Avie Lee Owens Parton was born on Oct. 5, 1923, in Lockhart, a small cotton farming community in South Carolina. As a preacher's daughter, she learned to make the best of what she had, a skill that would come in handy in her life as a wife and mother.
She married Lee Parton in 1939, and in the years that followed, the couple raised 12 children, six boys and six girls. In order of birth, they are: Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Dolly Rebecca, Bobby Lee, Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randel Huston “Randy,” Larry Gerald, Estel Floyd and Freida Estelle (twins) and Rachel Ann.
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As a wife and mother, she supported her family in everything she did, from canning food to caring for their medical needs. She had a way of knowing when one of her children needed a little extra attention, and she had creative ways of making them feel special. She would often announce they were having Stone Soup for supper and would send all the children out to find the perfect stone. When they returned with their treasured stones in hand, Avie Lee examined each one and commented on its merits. She would then choose one very special stone; the one brought back by the child who needed a little extra love on that day. She tended to her family's every need while bringing faith and happiness to her home.
Mrs. Avie Lee would have turned 92 today. Although she passed away in 2003 at the age of 80, her love was immortalized in the words of Dolly's song, "Coat of Many Colors." It tells the story of Avie Lee sewing her young daughter a winter coat out of small scraps of fabric when the family could afford little else. However, her gift was more than just the coat. She taught Dolly an important lesson in seeing the value of what you have no matter how little it may seem to be. This lesson would become Dolly’s life philosophy. "Coat of Many Colors" may be the most famous story of Avie Lee’s handmade gifts, however, it was not the first. In fact, the first song Dolly ever wrote was inspired by another of her mother's gifts.
"Little Tiny Tasseltop" was composed by a young Dolly even before she could read or write. The song was inspired by a corncob doll, with corn silk hair, that Avie Lee handcrafted for little Dolly. As she played with her precious doll on the front porch, she began singing. Avie Lee quickly wrote down the lyrics to what would become Dolly's very first song.
Audio of Dolly singing "Little Tiny Tasseltop."
Listen via SoundCloud.
Little tiny tasseltop,
I love you an awful lot
Corn silk hair and big brown eyes
How you make me smile
Little tiny tasseltop
You’re the only friend I’ve got
Hope you never go away
I want you to stay
You’re my tiny tasseltop
You’re my favorite-est doll
Even if you’re just a cobb
I want you to stay
Even after Dolly began to achieve career success, Avie Lee's outlook on life did not change much. In Dolly's book, "Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business," she recalls another story involving a coat.
“After the song had become a hit and had done so much for my career, I wanted to go back home and repay Mama for all the love she had sewn into my coat. I said, ‘Mama, let’s go to Knoxville. I’m going to buy you a mink coat.’ Mama is the type of person who is somewhat uncomfortable about somebody making her an offer like that. At first, she came back with a joke: ‘It’s bad enough we have to eat little varmints...I don’t want to have to start wearing them...’ Then she took on a more serious tone as she said, ‘Shoot! Where would I wear a mink coat...to a pie supper? Give me the money instead.' So I did.”
Avie Lee poured her heart and soul into raising her children. Her legacy is a profound testament of a mother's love...a legacy that will live on for generations, far beyond the hills and valleys of Locust Ridge, Tennessee.
In the midst of a fierce thunder and lightning storm in South Dakota, Kenny Rogers sat down to talk about his upcoming performance at Dollywood. The concert will benefit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. He also talked about his relationship with Dolly throughout the years.
Kenny will perform one show on Sept. 27, 2015, as part of the Showcase of Stars concert series at Dollywood. His personal connection to the park goes back to the beginning. He said,
“I remember the opening when Dolly and I were there and I think she was a little hesitant as to whether or not the park was going to work or not and sure enough it did. And 25 years later I was there and I have to tell you that I have two boys 11-years-old and they much prefer Dollywood over Disney World. They said the people were so much nicer and I think the food's better there too.”
