Reba McEntire remembers the first time she met Dolly Parton, right down to the day.
“The first time I was in her presence, it was September 17, 1977,” McEntire tells Vogue. “I was making my Grand Ole Opry debut and was supposed to sing two songs that night.
They came to me and said one of my songs was going to have to be cut because Dolly Parton had just walked in the back door. I said, ‘Heck, you can have both of them if I can just meet Dolly!’ I will never forget her walking through in this beautiful black chiffon outfit with rhinestone butterflies.
She looked just like an angel!”
Tonight at the Emmys, McEntire honored her dear friend Parton, who died last month at the age of 80, with Parton’s 1989 ballad about her roots in the Smoky Mountains, “Appalachian Memories.” “It’s always been one of my favorite Dolly songs. She wrote it about her family and I think it’s just so beautiful and perfect to honor who she was and where she came from.
She always carried her upbringing with her, and I admired that. There will never be another Dolly Parton.”
McEntire’s outfit honored the late country music icon, too. The country singer stepped out in Dollyesque fashion, wearing a sequined long-sleeve white gown with delicate ruching and a deep-V-front designed by Michael Schmidt.
“I didn’t want to wear black,” McEntire said. “I wanted to wear something sparkly, just like Dolly would have done.
When Dolly did her first TV special, ‘Live in London,’ in 1983, she wore a white fringed gown, and that’s where she first sang ‘Appalachian Memories.’ So my white gown is a little nod to that moment.”
The homage also extended to some very special accessories. “My manager, Justin McIntosh, surprised me by asking Dolly’s niece, Rebecca, if they would loan some of Dolly’s jewelry for me to wear. They graciously said yes, and it was an honor to have a little piece of her on stage with me. I picked a pair of rhinestone earrings and a butterfly ring. There’s nothing that says Dolly more than rhinestones and butterflies!”
McEntire forged a deep bond with Parton over the years. “We didn’t talk as much as I would have liked to—it was hard to stay in touch like that when we were both always working so hard!
Dolly communicated mostly via fax. I asked Kenny Rogers one time if he had Dolly’s phone number, and even he didn’t have it.
Our catch-ups usually happened when we worked together, which thankfully was a lot over the years. We’d talk about our families and friends that we shared.
I cherish those memories.”
Looking back, McEntire has many fond memories of the times she spent with the beloved Parton. “I had a blast shooting the reimagined ‘Does He Love You’ video with Dolly in 2021,” she recalls.
“I wanted to make sure I got to the set before she did, but sure enough, she beat me to it. We got to sit and visit in between takes.
I loved that. And I really loved how she was so sweet to everybody when she was a guest star on the Reba TV show.
Any time you got to work with Dolly was priceless.
“When I lost my band in the plane crash in 1991,” she continued, “Dolly was one of the first people to call me. She offered her band to me. And her band leader did help put a new band together when it was time. I’ll never forget that.”
It’s no big secret that in addition to being talented and funny as all get out, Parton was a beacon of unabashed glamour. When asked what people may not know about the country legend, McEntire was sure to reiterate that last part (and we know Dolly would approve).
“I think everyone knows exactly what Dolly wanted them to know,” McEntire said. “The only thing I can think of is that she was maybe even more beautiful in person than she was on stage.”