Dolly Parton, 'Pure and Simple'

When you think of Dolly Parton, several key things come to mind. There's the over-processed Dolly, sportin' big blond hair, long lashes, red lips, a host of well-placed sequins on her oft discussed and oh-so predominant, other "assets."

There's the sweet-voiced Dolly; singing songs about love, heart and home and what it takes to get through life's challenges.

There's the award-winning Dolly, a Country Hall of Fame inductee who is the most honored female country performer of all time. Of her staggering 100 million records sold worldwide, she has 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards, 25 reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts - a record for a female artist. She also has 41 career Top 10 country albums - a record for any artist - and 110 career charted singles under her very tiny belt.

She has eight Grammy Awards, two Academy Award nominations, ten Country Music Association Awards, seven Academy of Country Music Awards, three American Music Awards and is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award.

Then there's composer Dolly; she has penned over 3,000 songs, including her country chart-topper "I Will Always Love You," which later became Whitney Houston's massive runaway hit from "The Bodyguard."

There's Dolly the actress, too, starring in films such as "9 to 5," "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," "Rhinestone" and a personal favorite, "Steel Magnolias" - plus a host of other television shows, films, specials and Broadway shows. Dolly Parton is one of the few artists to have received at least one nomination each from the Academy Awards, Tony Awards and Emmy Awards.

There's the smart, savvy and successful business woman Dolly; the one who has managed to build an impressive empire including The Dollywood Company, which operates the theme park Dollywood, her waterpark, Dollywood's Splash Country, all in her hometown of Pigeon Forge, including two of the Dolly Parton's Dixie Stamped dinner theatres, one there and one in Branson, Missouri.

In the philanthropic world, we have Dolly the saint; her Dollywood Foundation fights illiteracy through the Imagination Library. They mail one book per month to each enrolled child from the date of their birth-until they enter kindergarten-providing 60,000,000 books to children across the U.S., Canada, the UK and Australia. Couple that with the many years she has supported HIV/AIDS related charities, the American Red Cross, PETA and
the raising of countless funds for others, through her many concerts and charity events.

I could go on and on. What Parton has packed into her 40-plus-year career and her life is the stuff of legends -- literally, recently earning her the Living Legend Award from the U.S. Library of Congress for her contribution to the cultural heritage of the United States. And yet, even with all that success, she remains reachable and down-to-earth, kind-hearted, genuinely sweet and completely disarming. So much remains of that innocent, down-home Smokey Mountain country girl she often describes so fondly and delightfully,
still visible in her now much-expanded world. A woman still in awe, who continues to be enchanted by love and the simple, beautiful things that surround her.

Please tell us about your new album, "Pure and Simple."

We had decided to do a tour with a kind of a stripped down band and we didn't have that many people in the production. We were calling the tour "Pure and Simple," and I thought, "Well, I'll just do a whole album of love songs." (Laughs) I didn't have time to do one, but I thought we needed it. I thought it should probably be about love, because this year is my 50th anniversary. A lot of them sound like my early productions, and people seem to be liking that.

People seem to be responding well to the album's message.

Well, thank you. I'm just so happy that it's turned out to be such a positive force. As you noticed, it is filled with love songs of many colors and many flavors: True love, lasting love, cheating love, sexy love, I just tried to cover it all. (Laughs) I'm glad that people are enjoying it. I did it in a very simple way, where I tried to be true to each song and not over-produce them. I wrote and put together every song, so it was a very organic thing for me.

How different have the audience's reactions been to the music and your tour so far?

It's a more intimate setting for them and for me, and they just seem to love it. It seems like they can concentrate better on the music because there isn't a lot of loud distractions and big production numbers... Things like that going on in the background. We're pretty much focused on each other on stage and folks seem to be focused on me, too. They really seem to be likin' it, and I'm enjoyin' the change myself. I've always loved my band and singing with great musicians and other singers, but this has been really nice because I don't have to sing over or force myself to sing too loud to rise above the sound. It's been a really pleasant experience for me and for the band.

