The biographical details scattered throughout the evening were mostly tales she’s told before (though she also broke some news when she announced that "Run, Rose, Run" will become a movie produced with Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine and that Parton intends to play a role in the adaptation). Even the beautiful bank-teller who inspired "Jolene" got a shout-out.Īnd I can tell you that because Dolly is, above all else, a storyteller. The profits from "Coat of Many Colors," for example, went to her mother, who made the coat in question. They were dappled in rainbow light, as though we’d been transported from Austin to a church in Tennessee, bathed in stained-glass sunbeams.Īs for the treasure trove of songs she’s written? While she has no problem taking credit for their success (and clearly still delights, after all these years, in the fat stacks of cash that songs like "9 to 5" and "Jolene" have made her), it’s apparent that in her mind, those songs also belong in part to the people who inspired them. Inching closer to the stage from my seat in the mezzanine gave me a better view of the crowd standing below. We listened in rapt attention when she sang when she began to whisper her lyrics (as she often does in the inspiring "Coat of Many Colors"), the audience leaned in even further.Īnd maybe even that was intentional. If you’re wondering how good she sounds after decades of performing, the answer is "good enough that fellow FOX critic Caroline Siede and I both thought she was lip-syncing at first." And perhaps Parton, the consummate show-woman, knew that her incredible vocal prowess might give such an impression, because after belting through three catchy songs from the "Run, Rose, Run" companion album and one thrilling rendition of "Jolene," she sang the traditional gospel tune "Precious Memories" a capella, her backup singers joining her for shimmering four-part harmony.īut if you’re familiar with Parton’s discography, you know it’s not all about her warm, resonant singing voice she uses her speaking voice in her songs to draw people in, connecting her musical prowess with her gifts as a storyteller to draw her audience still closer. RELATED: The coolest, weirdest, best things at this year’s SXSW festival: Vol. I’m not sure Dolly Parton does, either, but she knew they were a way to connect with her fans, and that seems to have been reason enough for her to get interested. What’s an NFT? Well, A), it’s a "non-fungible token," and B), I cannot possibly explain what that means because I don’t understand it myself. Oh, and Parton also gave us all NFTs, should we wish to scan the BCL-provided QR code and claim ours. (Also very engaging: the surprisingly funny James Patterson, who is evidently just as dazzled by Parton as the rest of the world.) If the only entertaining thing about that panel had been the custom jacket Parton’s costumer designed for Patterson, that alone would have made it worth watching, but unsurprisingly Dolly the novelist is every bit as charming as Dolly the singer/songwriter/movie star/philanthropist/mogul. Parton was also there to promote the release of her new book "Run, Rose, Run" with juggernaut author James Patterson, which the pair discussed at some length in a lively panel moderated by "Friday Night Lights" star Connie Britton. If she sees someone without a smile, she says, "I just give them mine."Īnd it wasn’t just about the music.
She’s only ever wanted to make music and bring people joy, she told the rapt audience at ACL Live at the Moody Theater, where Parton performed to celebrate the launch of the Dollyverse (her audience-centric Web3 collaboration with Blockchain Creative Labs, FOX Entertainment’s NFT Studio).
WATCH FREE ON TUBI: The Dolly Parton Story: From Rags to Rhinestones