Dolly Parton talks new memoir, Broadway musical and being everybody's 'favorite aunt'

Dolly Parton has always been a backwoods Barbie.

Growing up in a one-room cabin with 11 siblings, the Tennessee native learned at an early age that she could stand out through her music and the way she dressed. She made lipstick from crushed pokeberries, used burnt matchsticks as eyeliner and gave her preacher grandpa conniptions with the tight sweaters and short skirts she’d wear to school.

“I was a colorful kid in a lot of ways,” Parton says. “I loved bright colors, and I still do. Through the years, I just wore what I felt matched my personality.”

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Now, she’s tracing her fashion evolution in a new memoir “Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones,” published Tuesday (Penguin Random House). The book begins with her iconic coat of many colors, which her mother stitched together from old fabric scraps. She then recalls her move to Nashville, where she was told she’d never be taken seriously if she didn’t tone down her “trashy” style.

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But the singer didn’t back down. In fact, “I just kept getting bigger and bigger and worse and worse with my look,” she jokes.

Parton, 77, tells USA TODAY about plastic surgery, her classic song "Jolene" at 50, and why it's "scary" being so beloved.

• "Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones" at Amazon for $34
• "Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones" at Bookshop.org for $45

Question: In the book, you revisit some of your most memorable album covers, including "Here You Come Again" (1977). How did you land on that outfit?

Answer: You usually have about four different looks before you do an album cover and you just pick the one that looks the best. We just stayed with the blue jeans and red shirt because that color combo really popped!

Before you released the title track, there was some concern it would be "too pop" for your country fans. (It went on to hit No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.)

It’s a good song; that was my first main-selling record. Everybody said I was making a mistake, so I was just praying, “Lord, please don’t let me be a flop. Let me have a hit record.” And the Lord was good! That was really my big start toward a bigger career.

Speaking of incredible album covers, there's also "Backwoods Barbie" (2008). How do you feel now that Barbie is all the rage? Are people just finally catching up to Dolly?

Well, Barbie was around long before I was (famous)! But with “Backwoods Barbie,” I thought, “Well, I am just a Backwoods Barbie: too much makeup, too much hair.” I was really happy when the “Barbie” movie did so good! I’ve always loved pink and the Barbie Doll, and that was a great little movie. So yeah, I’m still the Backwoods Barbie.

You write in your book that you “wake up with new dreams every day." What are some of your new dreams today?

I’m working on my life story as a musical on Broadway. I've written or chosen all the music that will go into it, and I’ve co-written the script too. So all my spare time, I’m spending on that. That’s been a dream of mine for years and years – at least 20 years I’ve been trying to put that together. I was just about to have it ready when COVID hit and Broadway shut down. Then I thought, “Well, maybe I’ll do it as a biopic,” and wrote up a script for that. But then I was like, “Nah, everybody’s doing a biopic! I’m going back to Broadway now that it’s open.” So I’m hoping to have my show (there) in spring of 2025. That’s my aim!

You also write, “Not everybody’s supposed to look like a movie star. You should be comfortable in your own skin, no matter how far it stretches.” When did you make that realization for yourself?

I think I’ve always been (confident). That started out as a joke: I was referring to plastic surgery, and how I’ve done those nips and tucks. I always think of myself as a workhorse that looks like a show horse, and I’ve got to keep that show horse up. So I do whatever it takes. The same with clothes: I really do think that fashion is not just what’s fashionable. True fashion is what you’re most comfortable in. If you’re going to be motivated and motivating, you need to feel comfortable in what you wear. If you think you look good, you’re going to do better. You’re going to be more apt to step forward and be assertive.

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This week marks 50 years since "Jolene" was first released. Did you ever hear from the flirty bank teller who inspired it?

Yeah, I saw her recently and she was big as a barn! (Laughs.) No, actually, it wasn't as severe as I made the song. I was just a little jealous that she was prettier than me, so you always feel a little threatened when that happens. But it was not a big deal ‒ it was just good for a song, let's put it that way. And I was only joking about seeing her.

You write in your book that "you sometimes see yourself in strange places." Aside from a Tennessee license plate, where's the weirdest place you've seen your likeness?

In a drag show! (Laughs.) I’m big with the drag queens. Every now and then, I’ll get these videos (of Dolly lookalikes). I’ve also seen myself on those Duncan Hines cake boxes in the supermarket. I’ve signed so many of those boxes – I’ve now signed more cake mixes than I have photos through the years.

Well, I don't know a single person who has a bad thing to say about Dolly Parton. How do you feel about your status as an icon?

It’s a little scary sometimes; I hope I can live up to all of that! But I think a lot of it is that I’ve been around for so long. I’m like a favorite aunt, or a favorite godmother, or a favorite sister. I’ve been around so long that people just think of me as part of the family! I’ve just been a fixture in their lives. I like that I’m part of that – I just hope I never let anybody down. I ain’t as important as some of you make me sound!

• "Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones" at Amazon for $34
• "Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones" at Bookshop.org for $45

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