A favorite cut on the album is "I'm Sixteen." Can you tell us a little about what the inspiration was behind it?

(Giggles) I'm glad you like it. When you're a songwriter, there are certain things that you just love, and when I was writing that song, I had the most fun! I was by myself in my little apartment where I was working, and I just got the biggest kick out of it. I based it on one of my sisters who had a couple of bad relationships and thought she was never going to find true love. Sure enough, she up and did it! She met someone who had kind of gone through what she did, and they acted like they were 16 years old! Love is so rejuvenating because it makes you feel young again, and I thought, "What a cute idea for a song." You just don't know you're old, I guess. There's a line that says, "Goes to show you're never old, unless you choose to be." (Laughs)

Talk to me about "Can't Be That Wrong." It's a reworking of "God Won't Get You," is that right?

Yes, it is. I have always loved that song's line, "If you think that God won't get you, well, you're wrong..." But a lot of people didn't respond to it because of the title. I'm not sure what they thought, but I just always had such faith in that song. It's my publishing rights, so I tore it down and tore it apart -- my songs are like a workshop to me. I just knew that there were elements to that song that were very commercial, so I just reworked it and called it "Can't Be That Wrong."

As a songwriter, my favorite line in the song - and some might say it's too strong - is at the end when I say, "To hell with heaven if it means losing you." It's one of those songs that people are surprised by. I wasn't trying to be bold, or sacrilegious or anything like that, it was just such a good line.

You've had the chance to duet with so many amazing people. Who in today's music scene would you like to work with?

I'd like to sing something with Adele. I'd like to do something with Miley Cyrus. We've always talked about maybe doing some serious pieces together when we find the right ones. Those things kind of just fall in to place when it's the right time. I have a lot of respect and admiration for a whole lot of people in the business. Who knows who I might show up singing with! (Laughs)

I'm wondering if you would mind talking about why you feel you have connected so strongly with the LGBT community all these years?

Well, I'd like to think that they know I love'em and that I just accept
everybody for who they are. I have a lot of friends and work with a lot of gays and lesbians, they're a part of all of my businesses and I have a lot of them in my family. I don't think about whether you are straight or gay - I just love you because I love you - I think people respond to that. I don't judge, I think that everybody should be allowed to be exactly who they are and be allowed to love exactly who they love. I just think that's the way it should be.

We are all God's children and have a right to our own happiness. I've always wanted to be accepted for who and what I am and I think I've been loved for being accepting,

I guess. I just care about the soul and heart of people.

You are very rare in the country world for being so outspoken and very loving towards your LGBT fans. What would you say to urge those in the country business who haven't come around yet?

Well, I think what gets me sometimes, is that so many of the country people who are supposed to be good Christians and all that, for me, I wish they would exercise more of what the Bible says about loving one another and
to love your neighbor and not to judge. To just love. The rest is God's business... God is the judge. I think that there is room for everybody to be more accepting of all people. There is so much prejudice in this world for people being different. We are all God's children, we are all his and we should just love one another and accept one another.

I have always had that kind of faith, with an open heart and that kind of open love. I just think people should get over themselves and start thinking about what would make this world a happier place. I just can't imagine that you can be happy judging and criticizing others all the time. What kind of life is that? I'd rather just go with the flow and love everybody as much as I can and maybe God will love me just a little extra for loving more.

You always manage to focus on the positive and on being as loving as possible in what you do. I wonder if you can talk a little more about where that comes from?

Well the truth is, I just love people. I grew up in a very spiritual family. My grandfather was a preacher and my mother was very open, and she loved people. We were taught to love each other in our family - to be good to our neighbors - we were just taught to love people. I think that it just comes to that kind of open-hearted faith. For me, I just took the good parts: That through God all things are possible, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. I'm not sure what we're all here for on this earth, but I'm going to try and find out what I can do to make it a better place. Part of that is just loving people and enjoying them and accepting them for who and what they are.

Dolly Parton will be appearing on Tuesday, September 27 at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. She'll also be appearing in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday and Sunday, October 1 and 2.
For tickets and more information on this and all other things Dolly, go to dollyparton.com