The classic songwriter who rejected Dolly Parton: “A weird buckaroo”
Dolly Parton was never everybody’s cup of tea, but that’s also sort of the reason why she became a legend in her own right.
In the beginning, she drew attention because she stood out from the rest, both physically and professionally. It’s no secret that Parton had one of the toughest journeys, and that’s not to mention that her upbringing was far less privileged than many of her musical peers, lacking in money and material possessions, though brimming with all the familial love she could ever ask for.
When Parton first started making waves as a country singer, plenty of people on the outside only saw her one way. A few gave her the respect she deserved, sure, but even then, there was often a strange undertone to it – like their praise didn’t quite carry the same weight as it did for other artists with just as much talent and credibility.
For instance, a longtime admirer of Parton, Tom T Hall, once quipped that he was seen as one of the only people who could talk about Parton without it becoming crude. As he explained to American Songwriter: “When I first got to Nashville, somebody said Tom T Hall and Kris Kristofferson at the time were the only two people who could describe Dolly Parton without using their hands.”
However, he’d later say that this was because he was more educated and able to use more words to describe her artistry, and had nothing to do with her being a good musician. Of course, he didn’t use those words exactly, but there was that subtlety there that many had when discussing the powers of Parton that felt a little too close to dismissiveness.
A sad reality, but one that Parton endured nonetheless, and one that she still very much has to face to this day in many conversations that reduce her to nothing more than looks. However, as always, Parton has taken it in her stride, her skin thickened by the many career challenges and setbacks that made her one of the most resilient figures in the entire industry.
After all, Parton hasn’t just had to endure decades-long sexism; she’s also faced accusations of ditching her roots, deviating from her country style, and, perhaps worst of all, not being “good” enough to sit among other songwriting heroes, like Bob Dylan. In fact, Parton once covered Dylan’s classic, ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, and even considered doing a full covers record called Dolly Does Dylan, but a refusal to duet on the original track and another strange encounter with the enigmatic brood gave her second thoughts.
“I’d sent a message to him because I wanted him to say at least one line on ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’,” Parton recalled to the Irish Examiner. “I got the message back that he didn’t want to do it, so I got Nickel Creek to sing on it, so, in a way, it worked out better.”
Elsewhere, she told the Daily Mail that she found him strange when she met him once, and that she got a sense that he didn’t take her seriously because of the same reasons many haven’t throughout her career: her looks. “I’ve met him a few times, but I never felt any warmth from him to me,” she said. “I think I have offended him somehow by the way I looked or the way I was. I love his music, but he’s a weird buckaroo.”
Dylan likely refused the chance to sing with Parton for such reasons, but it also seems like the singer has a complex with collaborating with most musicians, especially ones he doesn’t feel creatively aligned with or ones that he doesn’t consider to be on the same level in terms of legacy. But all of that is mere speculation, especially as it’s nearly impossible to work out what he’s thinking about even when he says it straight.
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