

but he was a real great guy in person.

And he really helped me a lot about being in the movies

'cause I didn't know where to stand.

I didn't know about lights and angles and all that stuff.

I was just kinda, I was a little nervous, of course,

but I was confident that I could do it.

So he was good about it.

Jane and Lily were good about helping me through all that.

So, that was a really, really joyful time and Lord,

look at the success it's had.

I was a curious little kid.

I was always in trouble because I was so nosy.

I just, you know, I wanted to hear everything,

I wanted to do everything, wanted be a part of everything.

I wanted to be big, you know, when I was little,

and now that I'm still little, I still wanna be big.

Ha ha, I see he caught you.

I'm a tree, I can bend.

[laughs] Hang in there, honey, it's almost 5 o'clock.

Your trip to the Smokies really isn't complete

unless you visit Dollywood

♪ And share a family treat ♪

In 1996, we started Dollywood,

but I'd been dreaming about that long before.

I used to think, early on in my career,

if I ever get to be the star I want to be,

as successful as I want to be,

I want to do something great for my people back home.

I wanna honor my father and mother, as it says in the Bible.

I didn't leave home because I wasn't happy there.

I love the Smoky Mountains and I love my family,

but I wanted to do more.

So, I felt well when I can, I would love to go back

and I would love to have a theme park,

a place where people can go to have fun.

'Cause I remember as little poor children ourselves,

you know, even the county fair that we would maybe

get to go to every year, you know, for a little bit

that was the greatest thing on earth, you know, for me.

And they had like Silver Dollar City,

which was actually on the grounds there.

And I actually went into business with the Herschend family

that had a business there.

And so we kind of, when they found out

that I was thinking about building a park,

they said, well, why don't we just do all this together?

And so we did and it made it so much better for all of us

because they knew that business.

I didn't.

I had that dream.

But that's another thing about me.

I know what I know and I know what I don't know,

and what I don't know I know who does

and I'll go search them out.

So you have to find people that know their business

and the Herschend family that was their business,

entertainment amusement areas,

and they just knew that world.

And so, based on what my thoughts and dreams were,

we incorporated that and really have made

a multimillion dollar business through the years.

And it's a park that gives back

'cause we have the Dollywood Foundation

where we have the Imagination Library where we give books

to children from the time they're born

till they go to school.

We just have all sorts of programs for children,

high school students.

We have scholarships.

We have all sorts of things through that.

So we're not just a park

that just makes money, money, money.

I love it to flow.

I love it to go, you know, coming back and forth.

Money goes in, money comes out.

You know, like I try to keep an open heart and open mind,

you know, open eyes and open hands.

♪ Get away to Dollywood ♪

♪ It's homespun fun ♪

I am really sorry about the children part, M'Lynn.

I know.

Shelby's afraid that Jackson will be throwing away

his chance to have children.

Steel Magnolias was a movie that just kind of,

it came to me, really, because I know the director

didn't even particularly want me to be in it,

but Ray Stark had wanted to have me in the movie.

He's the one that produced it.

And so, I guess he had seen me around

and I was kind of making a name for myself

and I'd been in, you know, a few things before,

9 to 5 and Best Little Whorehouse,

and so anyhow, I thought this was the perfect role for me

because if I had not made it in the business,

I would have been a beautician

because I would have had to have got discount prices

on makeup and hair color and bleach, and all of that.

So I understood 'cause I used to always do my mama' hair

'cause I have a very creative too.

I'm good with my hands.

So I'd do good hair.

So I felt like Truvy.

I felt like I was fit right in that spot,

and I really liked the role that I played.

And that was a huge success.

I loved working with all those women.

Somebody said, How did you get along with all those women?

I said, I just prayed that we weren't all PMS

at the same time. [laughs]

I really wish I had some words of wisdom, but I don't,

so why don't we just focus on the joy of the situation.

[audience cheering]

You don't wanna see me, I will just turn that bus around

and head on back to Nashville.

Well, when Hannah Montana came on the air

and little Miley Cyrus, my little goddaughter,

was the star of it, I was so proud of her.

I thought she was sensational.

I thought, what a great little comedian she is

and what a great little actress.

And of course, she's a great singer,

but she was so perfect in that spot.

And she told them that, you know, she said,

I want my aunt Dolly on here.

She calls me aunt Dolly.

So she said, I want her on the show.

So they wrote me in the show

and we just worked so great together.

And I was on a few times,

and thanks to her I had a whole new following

of people that were turned on to me,

these young little kids, you know, that were her fans

and kids that were fans of just the whole show

and the other little artists on the show.

But here I am, you know, Miley's fairy godmother

and on the show and kind of sharing all that with her.

And I really loved the time that we spent

with her doing the show.

And for me, watching her being such a pro,

she didn't know it but I was watching her like a proud mama

thinking you go you little thing.

I'm so proud of you.

And I've always been proud of Miley.

She is so talented.

You know, everybody complains about all the things

she goes through and all the things she's done.

But you know, she's like me.

She's finding her own space.

She's finding her own things,

and she'll always land on her feet.

I don't always have to agree with everything she does,

but it ain't my business.

That's her life.

I'm just her fairy godmother, and I love her.

You are sprouting like a rose bush after a month of rain.

Only not as wet, and twice as pretty.

♪ Mary, did you know ♪

♪ That your baby boy will one day walk on water. ♪

I love Christmas, everything about it.

Years ago, 30 years ago, I did a Christmas album

but I've been wanting to do some updated newer songs.

And everybody said, Oh, do a new Christmas album.

So I thought, well, this is the perfect year to do it

'cause people are gonna pretty much be in house

and they're gonna, you know, kind of not be out as much

as they naturally would be.

But I was also in the house when we were confined,

I started writing some new Christmas songs

and I was gathering up songs

that I thought I would like to do for Christmas,

some classics and some new ones,

and I started getting in touch with people

that I wanted to sing with, like Jimmy Fallon.

And then I recorded a song called Holly Jolly Christmas

that Burl Ives had a big hit on years ago,

and that's where I got the idea to call the album

A Holly Dolly Christmas.

And I kinda talk during the instrumental part of the song

and saying, you know, what I thought about the song

and why I called it Holly Dolly Christmas.

So anyway, I wrote a few songs of my own, new ones.

I did some classics like I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus,

did a beautiful song that's destined to be

a great Christmas classic called Mary, Did You Know?

It's a wonderful album.

I'm very, very proud of it.

And so, let's see how it does.

Merry Christmas.

I used to think about if I was to become

as successful as I dreamed and hoped that I would be,

I wondered if, when I got to the age I am now,

looking back how I would feel about my career

and what would people think about me.

And so, I'm kind of at that place where reflecting

is really emotional to me, it's touching to me,

it's humbling to me to know that I've been able to see

so many of my dreams come true.

[pensive country music]