Kenny went on to say,
"I think with me and Dolly, just being together, at least I can only speak for myself, being together has its own rewards and creates its own memories. We've never planned anything, it's always kind of happened and that's what makes our relationship so spontaneous."
Of course, Dolly and Kenny's friendship goes back long before she opened her theme park in the Smoky Mountains. They met for the first time on Dolly's television show, but it wasn't until they recorded their first hit "Islands in the Stream" that they were able to really get to know one another. From then on, the two have had a lasting friendship. Kenny said,
“I did Dolly's TV show, the one that had the big butterfly on the wall. And I did one of my records, it was the first record I think that I had on Warner Brothers and I did that and I met her. She was incredibly sweet to me but it was more like a hostess and I was a guest. And then later on we met again when we were recording ‘Islands in the Stream.’ And I had really never spent any time with Dolly and that was the point when we really realized we had a lot of stuff in common and we truly enjoyed being in each other's company. She makes me laugh and apparently I make her laugh. I've seen some films of us on stage and I've never seen two people relate to each other better than Dolly and I do on stage.”
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Kenny's upcoming concert will benefit Dolly’s Imagination Library, a book gifting program that has, to-date, sent over 72 million free books to children around the world. When we quoted those numbers to Kenny even he was astounded by the effort and said,
"Wow, that's great."
Kenny is generously bringing his Through The Years World Tour to Dollywood’s D.P. Celebrity Theater as the final artist performing for the Showcase of Stars benefit concert series. However, not wanting to miss the opportunity to rib his old friend, Kenny said,
"I had heard [Dolly] did this before... but we have not gotten [the books] so put me on the list. Tell Dolly she owes me that much. (laughing) Tell her she has historically underpaid me, and I'm tired of it."
His joke is yet another testament to the friendship he and Dolly share that is blind to both the passage of time and distance between them. Kenny said,
“When we recorded this last song, ‘You Can't Make Old Friends,’ I hadn't seen her in two or three years. She came walking in the studio and it was like we were together yesterday. That's the beauty of her personality. I've said this before, she has no filter, if it goes in her mind it comes out her mouth. I think that's a great quality because people know where they are at all times with her and their relationship.”
Kenny will continue his tour on Oct. 3 in North Myrtle Beach, SC which is also home to Dolly's Pirates Voyage Dinner Attraction. In addition, Kenny will begin a new tour in November supporting his latest album, "Once Again It's Christmas" featuring several guests including Jennifer Nettles. Nettles, Kenny and Dolly's mutual friend, will star as Dolly's mother in the upcoming NBC television movie, "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors."
No word yet on any plans for another duet project. For now the two old friends are quite satisfied to team up to help put more books in the hands of more children.
Tickets to see Kenny Rogers at Dollywood's D.P. Celebrity Theatre available at Dollywood.com.
Featured image courtesy of Webster PR.
Dollywood’s D.P. Celebrity Theatre packed in an enthusiastic crowd of fans eager to hear The Band Perry perform their hits on home turf. With an intimate, acoustic setting, the vocally gifted siblings did not disappoint. Performing hit after hit, from “If I Die Young” to “Better Dig Two,” their harmonic voices were the perfect blend of what Dolly calls “blood harmony.” Kimberly even surprised the audience with her rendition of Dolly’s mega-hit song, “I’ll Always Love You,” and as you can imagine, the crowd went wild.
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Although Kimberly, Reid and Neil were all happy to be back home in East Tennessee playing for fans at Dollywood, they were also there to show their love and support of Dolly’s book gifting program for children, the Imagination Library. When asked what it was about the program that made them want to get involved, Kimberly said,
"We are big believers in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. With Imagination Library specifically, the three of us grew up loving, loving to read. It was one of the greatest loves that we remember and some of the earliest memories that we remember."
Neil went on to say,
"You never know how it will influence you in life. For the three of us and our writing, it was a big, big factor in the way we write our songs. You never know what reading a book will do to change your life. It's a really great thing and we're glad to be a part of it."
