The Wisdom of Dolly

While taking a long drive with my sister, Danielle, we listened to Howard Stern interview Dolly Parton. In the interview, Dolly tells the story of how she heard Whitney Houston’s version of her song “I Will Always Love You” for the first time ever while driving in her Cadillac. When she heard the song, she was so overcome by Whitney’s voice and interpretation of the song that she had to pull off the road to listen to it. 

Danielle and I looked at each other at this moment as if to say “remarkable”. I mean, right? We both knew that if we had been in Dolly’s position, we would not be nearly as gracious. I know that if I had first heard that version of my song on the radio, I would have been pissed and hurt. I would have thought, what the hell? Why didn’t I get to listen to the version of MY song before the rest of the world did?

How is it possible that Dolly heard Whitney’s incredible version of “I Will Always Love You” for the first time only when it came out on the radio? How was she able to just ignore the blatant disrespect they showed her and instead just enjoy the fact that she was witnessing something sacred (and was also about to make a lot more money)? 

But I guess that is what makes Dolly Dolly. 

Dolly acknowledged that this was a bit of a surprise, but it didn’t make her mean or mad or disillusioned. She didn’t choose the worst version of the story. Instead she focused on the beauty of the moment. 

But, let’s not confuse her ability to see the best in people with being a pushover. Dolly can be tough and advocate for herself when she needs to. She has had incredible business acumen. For example, she talks about how she quit her first TV job when it was at its peak of success because she knew she was destined to be more than someone’s sidekick. She held firm to her vision for herself even when people thought she was crazy not to stay at that job. In another example, she denied Elvis the rights to her song “I Will Always Love You” when he requested it. Yes, you heard that correctly, she said no to Elvis. That took gumption. She did not want to give up rights to her song.

Maybe one of my goals for 2024 is to be more like Dolly.

How can I see the best version of a story? Give someone the benefit of the doubt? Stop being so darn sensitive? But at the same time be strong. Stick to my principles. Have a vision for myself and make hard decisions to stay aligned with that vision. Dolly seems to have a superhuman ability to know when to lean into the good and when to fight like hell. I can only hope to achieve a small slice of her wisdom.