Dolly Parton: Queen of Everything

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of $45 minutes with her. And her and I just started talking, and like she had some of the most

incredible answers, and like, you know, when Dolly speaks, you don't cut her off. So I didn't

get to finish the entire interview, but Dolly had so much fun that they're bringing me back for a part two. It was incredible, and I can't, I'm just so grateful and so thankful. This thing on, hello, babies. Welcome back to another episode of Dumbland. Today is so special to me because I started this podcast six years ago, and when I named this podcast, I named it after a specific song that was tongue-in-cheek, but also was an oxymoron to my life, but also a woman who I have

admired and literally just patterned my entire life after the iconic, the queen of not just country, but the queen of everything, Miss Dolly Parton is here today. Well, hello, now we should put a nest on the Dumbland. I'm telling you, I was here today. Will you be my co-host? I'll be your co-host. I would love for you to do my-- I would love for you to do my co-host. I would love for you to be my co-host.

“I love it. I love it so much. Both are fast, though. The very, very slippery suckers, right?”

This has been something that I have pretty much manifested since I started this podcast.

Everybody has always asked me who's your dream guest, and there's two of you.

Dolly Parton and Joyce Myers are the two people that I have said that I have wanted since the beginning, and sitting here with you today is such an honor, and I just want to say thank you for making time for me today. Well, I'm happy to do it. We love you. You're great on your own.

It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. No, no, no, no, no, no. Okay.

“Well, I mean, the testimony to your life is pretty much shows how brilliant of a woman you are.”

And I kind of want to dive into that with you. Starting with, I want to paint a picture for my viewers at home for some people who might not even know your backstory. I'd like to start, you know, with your childhood, and where you grew up and stuff like that, if you could tell me a little bit about that. Well, you know, I grew up in the great smoking mountains of each literacy, way up in the heels. Actually, I was actually born in a little cabin on the little pigeon river.

My dad was a share crop for a while, and then eventually we moved over to the little place. We call a locus ridge where you hear me talk a lot about my Tennessee mountain home. But there's 12 of us, in all, Mama had 12 kids, and six boys and six girls were pretty even. And we were just country, people, just trying to scratch it, living out of, out of dirt up there in the heels. But I was blessed to have a good mom and dad, and they managed pretty good to work with nothing to

try to, you know, raise a house full of kids, and none of us went up in jail. None of us had to get married. So all in all, I think they did a pretty good job, but we were just a lot of folks in our area were poor. That's just the way it was in that area. But it's been one of the greatest things, really, that I've cared with me, all my memories of my childhood, and it's made me appreciate

life, and people more than if I had been brought up a different way, I think. Yes, ma'am, I always

feel like harder childhoods make for great adults. It sets you up for just a lifetime of, you know,

“knowing that you have to work for what you want, and going after your dreams. And I feel like you”

dream a little bit bigger, too. I think you do. I think you also kind of can relate, you know, to things more. And you also, because if you like us, you stay so close together as a family in order to try to make it. And I think that in itself gives you a strength that you wouldn't have, had you not had, you know, to know what it's like to work together. Yes, you know, to make things work and to keep a family together. Yes, ma'am, absolutely. A lot of your songs are deeply personal,

and some of them reference your father's tough love, and you've also spoken about your mom's faith, how she was, you know, extremely religious. Do you feel that the tough lover approach and her religious views is kind of what made you so independent or like dare I say rebellious? I don't think I'm rebellious as much as I'm just strong. And I get my work ethic from my dad, and I get my spirituality and, you know, just my faith, I mean, my faith, but also just my creativity

from my mom's side of the family, because they were all musical. Now, dad's people worked hard, dad was not a tough dad. He was strong, though. He was kind of like that. We knew, we knew we better watch out. He wasn't wanting to play with. No, he wasn't going to beat us to get through anything like that, but we weren't afraid of mama. You know, we'd get by with anything with her. But she would say, you know, you couldn't push her over the edge and she'd say,

okay, now, that's enough. But dad, we, but I think that that was a good combination with mom's faith and with dad's strength that it made us really all pretty well balanced kids, I think. I love that a lot. The respect that you have for your parents still after all these years is admirable also. Yeah, well, I loved my family. I still do. I have osteo, as close as I can to them. Certainly,

if I don't see them as often as I love to. But they're always in my heart. Now, we carry home with

me wherever I go and I write so many songs in order. Well, it comes natural to me, but I often do it just to keep all that straight and keep that still present. Because it's so easy and I'm sure you know, living out in this big world, you can just go any way, whether it be right or wrong. Yes, I know. You can go left and right and wrong. But it's, it's like, if you keep that thing into remember as a child, that faith, I keep that burden. I'm a big person, you know, on faith

and keep in that strength. Because that's my creative energy and my spiritual energy is the thing that keeps me motivated, keeps me strong, keeps me from falling through the cracks, keeps you

crazy world. Yeah, I always say that. I'm like, whenever you're on your knees, you're in the

“best position to pray. It is literally like that has been the only thing that has gotten me through”

and any hard times in my life is being able to call on Jesus and be like, "Alright, big homie. I know we got this. I know you got this for me. Speaking about family and you being so close with your brothers and sisters, everybody knows you was Dolly the icon. But how did they know you before

Well, I was just another one of those little regular age kids, you know. There in this book

“is no, in the mountains. But we all love the music. I took it more serious, I think, because my uncle”

Bill, one of my mom's brothers, he took a great interest in me because he saw me pay him more

attention to it than maybe some of the others did because I was always trying to learn all the

chords I don't get to, or any kind of an instrument laying around. And so they knew me as somebody this going to, you know, offer to do their chores if they'll come help me sing on a song or they'll add some background to help me work up a background part that I thought if I remember once, I had when Piglet and when I was in school, so they came up with Piglet and I never learned how to speak that. Well, I did and because I was fascinated with anything different. I only learned,

I don't want to sing years on Piglet. But anyways, so I came up with a song called Friendliest Dynamite and I wanted the backgrounds to be like, she was my best friend to go with that in the background. So it was like, E. She, I was way, I made S. Bay and Frate E. She, I was way, I made S. Bay and Frate U.

“And that meant she was my best friend. But if the song were she's the friendliest in me, I believe,”

ever did see and she'd better get my baby over her mind. E. She, I was way, I made S. Bay and Frate. So anyway, I had to get my sisters because they had to learn it. You know, they had to learn all that. And I had to offer to do their chores for a week or two, you know, for them to take the times to do it and just make them do it. So you know, that kind of stuff. So they knew me as somebody

that was always saying, you know, we're right and always, you know, fidgety, couldn't stay still,

you know, it was just kind of always full of energy in life. But we all loved each other. We all had our own personalities. We all loved each other for the way we were. And that's how we still are. We all, some of us were good mix, you know, where we're all a good mix. But a lot of them are more like my mom's people or some are more like Dad's. But I was a really good mix between the two.

“And I love that. That is perfect. And I really think you need to release that song into that.”

Well, we'll start a new trend again because we actually did it up in, uh, as one of the shows in Adollywood, when I was telling my life story. So we worked it in a couple of years ago. And the Dalish show, my nation's got such cake having, having to learn to sing it up there on the show. But everybody was singing it because everybody turned it and learned that little part. I love it. I know, I was so jealous of the people who could do piglet. And because I just couldn't do it.

I just could not catch on to it or how to do it. So I'm just fascinated that you got me to pee, so I learned to stop it right now. That was far too dark. I love that. So you circling back to your family. You helped raise, being from 12 children. You guys all took turns raising a baby, right? And the family, the oldest one stood. Um, that is what I had read. And you had one specifically your brother Larry that you helped raise.

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Well, I think let me clear up a little bit. We all had, I have a sister and two brothers older than me. Yes. And there's eight kids younger. But Mom had so many kids. There was only 18 months, two years difference in our in all of our age. Mom had married when Mom was 15. She got

better first maybe at 16. And so they were just born one right after another. So any older child

lary. He didn't live that long, actually. And he was just, he died at birth, but he was,

I thought her mom around when she was pregnant the whole time she says that was going to be mine. I was seeing doing and kiss on the belly and you know, it couldn't wait for my baby to come, but he didn't make it and it just crushed me because that was when I, you know, I didn't understand about death and you know, all of that. So that was a real hit for me at that age that I had lost my baby. I thought it was some, you know, I had a guilt thing about it somehow that I've done something wrong.

“But I think any child that goes through a thing like that. But we all agreed over him not just me,”

but I, more than the others because he was supposed to be mine. I was picturing how he was going

to rock him and how he was going to sing in my songs and you know, and all of that. But we loved

all the kids and we all helped with all the kids. You've spoken about the influence of your family. So would you say that lary spirit and the memory of him has continued to impact you both personally and professionally because after that, he passed away when you were nine correct. And then at 10 is when you like started performing and kind of like, I don't know. I feel like maybe it was kind of like a push. Was that your way of dealing with the pain?

No, no, I don't think the head of the thing to do it. I was so musically oriented in the way and I had my dreams. It did take me a while. I was so depressed as a little kid over that.

“It took me a while to kind of overcome that. I mean, you know, weeks, months kind of”

worse. And it's why I really wasn't all that interested in stuff. But I don't think that had anything to do with the rest of my life. It just taught me about grief. You know, how we all have to learn those things at some age. And so that was, you know, that was a real hard hit. But no, that after I got over the grief of that and I moved on, I knew he was in heaven and, you know, we would, if mom could handle it, certainly I could. You know, that kind of thing. But I just

was ready to go on. And my uncle Bill was pushing me on. And he saw my desire and my dreams. And so we would, he would take me around to, you know, to different local things to seeing and on the local radio and TV. But all of those things helped to make up a human being. And all those memories of the bad and the good. You know, I think that just all, you don't even know what parts they really play, right? A little things that happen. It just either, if nothing else, it makes your heart tender.

“Or you know, have you have how you have to protect certain things. And it teaches you got to know”

about those things. Yes, ma'am, I couldn't agree more. So, you know, at 10 years old, you're starting to work with Uncle Bill and you guys are going around, you know, you're performing and stuff like that. At 10 years old, a lot of kids are still figuring out who they are. How did you find your confidence

to stand out and perform at such a young age like that? Well, I was always writing songs. I was

always able to rhyme. And Mama was always fascinated. And there was always so much commotion in a house for that many kids. Oh, I can imagine. And none of us really got any real special attention unless we were in trouble or, you know, or something, you're going to get called out with something. But I learned early on. Mama was always fascinated. And, you know, when I'd sing these songs that I'm written, I would hear people talk, I'd hear stories. So, I was writing songs at eight,

seven, eight, nine years old, about people getting killed in the war and things that I'd never seen had done. But I was able to rhyme and write. And Mama would, she would always, I noticed early on that I'd get more tension because of that. And of course, everybody wants to be paid attention to everybody wants to be special. So, when somebody come to our house, Mama would often say, "Running each guitar." And then she'd say, "Who ever was the outro to hear this thing,

this little thing wrote? I'm just hear the song, this little thing wrote." And so, I had to be really just sing about song. And I was getting all that extra tension, which is making some of the other kids jealous because they weren't doing it. But they didn't work so hard on it. But learning them boards, I had little calluses on my little fingers, you know, cut deep. They were hard. They hard. And I had, I had to really learn it till it, you know, hardens those calluses to play. So,

I took the time to do a lot of the things, some of the younger ones weren't willing to do. So, I just saw that that was, and I got the confidence from Mama, Braganon, me, and I knew that I could do something that someone couldn't you play in the guitar and all that. But I just, and then Michael Biel, he took great pride in me in any time. Somebody would tell me, "Oh, you're going to be good. You're this. I just kind of took that." And my personality was very, you know, susceptible to

of like people losing people in the war and stuff like that? Like, to be 10 years old and

“writing songs like that, you would have to resonate with them in some way. Well, I'm just very”

perceptive and I had the gift of rhyme, as I mentioned, and I had the gift of song. And so,

I would just hear things. And you can always, you know, I could kind of take a story from

one other thing and I could change a few things around. So, I didn't feel like I was necessarily an old soul or that I had lived before anything. I mean, I might have. I hope I did. I hope I might live again. But I just think I was just able to do that because I had a, I was very perceptive and receptive. And I just had a, a very creative mind. You know, I had a great imagination. So, it wasn't hard for me to make up a bunch of junk. Well, being around 12 kids, I'm sure

to even just get any sort of piece. You had to have a great imagination. Yeah, I was sneak up, because it was a lot of kids going to have a sneak up on the wood chair around the outhouse, sit back there, do whatever you do. I brought my song, Spanish, a shady spot or a warm spot.

But yeah, I was always into that guitar. No, I was brought my song. I love everything that you do

is productive. I want my daughter to watch this, our daughter to watch this because she's 16 right

“now. She's still trying to find her place in this world. And I think it's awesome that, you know,”

you were so productive at such a young age. Can we talk about Uncle Bill? Because Uncle Bill really believed in you and he took you to all these shows and then he landed you in the cast-walker farm and home hour and you became a regular on that show. Can you take me on that journey? Well, a Knoxville was about 30 miles from where we actually lived and I had an aunt that lived in Knoxville that was where the show was from. And so, in the summer, after I got to where I actually

got the job, when I got old enough to be allowed to stay with home, but God, I was so home safe. She, she worked at a, at a, one of those store department stores and Uncle was a carpenter. So, I was there in that house a lot and I would go up to the top of the hill from where they live, not catch a bus, down to the radio station, take my little guitar and I would go to walk across

“the Vidak, I guess is what they call it, like a big bridge, have my little guitar and then I would,”

I would go do the casual show, play a little guitar, do my songs and Bill wasn't always with me then.

Yeah. Bill was doing a lot of other things, but when I was working on the bill was living a full life. Work a show. Yeah, well, he was doing, he did some of things, but I could go there and then the guys, the, the brooster brothers, especially, that worked with the casual show, they'd back me up and, you know, worked with me playing the songs or singing, some with me. And then sometimes I'd wait while I was waiting for the bus, I'd just open, I'd just get my guitar out to, to be singing

and some people would walk by and they'd think that I was standing on the corner and they'd drop money in my guitar case, which I love because then I'd go home and buy those little jiffy burgers at the top of the hill for more of my headlifts, they were like a little crystal, quite castle things. Oh, that was a great thing if I made enough, somebody threw enough money in and then I got onto that to where I just got to play it. Just for a second. I even wrote a song

with my brother Floyd, called Nichols and Times, and it was about that time when I was walking across, but walking with the casual show was amazing. Bill had taken me there early on before I got the job. He's the one that got me, as you mentioned, got me on the casual show and he'd take me to the, to the, to the fair, the county fair, where I could, you know, join in contests and different things like that. And then eventually he would take me back and forth to Nashville. And so he just

had, he saw that I was so serious about it. And he saw that I had potential and I just, and Bill was a great guitar player, Bill wrote great songs. We wrote great songs together. In fact, in 19 and, I guess it was 67, we won the song of the year, BMI song of the year and put it off until tomorrow, Bill Phillips on deck of records. He was a pretty big artist at the time. And so I got, when I had, we had sent the demo to him from when we just written it, then they wanted me to see

on the demo. So that was kind of like, my first kind of break. I mean, I've been heard, like on the, on the real radio of everybody was DJ Rookhal and who's the girl who's hanging with the Bill Phillips on the Bill Phillips song. So anyway, that was kind of a moment too. That's awesome. The Uncleville's been so pivotal in your year. That's amazing. At 10 years old,

you wanted to be like or did you have an idea of like, "Hey, I'm going to pave my own way?"

“Well, all of my people were very musical. And so I think some of my greatest influences were within”

my own family. My, I had an aunt, Dorothy Joe, when my mom's sister was, she played the band, she played the guitar, and she wrote great songs. And she was an evangelist. She also was a pinnacles to preach. I used to, I was just totally influenced by her. But as for some of the others, there were the kitty, you know, there was kitty whales on the Grand O'Lop, William Royacov, and there was some early on after I got to out to where we really had a little bit more exposure

to, to big radio. And all there was a woman named Rose Maddox. She was, it was the Maddox brothers and Rose. She worked with her brothers. And at the first time, I'd ever seen people dress in the roundstones. They were kind of western. I like to have the Grand O'Lop read us, but they were the

first ones I never seen do that. And so, and they also put a show together, a little, they did

a little bit, a little comedy, and little things, and I thought that was amazing. So, you find that now that I'm older, I look back, and I find that I have just picked up bits and pieces from so many people through the years, and I've learned so much that I didn't realize I'm like a sponge, you know, I just, without even knowing that I'm doing it. And then later on, I'll do something, I'll be like, "Oh, I've never met you so much of when I saw so or so." Or, you know, you just learn,

you just learn, you're watching. But I always say we're like a masterpiece of all the art we pick up from each person, you know, it's just like little gems of their souls that we take with us, and that, you know, we look back on and we're like, "Okay, this influenced this and this influenced

that." So, I love that you always give credit where credit's due, because I'm the same way. Like,

if I see, if anybody asked me what your look, I'm like, "Dolly, I'm dolly, all day long, you know?" Well, I'm wish. And look like, "Come on, stop it." You didn't need me for that. Oh, you look, listen, we could trade outfits right now, and I'd be happy. I love this outfit right here. Well, yeah, we love God, I guess. Oh, like, absolutely, yes. So circling back, let's talk about the Grand Old Opera, because you made your first appearance at the Grand Old Opera when you were 13

“years old. How was that for you walking out on that stage at 13 being introduced by Johnny Cash?”

