26/08/2026
I became a Dolly Parton fan because I failed to get a ticket to The Lion King.
Years ago, I stood in a queue in Times Square, on my own, for two hours, waiting to get tickets to see The Lion King and when I finally got near the front…They sold out.
But while I was standing there, I got chatting to a couple of people in the queue. They were going to see 9 to 5: The Musical.
They persuaded me to get a ticket, and I’m very glad they did.
Because that night was the beginning of some fabulous memories connected to Dolly Parton and her music.
From that first experience of 9 to 5, to watching her Glastonbury performance, to reading more about her life and career, I’ve become fascinated by the woman behind the songs, and one thing that really strikes me about Dolly is how often people underestimated her.
They saw the big hair, the rhinestones, the jokes and the larger-than-life persona and assumed there wasn’t much more going on underneath.
How wrong they were.
Dolly was incredibly astute, intelligent, business-minded and very observant.
She understood people, understood her audience and understood exactly what she was doing.
She could make people laugh while building an extraordinary career and business empire. The most impressive part for me was she was a wonderful philanthropist giving so many children the chance to find out the wonder of books and reading through her Imagination Library.
As she said herself, she was nobody’s fool, and perhaps that’s one of the things I’ve admired most about her.
She never seemed to feel the need to become someone else to be taken seriously. She knew who she was and she built a life around that.
So, ironically, a disappointing two-hour queue for a show I never got to see gave me some wonderful memories that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Funny how life works.
RIP Dolly.
Thank you for the music, the memories, the laughs and for showing generations of women that you can be underestimated and still completely know your own worth.
And yes…I’m still glad I bought that ticket to 9 to 5. ❤️