Dolly Parton Described 1 of Music’s More Controversial Figures as ‘Brilliant’
Dolly Parton has navigated the music industry for decades, thanks in part to her dedicated management team. Parton appreciated all they’ve done for her and sang their praises over the years. She also spoke highly of another music manager, though this person doesn’t have a sterling reputation. She shared why she thought Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was “brilliant.”
Dolly Parton admired a controversial figure in the music industry
While Parton never had the chance to meet Elvis, she long admired him. She thought there was a great deal to love about him.
“He was very loving, very emotional, very sensitive, very giving, very humble, thankful, grateful,” she told Playboy in 1978, per the book Dolly on Dolly. “I always felt that he was totally in awe of his own success and he didn’t quite understand why he had been so chosen and why he was such an idol.”
She wanted to touch people’s lives in the same way he had. She also wanted a manager who could build up her career in the way Elvis’ manager had.
“I always thought his manager was brilliant, as well,” Parton said. “They built that mystery up about him.”
While Parker helped lift Elvis’ career to towering heights, he also caused some controversy. He took more than half the income from Elvis’ successes and frustrated Elvis with some of the decisions he made.
Some blamed Colonel Parker for Elvis’ death
Elvis’ drug use caused his health to sharply decline in the 1970s. Nearly everyone in his life expressed concern for his wellbeing. Many believed Parker was the only person Elvis might have listened to, and they wished he could have done more for the singer.
“There’s no question in my mind that the Colonel knew Elvis was dying,” said Byron Raphael, an agent who worked with Elvis and Parker, per the book The Colonel by Alanna Nash. “And not only did he do nothing to stop it, but in a way, through omission, he was a coconspirator. There was really no strong relationship between the Colonel and Elvis anymore. He had lost his control, and that had to be a terrible thing for him.”
Raphael believed that Parker took a hands-off approach with Elvis for the first time ever.
“So he just stepped out of the way and let fate take its course,” Raphael said. “That way, he and Vernon [Presley] could continue making the kinds of deals that the Colonel had always dreamed of making.”
Dolly Parton’s family didn’t like what her management did for her music career
Parton’s own management rubbed some people the wrong way. She hired a new manager, Sandy Gallin, in the 1970s, and they focused on making her a bigger star. This meant she had less time for family and people in her hometown, which people didn’t like.
“I don’t know about this management,” her friend Ruth Green said, per the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “When you lose a personal relationship with your friends … But, you know, people will still love her. Dolly’s just that kind of person.”
Parton, on the other hand, adored her new team.
