How being starstruck in 1980 gave Dolly Parton her biggest hit: “Lives on and on”
There’s power in being nervous. Some of the greatest moments across history, from art to athleticism, have come from that scary line between total fear and total motivation. While it’s hard to imagine Dolly Parton ever being scared of much at all, it’s perhaps the most powerful emotion in her arsenal.
By now, very little must truly shake Parton. It’s not just that she sits in the absolute top tier of global stars, both a household name and an international treasure. Nor is it only because she has achieved success across multiple fields, dominating both music and film. Parton moves through life with an unshakable sense of purpose and generosity that seems rooted in a deep belief in herself. Whether helping fund Covid research or working to improve literacy, that kind of can-do spirit rarely comes from a place of fear.
But when she was younger, fear is arguably what prompted that energy. When you haven’t yet proved your name, but opportunity comes knocking, the nervousness that comes along with it can either make you shrink or push you to be bigger and better. It’s a challenge that separates the future greats from the pack, and we all know which side Parton belonged to.
It wasn’t that Parton’s name was unknown, though, when this notable moment of scariness came in 1980. By then, she was already a country treasure as she’d released a string of singles and albums, and was now the side-character star of The Porter Wagoner Show, singing alongside Wagoner each week as her notoriety grew.
In the 1970s, it seemed as though each month brought a new success. Whether it was a country hit or a new TV appearance alongside people like Cher or Carol Burnett, she was crossing over into total mainstream success by now.
That’s when opportunity came to call: director Colin Higgins wanted Parton in his new movie, 9 to 5. While Parton was clearly intent on being a broad star that could do it all, film had never really crossed her mind. “I’d never even seen a movie made till then,” she reflected to Howard Stern later, as this truly was a new world for her. But it was a world she wanted to succeed in.
“I memorised the whole script like it was a play I didn’t know,” she said as she devoted herself to nailing the role of Doralee Rhodes. But the main motivation all came down to her co-stars. Parton had been offered opportunities to be in films before, but the only reason she said yes this time was because Jane Fonda’s name was already on the cast list.
“I thought, well, Jane Fonda is a really big star, and so was Lily [Tomlin]. I thought, well, if it’s a hit, then I can just you know bask in the glory with them, and if it’s a failure, I can just blame it on them,” she said, still somewhat laughing through the nerves.
But in reality, those big names and this new chance sent Parton into a determined overdrive, not only to play the role right, but to do everything she could – including writing the film’s super-hit theme tune, ‘9 To 5’.
“That thing just lives on and on,” she said of the now triple platinum hit that went far beyond the movie role she was almost too nervous to do, providing proof that you should see the fear and do it anyway.
