Vintage Dolly

Last night we had the great honor and privilege of seeing Dolly Rebecca Parton (b. 1946) in concert. What an amazing and talented woman! I don't even know where to start!

1. She was born the 4th child of 12 children (her late father Robert was one of 15 children, and her late mother Avie (Owens) was one of 10 children). In her early years, they all lived together in a one-room cabin on a run-down farm in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. In other words, they were dirt poor.
2. Last night she played the following instruments besides singing: several guitars, fiddle, banjo, dulcimer, autoharp, harmonica, and pennywhistle. I'd be so lucky to play one of them (I did actually play at the autoharp years ago but I don't think that counts).
3. She wears size 5 1/2 shoes and her size 40-48DD "trademark" breasts are reportedly insured for $600,00. She says her feet are so small because "nothing grows in the shade."
4. The world's first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, was named after Parton because it was cloned from a mammary cell.
5. She's not bothered by any of the "dumb blonde" jokes because she knows she's not dumb and her hair's not blonde (which is another example of her wonderful wit).
6. She's written and copyrighted over 3000 songs, many of them hit singles and many of them made popular by others.
7. You want more trivia....?

I remember "reading" Dolly's autobiography years ago, listening to her read it herself on audiotape. That's when I found out why she wrote my favorite, I will Always Love You (when she and her manager, Porter Wagoner, parted ways). She's incredibly smart and talented, that's all I can say! An amazing "vintage" woman who fits the can't-tell-a-book-by-its-cover.

Speaking of "vintage women" (my definition is 50 and over!), we started naming the ones we've been priviledged to hear in concert/lecture, besides Dolly: Tina Turner, Anita Baker, Cher, Bette Midler, Cindi Lauper, Stevie Nicks (a.k.a Fleetwood Mac), Mary Travers (from Peter, Paul and Mary), Gaye Adegbalola and Ann Rabson (Uppity Blues Women), Emmylou Harris, Helen Thomas, Gloria Steinem, Cathy Rigby (a.k.a. Peter Pan), Toni Tennille, Naomi Judd, Bernice Johnson Reagon (et al from Sweet Honey In the Rock), Reba McIntire, Julie Andrews, Candice Bergen. We'll hear Bonnie Raitt in a couple of weeks.

To all us VINTAGE WOMEN out there, Hello and Hurray! We've definitely made our mark :)