Reba McEntire Missed Dolly Parton’s Last Phone Call
Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton were friends for decades. McEntire even once credited Dolly with helping her get back on stage in the 1990s after a plane tragedy took the lives of several of her band members. They maintained that friendship up until Dolly’s death in August, but McEntire did miss the Queen of Country’s final phone call to her.
Reba McEntire missed Dolly Parton’s last phone call
Reba McEntire is opening up about her final moments with Dolly Parton a month after the star’s death. In a chat with Entertainment Tonight, McEntire revealed that she had received a phone call from Dolly on the last day of July, but had been in a meeting and couldn’t take it.
When she was free, she tried to call the country music star back, but they never managed to connect again. Dolly died just a few weeks later from a private battle with cancer. McEntire went on to say she learned that Dolly had died from a friend, and she immediately regretted not being able to pick up that final call. She told the outlet, “I’ll never know why she called me.”
This is the first time McEntire has spoken about missing Dolly’s phone call, but it is not the first time she’s spoken about the songstress’s death. In a social media tribute, she thanked Dolly for her music, her love and her generosity, and said there would never be another like her. She also wrote that she would never forget their first meeting or their last conversation.
On September 14, McEntire paid tribute to Dolly at the 78th Emmy Awards with a moving performance of Dolly’s 1983 song “Appalachian Memories.”
How did Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire become friends?
Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire first met in 1977, when McEntire made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. McEntire was already a massive fan of Dolly, calling her her idol, when event organizers told her she’d need to cut a song because Dolly Parton had arrived unexpectedly. Desperate to meet her idol, McEntire offered to give up her spot entirely if she got the chance to meet Dolly.
From there, they formed a fast friendship and a business relationship. They went on to collaborate many times. Dolly guest-starred on McEntire’s Reba sitcom in 2005, and they sang “Does He Love You” together on McEntire’s Revived Remixed Revisited album in 2021. They stayed connected over the years, despite the distance and their equally busy schedules. That final phone call, sadly, will remain a mystery.
