-[theme music playing] -[Reese Witherspoon reading]
So fun. Whoo!
-Cheers. -Cheers.
Hi!
[Reese] I'm doing a show highlighting powerful,
ambitious women in different fields.
Let's go back to the top of the frame.
Okay, how did I do?
[Reese] And I would love to share with you
what makes these women so inspirational to me.
[gasps]
Love, Reese.
If I was to try to describe myself, if no one had ever seen me,
I would say outrageous,
gaudy, friendly,
uh, warm and likeable, but really weird-looking.
[laughs]
♪ Makin' my mark, get it done Get it, get it ♪
♪ Workin' real heard till we done Did it, did it ♪
♪ Breezin' through the city like hello... ♪
You know how, like, kids feel about Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse,
like they go to Disneyland and they think,
"Oh, my gosh, there's Minnie Mouse,"
and it's the most...
extraordinary person they could meet in their life.
That's how I, as a grown-up woman, feel about Dolly Parton.
-Hi. Get in here. -Oh, my goodness.
-Out of the snow! My goodness. -Oh, my gosh.
-It's so good to see you. -It's cold out there.
Who knew this was gonna be a snowy day.
Gosh, how exciting.
-Let me fix your hair. -Okay. Thank you.
-Well, you had your hat on. -Got to take care of my hair.
Yeah, you look good.
I'm making breakfast. Come on in here.
Oh, my gosh. I am so excited.
♪ I'm gonna be a role model ♪
♪ Goin' straight to the top ♪
[Reese] With a career spanning six decades,
this 47-time Grammy nominee and Country Music Hall of Famer
is one of the most honored female artists of our time.
She's one of the kindest, warmest and smartest woman I know.
You didn't get better than that.
♪ No, there ain't no doubt I was born for this ♪
I had this idea to do a show about women that I really...
just love, admire,
I love what they're doing in their own industry,
in their discipline, um,
their journey to become a strong woman within that industry.
And of course, one of the first people I thought of
-was Dolly. -Ah.
Because no one, you know, in country music
has gone through more different iterations of,
um, being a businesswoman.
And success isn't limited.
And I think sometimes people think,
"Okay, well, there's only a certain amount of success
and if she gets it, I won't." But I just don't think that's true.
No, I think it's very helpful.
In fact, I know that was true outside the business in my own life.
It was like that with my sisters and I,
and my aunts and my grandmas and my mom.
You know, we just had this whole world of women
that kind of stuck together.
The women in the church,
like when we were going through things,
we were stronger together,
and I think that has carried on with me through the years in my career.
I always think back on that strength of women.
I remember being little.
I mean, I remember, this is so vivid...
-You're still little. -...for me. Okay. Well, short.
I was in kindergarten, skipping rope.
And I always was kind of a loner
and I was always singing to myself and I had big dreams.
And my PE teacher said to me,
"Reese, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
And I said, "I'm gonna be Dolly Parton."
[laughs]
And I meant it.
I did not even blink, and she said, "You're gonna be Dolly Parton?"
and I said, "Mmm-hmm.
I'm gonna be famous like Miss Dolly Parton
and she's from Tennessee and if she can do it,
then I can do it."
Well, you certainly did it with or without me for sure.
I've been in this business for 60 years. I started singing when I was ten.
So, it's just really been a journey,
you know, being brought up poor and country.
I barely got through high school and never went to college,
but I had my dreams earlier on. I knew what I wanted to do.
I grew up way up in, we call it "up in the holler,"
in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.
[country music playing]
We were really just poor country people.
We had a house full of kids. There was 12 of us in all.
We are in order, Willadeene, David,
Denver, Dolly, Bobby, Stella, Cassie, Randy, Larry, Floyd, Freida and Rachel.
And in my early days, we didn't even have running water
unless we'd run and get it.
We worked our own fields, grew our own food,
canned our own food and raised our own hogs.
It was hard.
And my daddy was strict.
Daddy didn't want me getting out in the world.
-Yeah. -He didn't even want me to go to school.
-You know, he was a pastor. -Really?
But that wasn't in a bad way,
he just was afraid something bad was gonna happen to his girls,
but Mom knew that I had a strength.
She knew I knew what I wanted and who I was.
-Yeah. -So, she'd fight for me a lot
when I would wanna go places Daddy didn't want me to go.
To sing, like to Nashville with my Uncle Bill.
We would sleep in the car and that was our room.
My bedroom was the backseat and his was the front seat.
[Reese laughs]
I'd wash my hair in the filling station bathrooms
and put makeup on in the side mirror of the car
-and that was just how you did it. -Wow.
So you learned to do all your hair and makeup and all that stuff by yourself?
-Oh, yeah. -How'd you learned to do all that
when they didn't have YouTube and tutorials and all that?
Oh, you don't need to learn a lot to know how to...
learn how to tease hair.
And early on, I wanted my hair bleached.
-Mmm-hmm. -And I remember one time
when I first bleached my hair, I was reading on the bottle and it said,
"Be careful." It said,
"Do not get in eyes.
-To do so may cause blindness." -Uh-huh.
So anyway, I was... We put the bleach on, and so,
we was at the well, my sister was rinsing it out.
And she was pouring water over my head
and it was getting in my eyes...
-Oh, no. -...and I just remember, I said,
"How do I get this out of my eyes? To do so may cause blindness."
[both laughing]
And I was trying to get it out. I was just picturing it.
I may look pretty,
but I won't be able to see it 'cause I'll be blind.
And so, I was like,
"I didn't wanna be blind, I wanna be blonde."
Yeah. Oh, my gosh.
Did record companies ever try to get you
-to change your looks or-- -Yes.
[Dolly] I was 18 when I came here.
-And so-- -[Reese] Wait, wait, hold on.
You were 18 when you came to Nashville?
When I moved here for good.
I graduated from high school on a Friday night,
came here on a Saturday morning.
-Wow. -And, uh,
started working with Fred Foster
who owned Monument Records and Combine Music.
I was young and I was country
and so they were trying to classy me up a little.
They thought, well, maybe they could make me into a teenage star.
So they got a hairstylist and makeup artist and clothes.
Lord, I felt so uncomfortable and I wasn't even pretty.
I did not like the way I looked and my hair was flat and my...
I wanted more makeup.
I hate when my hair is flat, Dolly.
-Oh, I hate it. -I just can't stand it.
I just hated that look.
And I did a few records, teenybop kind of songs.
-Yeah. -And they didn't do anything.
I thought, "Oh, I don't wanna be this, I don't wanna be this,
I don't wanna be this. You gotta let me sing country."
Well, I think it's wonderful to have ambition.
You gotta get out and work, too.
I mean, a lot of women can kind of hide
behind a lot of stuff and just use the excuse
that "I didn't make it because I was a girl."
Well, you can make it if you'll get out
and be willing to sacrifice and work for it.
Ain't no man gonna stop you if you've got the talent.
You might have to work a little harder in your area,
but it can be done.
And I am a prime example.
I was 20 years old when I started with The Porter Wagoner Show.
Porter had the number one country syndicated television show at that time.
I mean, I was making no money
and he said, "Well, I can pay you $60,000 a year."
And I thought that was more money that I had ever heard of.
But the unfortunate thing is, it never changed.
Even after I got to be a star on the show,
'cause I was writing songs and so the more popular I got,
the more popular the show got and we got, and we--
-But then, your salary didn't change. -We fought a lot,
but I kept saying, "You know, don't you think I need a raise?"
Was it hard to get the courage to say that...
-Oh, yeah. It was hard. -...to your boss at that time?
I cried a lot and he was very strong-willed.
But I pretended like I was talking to one of my uncles
or one of my brothers and saying, "You're not pushing me around."
-Right. Yeah. -I'm a songwriter.
And I ain't your girl singer forever.
-I was out to be a solo artist. -Yeah.
And I was still wanting to have my own band.
I wanna have my own show, I wanna have my own life.
I don't wanna just be the girl singer in somebody else's group.
And that's when I wrote "I Will Always Love You."
So I went back the next morning and I said,
"Sit down. I have something I wanna play for you."
♪ If I should stay ♪
♪ Well, I would only be in your way ♪
♪ So I'll go ♪
So I sang "I Will Always Love You," and Porter was crying
and he said, "That's the best song you ever wrote.
Okay, you can go.
But I have to produce the song..."
Oh, my goodness.
And so it was a couple of years later, but it was all right.
Because that's how you learn to maneuver.
I am first and foremost a songwriter.
I've been writing since I was seven, serious songs.
Loving my family and writing about those days
keeps me sane in an insane world.
And anytime I get homesick or lonesome,
when I'm out on tour, or in other countries,
I can just get my guitar and sing about home
and it just takes me back there.
My daddy always said,
"Now, try to keep as much of your own stuff as you can."
So as soon as I could, I started my own publishing company.
Years later, Elvis was recording here
and I knew the people that were producing him.
So they called me two, three weeks before
and said, "Elvis is recording. You wanna come down and meet him?
'Cause he's gonna record 'I Will Always Love You,'"
and I thought, "Oh, my God."
And I told everybody, you know, and I was so excited
and I was gonna go to the session and meet Elvis and all that.
And then, just like a day before, I got a call and he was saying,
"You know we don't record anything with Elvis unless he has the publishing."
-And I said-- -Now, hold on.
I said, "Well, I can't do that."
I said, "Cause I've already had a number one song on it
and it's my most important copyright."
-Right. -And he said,
"Well, then, we can't record it."
And I cried all night, I was so upset about it,
but I thought, "You know, I can't do it. I can't even do it for Elvis."
Priscilla told me later he was very disappointed
and she told me how much he loved the song.
When they divorced,
that when they were leaving the courthouse,
she told me that he was singing that song in her ear.
Oh, it's a good thing that you maintained the rights to "I Will Always Love You,"
because then what happened?
When The Bodyguard movie came out,
Kevin Costner sent word, "You know, can you send us that song
because we're looking for the perfect love song"?
-Mmm. -So, I sent it out,
totally forgot all about it.
And then, I was driving home,
and all of a sudden, I hear this sound on the radio.
It's like how she started that acapella, like,
[singing] ♪ If I should stay ♪
I thought my heart was gonna burst.
-I had to pull over lest I should wreck. -[gasps softly]
It was the most overwhelming feeling I've ever had.
And that was Whitney Houston
-singing your song. -And it was Whitney.
She took it to so many levels. To think that my little song,
my little heartfelt,
heartbreaking song could be that big.
I felt like that I had arrived as a writer.
But you look at it and over time, like,
that's, of course, that was such a savvy thing to do,
but I do think,
I'm sure you've had through your career many times where people said,
"No, I just think maybe I'll try and...
She's not as smart as she thinks she is."
And that's always been such an inspiration to me
because I always thought,
no matter where you come from, it's inside of you.
Yeah. Well, I got that strength from my dad.
My dad was a hard worker, my dad was not educated at all.
My daddy couldn't even read and write, but he was so smart.
You've got to not just trust everybody.
-Yeah. -You can trust them to a degree,
but you gotta keep that thing, like, inside you that says,
-"That don't feel right to me." -Right.
"That's not how that should be."
But I wanted to talk to you a little bit about, you know, I've been...
I came here, it's like six, seven years ago, to this house and I said,
"Dolly, I think I'm gonna start a company
for making movies for women and television shows for women,
because there's just not enough parts."
And I remember sitting there and you saying,
"I think it's a good idea and if you ever need my help..."
You were so sweet and I was like, "Yes, I need your help and support."
I love working with the men, you know, the movies I've done.
But my most success has been, like,
with Steel Magnolias with all those great women.
-Oh, my God. -And then of course,
-let's not forget 9 to 5. -That's such a great movie.
-Yes! -[chuckles]
Which is such an anthem for female empowerment
and that we're stronger together.
9 to 5 is such a classic movie,
but women now are dealing with so much of harassment in the workplace.
And do you think things have changed since 9 to 5?
Well, not changed enough, I don't think,
but I really think it threw a light on it back then at times,
and I think a lot of things were greatly improved because of that.
But people don't realize there are many good men.
And you know what I'm talking about,
you've worked with a lot of wonderful, wonderful men.
But there are some that just won't give you a break,
there are just some that think because they are men
that they can take advantage, or because they are the boss.
I do believe, too, it's a moment for women to stand up,
but honestly, we need balance in the world.
-We do. We gotta have men... -We need men and women.
We gotta have good men doing that
and there are so many more good men than bad.
It's just that the bad ones need to be pointed out.
We got to learn to stand up a little more as women.
-So, any way that we can help is good. -Yeah. Yeah.
You're very genuine in everything that you do.
And I think it comes from, you know, your background and, um, you know,
my favorite song is "Coat of Many Colors."
Oh, yeah.
As a little girl, I would listen to it
and I thought no matter where you're from,
your life matters, your story's important.
I think a lot of people think out there, like, "How am I ever gonna get ahead?"
But I look at you and I think about your story
and what your mother made this coat out of little pieces of...
of fabric.
That little song is more than a song, it's about an attitude, a philosophy,
it's about, you know, it's about the bullying.
-Yeah. -You know that we made it
into a children's story
-about accepting people as they are... -[Reese] Mmm.
[Dolly] ...and for their differences, and not to make fun and not to laugh,
and that you're only poor if you choose to be.
Meaning, you can be rich in spirit, you can be rich in thought,
you can be rich in talent
and you can be rich in all those wonderful things.
So, that little song means a great deal to me
and it's meant a lot to a lot of people.
When I wore that little coat to school,
kids were just saying, "Hey, nothing but rags.
That ain't nothing but scraps,"
and you know, "That's just a ragged old coat,
and it's even faded and it's not even new cloth."
It broke my heart that they were actually making fun of me.
But maybe God had His hand in that
because now I'm able to be in a position
where I can help other people and certainly my family.
[singing] ♪ My coat of many colors ♪
♪ That my momma made for me ♪
♪ Made only from rags ♪
♪ But I wore it so proudly ♪
♪ Although we had no money ♪
♪ I was rich as I could be ♪
♪ In my coat of many colors ♪
♪ Momma made for me ♪
♪ Made just for me ♪
My nails are a little long for this,
-but it's so pretty. -That's so magical.
-I'm gonna cry. -You wanna hold it?
-Oh, my God. -You wanna hold it?
-Yes. -Okay, pick it.
No, I don't know if I can. No, I can't do it.
[both laugh]
-You can do it. -I can do the autoharp,
I can't do the guitar.
Oh, you learned to play the autoharp because of June.
-I had to... Yes. -Yeah.
Did you know June Carter?
Yes. I knew her very well.
-And Johnny. -And Johnny. Yeah.
When I do my life story,
you may have to... Better get after it, though.
-It's my dream to play you. -I say all you gotta do
is just get a bigger boob job.
-[both laugh] -We can work on that part.
But when I was a kid myself, I used to, when I was a teenager,
I used to steal the shoulder pads out of my grandma's winter coat.
And I would use them to put in my bra to push my boobs up
before they had those pushup bras.
So we do what we got to do.
One of my favorite songs that I've written
is called "Backwoods Barbie."
It was kind of about the way I look, just like "I'm just a backwoods Barbie.
Too much makeup, too much hair,
but don't be fooled by thinking that the goods are not all there.
Don't let these false eyelashes lead you to believe that I'm as phony as I look
'cause I run true and deep.
Don't judge a book by the cover 'cause I'm a real good book."
I started a program called the Imagination Library,
uh, 22 years ago, I guess.
I started it because of my dad who couldn't read and write
and he just felt crippled about that.
We weren't allowed to have books in the house
'cause we had so many kids.
We weren't allowed to bring books home from school
because the kids would chew on 'em, pee on 'em and get food on 'em, whatever.
And Daddy said, "I can't afford to pay for no books,
so don't bring no books home for no homework or none of that stuff."
What's good about this little program,
they get the book that comes in the mail with their own little name
-on it. -Oh.
-So they go to the mailbox every month... -And it's theirs.
-...they wait for that book. -Wow.
So we love the fact that we just can't get enough books
in the hands of enough children.
I love that. It's such good work in the world.
♪ I grew up poor and ragged ♪
♪ Just a simple country girl ♪
-Oh, yeah. This is where they are. -[gasps]
What?
Which one do you wanna wear?
-Oh, my God! -[laughs]
-Well, here. Hold this. -Okay, I have to hold this.
You better put your...
-Okay, let me put my cookie down. -...cookie and your tea down.
-Hold on. Hold on. -Because... [chuckles]
-Just feel this. -Wow.
