Lessons From Dolly
NOTES FROM CINDY BROWN
Growing up poor in rural East Tennessee, Dolly Parton saw a local woman whom everyone else whispered about and dismissed as the "trash". To Dolly, the woman looked beautiful with peroxide-blonde hair piled high, bright red lipstick, long red fingernails, tight clothes, and high heels.
Dolly pointed her out and remarked on how pretty she was, her mother dismissed her with, "Aw, she's just trash." Rather than being shamed, Dolly said "Well, if that's trash, that's what I want to be when I grow up!" She went on to proudly model her signature, over-the-top, rhinestone-heavy look after that very first vision of hometown glamour.
Food for thought: Your beauty might be someone else's trash….. Don’t care. Or in my husband's words, "opinions are like assholes, everyone has one."
In 1974, Dolly had a major hit with "I Will Always Love You," which she wrote as a heartfelt farewell to her mentor and business partner, Porter Wagoner. Elvis loved the song and wanted to cover it, and Dolly was initially thrilled.
The night before the scheduled recording session, Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, called Dolly. He told her that Elvis did not record anything unless they owned at least half of the song's publishing rights. Dolly said no.She didn't want anyone to own what was hers.
Dolly was heartbroken and cried all night, but she refused to give up the rights. Years later, Whitney Houston recorded the song for the movie The Bodyguard, making it a massive global success. Because Dolly kept her copyright, the massive royalties she earned made her enough money to jokingly say she could buy Graceland. Later on, Priscilla Presley even told Dolly that Elvis had sung the song to her as they walked down the courthouse steps following their divorce.
Food for thought: Stick to your truth, even if it looks crazy to everyone else.
Last night I was watching an interview and they were talking about Dolly and he said “she was always Dolly, she never changed to fit into what was trending or popular, she always stayed Dolly.
I think we all can take something from that.
She knew who she was and she never waivered. She was relentless, powerful and so very kind.
