Even Dolly Parton Gets Mad Sometimes: ‘I Don’t Lose My Temper, But I Use My Temper’
“You gotta push me pretty far to get me stirred up,” she admits.
Dolly Parton; Photo by Andrew Wendowski
Dolly Parton is known for having an incredibly kind heart and bringing peace and harmony wherever she goes. However, that doesn’t mean the country legend doesn’t get angry from time to time when it pertains to the important aspects of her life like family and work.
“Well, you ain’t going to see [my anger],” Parton said during an interview with Nancy O’Dell on TalkShopLive. “I’m just a regular person. I’m not one where I’m one person out here and another [in private]. I’m a businessperson. Sometimes you’ve just kind of gotta pitch a fit to get it done or get it done right.”
When the feelings of anger do arise, Parton admits she’s not afraid to speak up.
“Like I’ve always said, I’ll tell ya where to put it if I don’t like where you got it. I think anybody’s like that. You can’t just go through life just floating around getting anything done,” continued Parton.
The “Jolene” singer-songwriter went on to discuss how she manages her anger and keeps her cool in even the most frustrating situations.
“I don’t lose my temper, but I use my temper. Of course, I’ve lost it a few times but it’s not that I’m losing my temper, I’m trying to use it because sometimes there are just some people you have to speak up to,” she said. “Because if they don’t know, especially as a shock, for somebody like me to raise my voice to people, that’s not what they’re used to.”
Parton explained that while she doesn’t raise her voice often, sometimes she does it “for an effect” in order to get people to listen.
“You gotta push me pretty far to get me stirred up — but then I become my daddy,” she added.
The Country Music Hall of Famer continues to try and inspire peace in her original song, “World on Fire,” which will appear on her first-ever rock album titled, Rockstar. The recently released single centers around Parton expressing her feelings of frustration surrounding the current state of the world as she continues to stress the need for change.
“With all the greed and the hate and just everything, it just bottled up in me, and I felt I needed to say something because I just felt like I should and somebody might listen,” Parton told the outlet. “I don’t know how much it will do because we just keep not trying to do as good as we should, and I just really felt like I needed to say something, so I did.”
She continued, “I did feel like at least I got that off my chest. At least I got it out there just to make people think, if nothing else.”
Following its release in May, “World On Fire” reached the No.1 Billboard Rock Digital Songs chart.
Parton has shared a further glimpse into the upcoming project with songs like “Bygones (feat. Rob Halford)” which reached No.1 on the Billboard Rock Digital Songs chart, “Magic Man (Carl Version) (feat. Ann Wilson) and her latest release, a cover of the classic Beatles hit “Let It Be.”
While delivering her stunning rendition of the tune, Parton is joined by fellow musical icons Paul McCartney (vocals/piano), Ringo Starr (drums), Peter Frampton (guitar) and Mick Fleetwood (additional percussion).
“Well, does it get any better than singing ‘Let It Be’ with Paul McCartney who wrote the song? Not only that, he played piano,” Parton gushed in a press release. “Well, it did get even better when Ringo Starr joined in on drums, Peter Frampton on guitar and Mick Fleetwood playing percussion. I mean, seriously, how much better does it get? Thanks guys!”
Inspired by Parton’s recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, Rockstar will feature a total of 30 tracks, including nine Dolly originals and 21 covers of some of the most iconic rock hits of all time.
“We’ve got a lot of wonderful, great celebrities — a lot of the older rock artists — in addition to all these iconic, wonderful songs,” she previously told Good Morning America of the project.
The star-studded project will feature collaborations with more than two dozen musical acts including Richie Sambora, Sting, Steve Perry, Ann Wilson, John Fogerty, Kid Rock, Steven Tyler, Warren Hayes, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Chris Stapleton, