Painting the shed with Dolly Parton

16th October 2023

Bit late on a post this week. I sat down after finishing painting the shed on Sunday evening (yep I can do that kind of stuff too) and reflected on the week that’s gone before.

It’s been a rollercoaster week, unfortunately Gary has been out of action with some pretty tough back pain so it’s been a week of juggling working in the shop with doing the boring stuff of running a business. Being in the shop is always the best part of having a business like Tonic but it can also take a physical toll, I’m not getting any younger.

Speaking of tough I have been listening to Dolly Parton’s America whilst painting the shed. Before listening to this I didn’t know much about her, she is one tough character. One of ten siblings and brought up in a one room house, she’s extremely talented, she’s a feminist and somebody with strong morals.

The story that jumped out to me was her relationship with Porter Wagoner, he basically gave Dolly her break by bringing her in to his Country and Western radio show I think in 1967. Initially the listeners weren’t that keen on the young Dolly’s voice but he implored them to give her a chance, they did and before long they were the biggest selling duo in the US. As with all things it seems their relationship eventually broke down and they split up, Dolly was a driven artist and wanted to go out on her own, he got pretty annoyed and decided to sue her for a million dollars. She paid this over time and carried on to establish herself as the biggest Country and western star ever, selling over 1 million records, charting 110 singles, that is some career.

Whilst she was paying Porter his million dollars her star continued to rise, unfortunately for him things went drastically down hill. He ran out of money and was himself being taken to court by The US tax Authority, he was broke! He was trying to bring out records but struggling because of his financial travails so Dolly purchased the publishing company he was with and duly gave to him and his children so he could continue his career.

Before Porter died in 2007 Dolly was one of the last people to see him in hospital. She was always grateful for their friendship and singing career together. When asked about this and what she did for him, she simply said there is only forgiveness.

Obviously I’ve simplified the tale but a pretty cool story l reckon!

See you soon
Phil