When you get the opportunity to see certain legends perform, you just have to take advantage of it. So when I heard Dolly Parton was performing at one of my favorite, local venues, I immediately ordered tickets and couldn’t wait for the show!

Now, I’m no Parton groupie, and honestly, I’d never been to a country music concert in my life. But Dolly is one of those all-round phenomenal entertainers that come once in a lifetime. In fact, the Library of Congress has already designated her a Living Legend, and she’s only 63. Of course when you recognize her list of accomplishments, legend is a title that certainly fits. 

Dolly wrote her first song at age five, was appearing on radio and television by age nine and recording by age thirteen. Since that time, she has sold over 100 million records worldwide, is one of the most successful female artists in the history of country music, and is the only artist to score a number-one country single in each of the past four decades. She’s won Awards in seemingly every entertainment category there is: Grammy’s, Country Music Awards, American Music Awards, and even the Academy Awards.  Her body of work is literally, as diverse as her hairstyles!  She is simply amazing.

Now, with my expectations as high as the moon, it’s hard to think anyone could possibly live up to all the hype. Dolly didn’t disappoint. In fact, she honestly exceeded my expectations. Dolly Parton is the epitome of the utmost, consummate professional. Not only is her repertoire second to none, every bit of the presentation was incredible --- from the band, lighting, and back up singers to her outfits, hair, make up and of course, that voice. And she seems so genuine – just so real … well maybe not in ALL areas, but certainly in the places that count.

What impressed me most was her humbleness and sense of humor! I never knew she was so funny! Between songs she told stories, cracked jokes and shared personal aspects of her life. She made everyone in the audience feel like it was just the two of you in her living room. She’s incredibly personable. Yet, while you never, or certainly rarely see much about her personal life in the press, Dolly’s life’s story is in her songs -- and wow, can she write and can she ever sing! It’s definitely a gift, and one she not only recognizes, but cherishes, too.  She has that star quality twinkle about her -- in all capacities. And she’s drop-dead beautiful, too. Quite petite actually, which often surprises people since the camera angles we see usually focus on the parts of her that aren’t so petite, if you know what I mean.

Dolly’s also one of those special beings who seems to have figured out how to live right --- she’s definitely got her priorities straight. This likely comes from her humble beginnings. She grew up in a two-room shack in Tennessee as one of twelve children. And while she admits to being “dirt poor,” she said her brothers and sister always had everything they needed: food on the table, a warm bed to sleep in, a roof over their head, and parents who loved them.  Prayer and faith were also part of her foundation, and still are today. In fact, every morning begins with a prayer and every day ends with one, as well.

While Dolly was obviously very young when she started her career, she was wise enough to recognize good advice when she heard it. At thirteen, she met Johnny Cash for the first time at the Grand Ole Oprey and he told her to just follow her heart. She obviously took that advice to heart, because her success is due as much to her perseverance and beliefs as it is to her talent.

Dolly is one heck of a smart businesswoman. She’s worth an estimated quarter of a billion dollars and rules a show business empire. However, starting out in her career, being a beautiful blond became a secret weapon in a sense, because in a business dominated by men, the majority thought they could take advantage of her. But instead, Dolly, never one to be intimidated, would often refocus their attention to the business opportunities she envisioned and the rest, as they say, is history.

“People ask me all the time if I get tired of the dumb blonde jokes,” Dolly shared. “And I always tell them no because I know I’m not dumb, and I’m definitely not blonde!” she laughed.

Yet even with all her amazing accomplishments, the entertainment industry is still obsessed with youth. In fact, just last year, Dolly took a chance and started her own label, Dolly Records, when the industry wasn’t willing to support her. She invested $1million on herself and figured she’d either make it work and sell records out of the trunk of her car if she had to (which she’d done before and was willing to do again) or it would be a tax loss. Either way, she figured she’d win. And win she did. With her latest release, Backwoods Barbie, she recouped her start-up investment in just three short months.

That’s faith my friends -- believing, and following your heart. And it’s these things that will likely continue to serve as the foundation for her next endeavors. And yes, I said, next, since Dolly claims she’ll never retire because she believes in the importance of always having something to do.

Dolly’s latest love builds on her long-standing philanthropic work for children’s literacy, which started in 1996 when she established the Imagination Library to provide a new book every month to children from birth to age five. The program began in Sevier County, home to Dollywood, but four years later Dolly took the program nationwide where it is now replicated in 566 counties across 36 states, and is also in Canada and parts of Europe.

In a recent AARP magazine interview, Dolly said that more and more of the projects she dreams up now involve children. “In my older years I’m going to go into the world of children,” Parton said. “That’s the way to keep yourself young.”

What a wonderful thing to imagine … Dolly fans for generations to come. She’s certainly done her part in making the world a better place for all of us, both now, and likely in the future too.

Special Note: This is part of the Summer Celebrity Series. Stay tuned for the next upcoming feature profiling Tina Turner!

Kelly Ferrin, gerontologist and author of “What’s Age Got To Do With It? Secrets to Aging in Extraordinary Ways” has been studying aging and retirement issues for over 25 years. She was one of the first to ever receive a degree in this field from the prestigious Andrus School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, the top school in the nation for age-related studies.

website: kellyferrin.com ••• email: ageangel@earthlink.net