The toughest thing about Dolly Parton fandom is deciding what part of her career you want to explore. Is it her incredible songwriting talents, as evidenced, again, by all the songs she wrote for her latest release, “Better Day”? Her performances? Her philanthropy? The list can go on and on for this woman who is up and working early every morning despite her superstar status.
“Most musicians like to sleep all day. They party all night,” said Parton. “I’m not one of them. I go to bed early and wake up early so I’m always primed and ready to go.”
| Onstage |
| An Evening with Dolly Parton |
| When: 8 p.m. Sunday |
| Where: Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts, Filene Center, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna |
| Info: $35 to $60; 877-WOLFTRAP (965-3872); wolftrap.org |
That could be the theme of her life, certainly professionally. Long before 1967 when she joined Porter Wagoner as the “girl singer” on his syndicated television show, Dolly has been ready to move fast. Consider that just a year after joining Wagoner’s show, she signed with RCA Records and then joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year.
“People say ‘Aren’t you afraid your past will catch up with you?’ ” Parton said with a laugh. “I say, ‘No. I don’t think it can catch me.’ ” Fair enough.
The multi-award-winning Parton has now written and released a new album and has started a world tour that includes a two-night stop at London’s O2 Arena in support of the album.
Parton said she wrote the album, including the first single, “Together You and I,” to bolster people’s spirits in this down economic time.
“I am kind of a hopeless romantic,” Parton said. “I believe that love can just last forever or at least that it should. … ‘Together you and I can stop and rain and make the sun shine’ and just make it all happen as long as we’re together. So it can be just about love in general. Just human love and love around the world.”
Fear not, though, Parton fans. Although the tour is in support of the latest album, Parton assures everyone that she will sing many of her fan favorites, including “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene.”
“I sure will,” she said with a laugh, pausing when asked if she doesn’t grow weary of performing the older songs. “I still love them! It doesn’t matter [if I have performed them for many years]. That’s all right! There’s someone out there in the audience who has never heard me sing them [live] before!”