Dolly was thrilled that The Band Perry came out to support the program. She shared,
"I'm so proud to know that my Imagination Library has had such a positive influence on Kimberly, Reid and Neil, and I appreciate them coming to Dollywood to show their love and support!"
The Band Perry gave fans an amazing night of great entertainment, and more than $75,000 was raised for the Imagination Library! If you’ve not had the pleasure of seeing this trio perform, do yourself a favor and go see them.
Check out The Band Perry’s website for show dates and times.
Dolly announced earlier this year that Dollywood was bringing back the Showcase of Stars to help raise money for her Imagination Library. She herself kicked off the series in early August with two days of concerts that raised more than $500,000.
As the final artist in Dollywood’s Showcase of Stars lineup, Dolly’s longtime friend and duet partner, Kenny Rogers, will appear in concert on Sunday, Sept. 27 at the D.P. Celebrity Theatre.
Tickets to see Kenny Rogers at the D.P. Celebrity Theatre available at Dollywood.com.
Dolly Parton’s theme park continues to rack up accolades from Amusement Today’s annual Golden Ticket Awards. This year Dollywood earned three "best of" awards and placed in the top-five in seven additional categories. Dolly said,
“Every time they announce the Golden Tickets results, I am so proud to hear how much folks love and respect Dollywood. This is our 30th anniversary season, and if you would have told me all those years ago that we would win all these awards, I’m not sure even I could have dreamed it! I truly am thankful for all of the guests who have continued to support us and for all the new folks who visit us each year! I also am grateful for the dedicated team at my Dollywood Company for providing our guests a memorable experience when they come see us.”
The Golden Ticket Awards are the most sought-after awards in the business of amusements and attractions. Pete Owens, Public Relations Director for the Dollywood Company, said,
"As a park, it is always gratifying to be honored by your peers and experts. We are particularly proud of the designation as friendliest park. That goes to what Dollywood is also about and why we encourage our guests to love every moment with their families."
Dollywood’s three Golden Ticket Awards include:
Dollywood also ranked in seven additional categories:
The 2015 awards ceremony was held on Sept. 12, at Luna Park in New York City. Calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today, the industry’s leading trade publication, the Golden Ticket Awards are the results of a detailed survey sent to a database of experienced and well-traveled amusement park fans around the world in balanced geographical regions. Voters are asked to rate the “best” in 25 categories such as best parks, roller coasters, water rides, shows, kids’ area, landscaping and Christmas events.
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Dollywood was recognized in 2010 at the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions with the Applause Award in recognition of a park whose management, operations and creative accomplishments have inspired the industry with its foresight, originality and sound business development.
Author Mickey Rapkin
Image by Stacie Huckeba
Ryman Auditorium, known as the Mother Church of Country Music, played home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. Backstage before Friday’s show, Dolly—dressed in a denim skirt and gold top, her nails painted a Backwoods Barbie pink—recalled her first appearance at the Ryman and what it meant to get on that stage, coming from a two-room house in the Great Smoky Mountains all those years ago.
“My Uncle Bill Owens used to bring me back and forth to Nashville,”
Dolly said.
“And he would always try and get someone to let me on the Grand Ole Opry. The stars had two spots on the Opry. So finally my Uncle Bill talked to Jimmy C. Newman”
—the first Cajun member of the Opry—
“and he let me have one of his spots.”
It was 1959 and Dolly (a girl who made her first guitar out of an old mandolin and two bass guitar strings) was all of 13 years old. There were 4,000 people in the audience as she stepped out on stage.
“Johnny Cash was kind of hosting that night and he brought me on and I sang a George Jones song, ‘You Gotta Be My Baby.’ I guess that came out about 1956. And so that was one of my big numbers. It was a thrill beyond compare.”
She laughed, adding:
“I got an encore. I know now it wasn’t because I was good, it was because I was little.”
But the importance of this moment cannot be overstated.
“As a kid in the Smoky Mountains, I used to stand on the porch and sing in a tin can with a tobacco stick stuck down on the porch thinking I was on the Grand Ole Opry. It’s kind of like that song, ‘New York, New York.’ If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, and the Grand Ole Opry was my dream.”