It was scary. Yeah, I couldn't imagine. My art would be like a drum, but always said, "My desire to do a thing has always been greater than my fear of it." So I just try to hold on to that. I thought, "Well, I can't turn around in the middle of stage and run back. I thought, "Right. I've got to finish it." It's kind of how I felt today. No matter what. That's so scary. Oh, no. In a good way, though. I feel like you're not,

if you're not scared of what you're doing, you're not growing. Well, I agree with that, but anyway, that was scary. That was big. That was, you know, working with just being red on those big others, but I was also in awe of it. And I, like I said, of course, I'm not just

country kid. You know, you're always nervous when you first time you ever eat in a restaurant or

around people, you're not used to knowing how to do that, what's boomed in forks, and even to this day, I still don't know exactly. But I go to big five meals and all that, but I figure, well, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't a star, so to hell with them. I'm going to eat what I eat, do have to. But I still would like to know those things, but I just know that now I don't care that I, you know, sometimes you think, oh, get some point where you've earned. You just kind of

“watch other people. That's how you learn. You say, "Oh, watch them." They pick that off. That”

up and all of it is about that. I could never, I could not point out a solid fork to you if somebody paid me. I don't know how to do that either. But as I'm saying, I just kind of want to eat for me. It's a big, big thing, like I've been fighting. I'm very uncomfortable. Yeah. But I'm a bit of watch, so I don't make a fool of myself, no. So circle him back to the Aubrey. Johnny Cash introduced you, and he's known for his powerful presence in mentorship. What do you remember

about your interaction with him that night? And did he say anything to you that stuck with you throughout your career? You said hello. That stuck with me because at that time, I thought, see, I had seen Johnny Cash at another time when we were sitting in the audience, and I had the biggest question on you. Oh, my gosh. Because he had so much magnetism, and I was young. You know, I was just beginning to feel those hormones. Yeah. Look at, you know, to where you feel

those things, I never felt very masculine energy. Well, he did, you know, he had all that, you know, movement. No, I found out later because he's coming off drugs. Oh, no, he had, he was just had

the way he had come from. He was a paces, right? Yeah. But I loved him, and as per years and years,

I told him he was my first crush, anyone. Yeah. And then, so in my Broadway musical,

a lot of the story, I covered that about Johnny touching me on the shoulder. Yeah. I was like, I mean, it made, it made, it just changed my life. Yeah. And I was, I thought I was grown there, and you know, because I felt all those feelings. But he was, he was a real nice guy and very quiet. But I became best friends with, with June and Johnny after so as the years went by, you know, we, we would visit and we'd like each other a little bit. She was a good woman. I really, really.

She was a large mouth like me. Yeah. So we got a lot of just fine and Johnny, I remember when somebody said something about Johnny, don't you get tired? Here in June, talk all the time, and he said, no, I do some of my best thinking when June's talking. So I think he does, I mean, it's best

“to think and when I'm talking. No, I think that's how all husbands are. They just turned us out,”

you know, they're just so used to us. When you perform that night, did you already have a sense of like the legacy that you wanted to build in country music? Or did that experience at the operation shift your perspective on what was possible for you as an artist? Because at that time, I was just so nervous and I reflected on that years later as I still do. But at that time, it was just a big deal, you know, to be there. On the, at the Grindelwald, we were with all those big

name artists. And so I think that I, I was just, it was just kind of addling at that time. I was just kind of addled about the whole thing. But I knew that that was, you know, just like when I got my

encore on the case, walk a show in the first time I was on there. And I thought, oh boy, you know,

I'm going to, I'm going to be a star. And now, years later, I realized they were applauding so much because I was good. It was just because I was a little. You know what I mean? Because I was, you know,

“you have to develop a group. But you know, everybody wants to be good to kid. And the fact that I was”

out there doing it, I think that, you know, people were just extra nice. And I think a whole lot of that might have been so with the operate was just kind of cute when you see a young person doing something. So, but I did feel, and I felt back on shortly after thinking, wow, you know, I was on the window of it and they locked me. So, they asked you for three on course. This is what I want to do. Yeah. They asked you for three on course after your first, but I didn't give them to them.

No, I'm joking. They asked them. No, actually, they did blow it and I kept saying in the, say, you know, last first couple of times. She's like, this is all you get. This is all a practice. So soon after that, you ended up moving to Nashville. And you graduated from high school, correct, and then you ended up moving to Nashville. And you moved to Nashville with, you know,

“minimal amounts of money. How did you make ends meet in those early days? And were there any creative”

or unexpected ways you found to survive while pursuing your dreams out there? Well, I was lucky because there are so many, some riders in Nashville and publishing companies. And a lot of the people that write songs are not good singers. So, all the publishing companies, they hire if there's song female songs that you can get a job singing those songs. So, I got work through Tree Publishing Company. But he killed and it was a dear friend. And so he would get me on

these sessions singing some of the songs that these riders had written, singing the girl song. And then I didn't have card and have a phone and didn't have anything. And so, all these musicians, because I was a rapper to girl at that time, you know, girl and you know, and so I had all these

musicians that were on the sessions, all we've willing to drive me home, always willing to stop

showing about me a burger, some of them thinking they might get more, but until my might have, but that was not because I had lucky fellows. There's, it's like, they were always so good to me. Everybody seemed to know that my heart was in a good place and I was just come to girl, I was funny. You know, I was always cracking jokes or, you know, just being, well, like I am now, really. But everybody got a kick out of me. So, I was just one of the boys because I had six

brothers and all my uncles and my grandma was not a bit shy around the man and I knew that, you know, I had a maneuver. So, so I made money and then I also got on a small salary with three publishing companies in those early days. And then later, I got with the combine music

that I always got a little bit of a salary, as a writer of mom songs, in addition to being

“able to sing some of the demos. She's like, I figured it out, sister. I did what I had to do.”

Yeah. I love that song. So, I used to go in the early early days, I would walk down to the hotels and I would walk through the hallways and I would see all the trays out on the front of the doors and any food that, you know, like, all those little mustard and ketchup packets and bottles. I'd take those all back and anything that looked like, you know, that was pretty decent to still eat. I would get it, I would just kind of get a call, get a napkin off of the tray and put it all

in my purse, just whatever you had to do to survive. And there was a restaurant down around 12th Avenue at that time and this was different places I lived, but the rough above the hill. It was called Calzers. It became very famous. It was a meat and three and two. The Calzers brothers owned it. And I would walk down there and they liked me. And so, they would give me free food. They would give me a good meal, but I would clean off the tables and I would refill the salt and

pepper shakes and I would, you know, do all the things that you do like that. So, I could, I would do that. I didn't get it for money, but I got good food and then they'd pack me stuff to take home too.

Oh, that was so sweet. I'd never knew what a meat and three was until I moved to Nashville. And I was like,

“what is that? And I love them now. I think the Calzers up is so awesome. I think they need them all”

over everywhere, not just in the south, like, on the west coast and everywhere. I think that they would just be a hit. But I guess if somebody out there don't know what a meat and three is. Yeah, yes. Wherever the choice of meat, whether it be meat, over just like three, three times with the side dishes, you can. Yeah. But yeah, all those terms, I never, I remember once I was on the road with one of my brothers and we were just, he played the bass and my first, one of my first bands.

And now, which stopped at a truck stop and I guess it looks to the menu and it had corn beef, corn beef and cabbage. When they brought it and he said, well, what was my corn? Because he didn't know it was corn. corn, beef and cabbage and he said, well, where's my corn? She said, what did you want corn, sir? He said, what was there? It was corn. He said, it's like a literal thing. There's jokes about those things with country boys coming

to Nashville and so there's stories. So switching gears, we're going to, we're going to talk about Carl for a second because you came to Nashville. Did you think coming to Nashville, you were going to meet the love of your life? No. As soon as you came here, I left two boyfriends back home. They had wanting to marry me and I kept saying, no, I'm going to move well, I know that's true, too. But my point is that I thought with the last thing,