-[gasps] -[chuckles]
-Oh, my gosh. -Isn't that beautiful? But...
-[Reese] Oh, my God. -[Dolly] Even this one.
Um...
-What was that? -Oh, my gosh. Dolly.
[Dolly] That's okay. That happens all the time.
There's just... [laughs]
Don't tear up my clothes! Give me!
-I'm sorry. -Don't come in my house
and tear up my stuff.
I'm sorry. Your original costumes.
-No, it just... -No. These are things that happen to me.
I always imagined Dolly Parton's closet opens
-and sequins come flying out. -Well, it did.
[both laugh]
Actually, that happens all the time. Sometimes when I'm on stage,
I'm always popping beads and stuff
and they used to go sweep them up and they put them...
They give them back to us if we want to sew 'em on
and they call 'em "Dolly droppings."
-Like a rabbit. -Yeah.
What's your fashion inspiration?
-Fashion? -What makes you feel beautiful?
Well, just gaud and glitter...
-Yeah. -...and color or not color.
Just whatever. I mean, I like if my clothes fit me.
-Yeah. -So when I buy 'em two sizes...
I buy 'em a size too small...
-Okay. Okay. -...and I have them taken in.
Was that right?
-You... -I'm like...
-That was a joke. -Okay.
[country music playing]
Come into my little church, my little chapel.
Oh.
-Wow. This is so beautiful. -This is where I have to come
when I get overwhelmed with everything else
or if I just wanna pray.
♪ Amazing grace ♪
♪ How sweet the sound ♪
I don't know if you remember this,
but you told me a story a long time ago about a man that came to your church.
That he pulled you out and he said, "This child is special,"
-or, "These children are special." -Oh. That was a lady.
-That was a woman. -A woman. Okay.
That was, yeah, and she prayed all the time.
-Yeah. -And she was kind of like
a psychic, and I was little.
And she put her hands on me and she was praying
and she said, "This child is anointed."
And she was like shaking me.
Like a... She said, "This child is anointed."
Of course, after church my mom said, "That just means God has His hand on you.
-And that you might do great things." -Wow.
-So I was-- Yeah. -What a beautiful story.
It sounds like you've always had that guiding light inside of you.
Oh, I'm no angel, heaven knows.
I mean, you know, what I ain't done, I probably will do,
-but I don't mean to. -Yeah.
But I try to be better all the time, but I do have faith.
And it really helps me and sometimes I do get weary from life and family,
I go a little crazy from all the lunacy.
It's not that I'm not grateful,
but all in all, it gets a little much some days,
you know, that's when I have to stop.
And I pray for love and guidance and, you know, and help along the way.
I love what you said in your concert.
This last concert that I saw you in,
where you talk about "Dream more, learn more."
Oh. Dream more, care more, do more, be more.
I wrote a song, uh, 22 years ago called "Try."
And it's really about just trying to be the first one up the mountain.
You know, it's like just try to make the most of every moment.
And if you fail, just get up and try again.
Wow. I want to just tell you, Dolly,
I'm gonna get emotional, but I just, you've inspired me so much.
-Well, thank you. -You continue to inspire me.
I've always wanted to be more like you.
-Well, don't be like me, be like you. -I know.
I'll be me, but you do inspire me
and I think you inspire so many people out there with your positivity...
-Well... -...and your...
The warmth and the kindness just comes off of you, 'cause it's real.
-And I'm... -Well, I try.
-Wow. -Well, thank you.
It's like, "I've chased after rainbows, I've captured one or two."
-Yeah. -"And I've reached for the stars
and I've even held a few.
I've walked that lonesome valley, you know,
topped the mountains, soared the skies.
I've laughed and I've cried, but I've always tried."
Well, I love you, Dolly.
-I love you. Thank you. -Thank you for sharing.
It touches me to no end that I'm an inspiration.
It makes you feel like you've done something right,
'cause you don't really know, in your life,
how you're gonna be seen or remembered.
And I look back and then I still see that my music seems to be important.
And that young women especially,
which I love that, that they can look to me to say,
"Dolly had the strength to do it." Or "She got through it."
That's really humbling and it makes me feel proud
and I just thank God for it.
[theme music playing]