Dolly Parton’s Management Didn’t Want Her Image to Be Linked to Singers Like Loretta Lynn
Dolly Parton has spoken at length about her admiration for Loretta Lynn. She’s a foundational figure in country music, and Parton grew very close to her. Her management team wasn’t as fond of Lynn, though. They wanted to push Parton as a superstar and didn’t want Parton to be connected with certain country stars.
Dolly Parton’s management didn’t want her to seem like other country stars
After Parton left her working relationship with Porter Wagoner, she began to focus on becoming a star with broader appeal. While she had a fan base within country music, she wanted to cross over to a more mainstream audience. Her new team, headed by Sandy Gallin, helped her achieve this.
While Parton was thrilled with the results, many people in the country music industry bristled at her crossover. They felt Parton had turned her back on the genre. This may not have been true of her, but Gallin reportedly did not want her to be associated with other country artists. He discouraged further association with Wagoner and reportedly pushed back against an interview with Parton, Tammy Wynette, and Lynn. Per the book Smart Blonde by Stephen Miller, Gallin did not want Parton to be “lumped in with those country singers.”
Dolly Parton’s family and friends were unsure about her management team
Those who had known Parton the longest were wary of her new team. When she attended Dolly Parton Day in her hometown after hiring new management, she didn’t stick around to speak to anyone. This bothered people.
“I’m sure they have to follow their ordinary routine, but on the other hand, no one is going to hurt Dolly around here,” her school principal, Jack McMahan, said in the book Dolly by Alanna Nash. “I don’t know whether the new management puts more pressure on scheduling and things like that, or whether that’s just their basic setup. And I realize Dolly has to have her rest. But I could tell a lot more of an enclosed setup around Dolly this time. Actually, they just kept her closed in.”
Nobody blamed Parton for this, but they raised their eyebrows at her new team.
“I don’t know about this management,” her friend Ruth Green said. “When you lose a personal relationship with your friends … But, you know, people will still love her. Dolly’s just that kind of person.”
Green added that even Parton’s family hadn’t been able to spend time with her.
“Dolly’s grandfather was in here the other day,” Green said. “He asked how I liked Dolly’s last show, and I said I liked it fine, except I didn’t get a chance to reminisce like we used to. He said he didn’t either. The minute she left the stage, she was gone. They had the bus parked where nobody could get at her. Mrs. Parton said nobody got to see Dolly, not even her.”
She spoke about the loss of Loretta Lynn
While Gallin reportedly didn’t want a connection between Parton and artists like Lynn, they still remained friends. Parton said Lynn’s death impacted her like she’d lost a family member.
“With Loretta, she was very dear to me, like a sister,” Parton told Today. “Same with Naomi [Judd]. We were (the) same age, and we loved the same things. And I loved her.”
She said she thinks about her friends when she hears the song “Precious Memories” by Alan Jackson.
“The line I love in that song is, ‘Precious memories, unseen angels sent from somewhere to my soul.’ And I think about that. Those precious memories,” she said. “They just flow in and out of you, and you remember special things about them.”