I want his boyfriend. I got it because I'm leaving two boyfriends here and I kept saying, no, I'm going to Nashville. And so I got here and I thought, well, that's the last thing I'm going to get caught up with some boy. You know, until I get my feet on the ground, get things going. And the very day, I got to Nashville. I met Carl Dean and 60 years later I'm still with the Carl Dean. But that's the one that took, yeah, we've been together 60 years, we've been married 58,

going on six decades. Yeah, well, well, it took. But anyway, he's a good guy and, you know,

“he's caught an unlawed and we just, we're funny. Oh, he's hilarious. And I think one of the things that's”

made it last so long through the years, we love each other. We respect each other, but we have a lot of fun. Any time things get too, too much tension going on, yeah, we either one of us can, like, find a joke about it. Yeah, don't have to have the tension and, of course, not, we don't

let it go, you know, so far. We never fought back and forth. Well, I'm glad now, that's amazing.

We never did, because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing. I've seen it, it was so many people. And I thought, I never started that. I couldn't bear to think that he'd say something. I couldn't take, you know, because I'm a very sensitive person toward other people and myself. You know, you know, you may hurt people's feelings, not knowing it, but knowingly, you don't do it. Yeah. And a world where love and marriage is often romanticized. What do you

Well, he was a homebody and that worked well for us, you know, because he was in,

“well, he was an asphalt paving, but he just, his son, I don't know, anybody out there that goes,”

my, my, my astrology, I'm, I'm a teacher to that astrology. Well, he just can't do it. I'm capital going. And those are compatible. So I'm science. Yeah. Because I, the capital corner is the mountain goat. And it's always a climb and one will look down on the other side. And the country is more of a homebody. And he really was. He never, he loved go places. If we were going to drive cross-country or go for it. If we had planned the thing, but boy, he can, he never could wait to get home. He wanted to be around home. And I wanted, I'm a

university, my nature. I just loved go and love to see what else is out there. But I think that he's just, that's, that's worked well for us. He's not the least, he loves music, but he's not the least bit interested in being in it. He told me that right up front. I begged him to go with me in six to seven. We'd got, we got married in 66. So, that's when I got one that first award for the being my son of the year. Yeah. And I read him talks and, you know, begged him to go and he did. And oh, he was so uncomfortable. Oh, the whole night, now he went. Seriously, we got hit the door. He started pulling off stuff.

And then, you know, he thought he was just, so he said, look, now I want you to do everything you want to do.

And I wish you the best, but don't ever ask me to go to another one of these damn things, because I don't. And he never did.

So, we just kind of have that respect, then I respected that, because I didn't know he was going to be that uneasy.

“But he doesn't even like to go out to, you know, to big dinners or anything like that. So, we even don't add a”

verse, and stuff like that. We usually stay home and make something special. Do something special like that. But he does or go to McDonald's or go somewhere we want to go to comfortable or to go to, you know, we will go to Mexican restaurants. He does. He will go in, sitting in a booth and do that. He loves that. It's all of nachos. Yeah. He loves Mexican food, period. But we go, you know, we'll go sit in a booth, like if it's an anniversary or just sometimes own a Saturday. We just go, we know where to go

before the crowd comes. He doesn't like big crowds. But anyway, he's just special to me and I just love him like he is. He's light up whenever you talk about him. Well, I love to see that. He's good. Everybody loves

“a girl. What's something that you would want the world to know about, Carl, that they don't know?”

He don't want me to tell the world nothing about that. So, I love that. I love that. He's such a private person. Yeah. He is. I mean, he can, I can talk about what I want to. But he'll say, just leave me out the whole damn thing. You don't, he'd say, don't say nothing. I said, but I do all the time because he's funny. Yeah. I love that so much. And I also wanted to tell you,