The Ryman became something of a second home for Dolly. For more than seven years she appeared on The Porter Wagoner Show, which broadcast live from the auditorium, (watch raw video of Dolly singing "Dumb Blonde" in 1967—the same year her solo record "Hello, I’m Dolly" was released on Monument Records.)
The Ryman—once a tabernacle church dating back to 1892, where patrons still sit in pews—has always been celebrated for its acoustics. Before the building was renovated in the 1990s, there was exactly one dressing room for the men; the women, meanwhile, had to change in the ladies restroom. When it got too crowded, the performers famously went across the street to Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, which acted as an unofficial green room.
“The old Ryman didn’t even have air conditioning,”
Dolly recalled backstage.
“There was one dressing room for the boys, one dressing room for the girls. We’d almost get in fist fights, you know, trying to get a spot at the mirror. You know how girls are. It’s air conditioned now, but it still has the same old feeling. I just love this place.”
Dolly’s return to the Ryman had been billed an acoustic tour.
“It’s not really some big statement I’m making,”
she said, with a smile.
“Like, oh, it’s Dolly unplugged!'
Rather the decision was as much about practicality as it was about honoring the Ryman itself.
“I didn’t have a band together. Everyone is out on the road working with Garth Brooks and all the other bands. I said, let’s put together a show of our own. We don’t have big screens or big productions or big sound. But hopefully, it’ll be more enjoyable—especially in a place like the Ryman where you don’t want a whole big bunch of stuff. It is the Mother Church of Country Music. And there’s just something sacred about it. We have the new Grand Ole Opry House, which we love. But there’s nothing quite like this old building.”
As for the title of the show, the [producers] said,
“What can we put on the tickets?”
Dolly laughed.
“I said, 'Well, I guess just Dolly pure and simple?'”
Nashville is famously a songwriter’s town, and over the course of two hours, Dolly—dressed in a white suit, opening the show in silhouette—would return to some of her biggest hits, admitting:
“All those old songs are gonna hit me in a different place tonight. It’s gonna take me back in time.”
Of “I Will Always Love You,” she said:
“That will be a very special song tonight. As you know I worked with The Porter Wagoner Show all those years. I was with Porter when I became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1969. I owe so much to Porter. But that was a song I wrote when I left Porter’s show. So singing songs like that will be very special and very emotional to me.”
Proceeds from Friday night’s concert benefited the W.O. Smith School of Music’s Dustin Wells Foundation, which encourages young people to play music, and the show sold out in minutes. Dustin Wells was killed in a car accident in 2005 at just 21 years old; Wells’ father, Dennis, has been Dolly’s dentist for more than 20 years. Bringing levity to the stage, Dolly told the crowd:
“You know you’re a hillbilly when you get your boobs done before you get your teeth cleaned.”
A second show was added benefitting the Opry Trust Fund, which helps members of the country music family who are struggling with medical expenses. Lines stretched down the block, and level of interest in the two concerts surprised even Dolly.
“I just felt like, that many people didn't really want to see me in Nashville,”
adding:
“I don’t get to do the Opry as much as I’d like to. When I’m here, I just want to be at the house. I’m gone so much I want to hang out with my husband.”
But looking around, she said,
“This is kind of like home to me.”
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If the concerts were about looking back, rest assured Dolly is looking ahead, too. She is producing a film, Coat of Many Colors—set in 1955 in the Great Smoky Mountains and inspired by her childhood—that will air on NBC this winter. And Dolly hints at more potential films to come inspired by her songs "Jolene" and "The Seeker." She’s also at work on a Broadway musical based on her life. She smiled, adding:
"Lord, I’ve lived so long, I got a lot of stories to tell. I can’t just tell ‘em all in one place. I’ll just scatter ‘em around.”
Special thanks to guest author, Mickey Rapkin.
Featured image courtesy of Stacie Huckeba.