I always tell everybody, whenever they give me their like, oh, you're like a young dolly and I'm like,

dolly's birthday January 17th, my January 22nd. So we're on the same cusp. And that's like, always my thing. I'm like, I'm just like dolly. I love that. So we have the same cusp that we're on the 17th or the 22nd. So moving on from sweet Carl. Okay. Gotcha. Oh, boy, we could talk for it. I know. There's so much I wanted to talk to you about. So you and I, your signature look, the big hair, the bold makeup and all that stuff. You now have your own makeup line that we have

sitting in front of us right now. And can you show me some of your products because I'm really excited about learning. Well, there's a whole bunch of stuff. There's so much stuff. I like to get the lipsticks. You know, we got great lipsticks. And so we've got all the beautiful colors. And we have

these wonderful glasses doing all the different colors. But I have always wanted to have my

long line of makeup. And I love lipstick. And you do do. And I love gloss. And I love the shine. And I love all the beautiful things. And we don't have the full line that we will eventually have. We started out with our lipsticks and with our glasses. And so we're going to have a line of everything as we got all our lineers in the different colors. And so we've got great stuff. So have you not had a chance to see. I did. I did get to see it. They wanted me to like look at these

other things. Like I'll walk everything over for trying to know you're good. Oh, look at these some of these. I mean, dolly. Your name is on everything. There's nothing that you haven't covered. I just want to tell you your dolly part and brownies, though, are I brag about them on my podcast all the time. I will eat those brownies any time of day. They're so good. I hope they're hoping you pop. Our nails are too so quiet actually. I don't want to do those. Yes, there we go. Yeah.

And don't you love these? They're brown stones. So I'll just make my joke about it. I never even

the jolene red. Yes, you know, with those. We had to have have a jolene color. And then we got our

“beautiful gold glasses and all the things that go with them. And we have different colors, you know,”

of the of the lipsticks. We have the gold dust in the gloss and a rose petal, which is a real opaque. And so we have different things that we have for for that. So moving on from the lipsticks

because I mean, and we always believe a lipstick stained wine glass. You are selling wine now too.

Well, lipstick stained wine. We need the lipsticks. We have our shirt name. We have the accolades wine company. And I went in business together. And this is one that's really, really nice. And eventually, you know, we're just like with the makeup. We're starting out with certain ones, but then eventually we'll have all the things. But right now we have our shirt name. You can get that in an easy store. We're like Crogers and you still like that. Yes. And in the wine and beer stores. So we were also

smelling backstage. We were open up door. The good one. Yes, that was my original. Yes. And now this is they're doing this as a, you know, special thing. This one is just to collect kind of almost like a collector's item. And I can't wait for everybody to try this. This is the one we tried in the dressing room. And it smells so good. I love everything that you've done. Everything that you've branded. Your name on. You have cookbooks. I mean, you have children's books. There's

so many people that message me when they found out on my Patreon that we were going to be doing this podcast together. And they wanted me to thank you for the imagination books that you have. The imagination of the program. The program that is anything I've ever done. What we give books to children from the time they're born. Until I start school. Yes. And yeah, we've given over, I think 250

“million. Yes. Books out since we started. Yes. But that's how good. But I'm very proud of all the things”

we got in the little Billy the Kid Books is based on stories that our children songs that I've written. Well, the Christmas one is based on a song I wrote. But the others are children's things that they need to know about. Yes. And I mean, if you've got a good book and you've got makeup, you've got perfume, you've got wine, what else do you need? I need some of your joleens. Well, you too. Oh, I need some of the joleens. They're coming out soon. So I mean,

they're going to call joleens. I love it. Yeah. And you probably got a pretty butt. So they'll probably look good on you. Well, I got I got hips and I got hips. So we need to slot some hips and now. I think they look good on everybody. I've got to get me some of those too. I love it. It's so much. Just mean, boy for a bit. Let's see. It's trying to steal my man. She's gone. She's done pretty good by me. I think joleens might be your alter ego. She might be. Miss Holly, thank you so much for

giving me your time. And I appreciate you. And thank you so much for just letting me be in your world for a little bit today. Well, thank you for being in mind. And we're not dumb blondes. No, my love. No, we are not. But anyway, I love the title of a show. And you have a huge following. And I was honored that you wanted me to be on the show. Thank you. I appreciate you. No, I want to be more lucky. No, you are so sweet. I think I'm I'm just going to continue to

just walk in your footsteps and do whatever I can to be more dolly like I always think what would

“dolly do. So I'm a Lord. I'll do anything. Me too. That's what got me here. So thank you, Miss”

Holly. Thank you. Thank you, guys, for tuning in to another episode of DunBlond. I will see you guys next week. Bye. When you're running a business, you learn real quick that you cannot do everything yourself. And trust me, I definitely didn't have it all figured out when I started. That's one of the reasons why I love using Shopify for my store for on at bunnyxo.com. I've got a million things going on at any given time. So I need something that makes running my business easier. Not something that adds

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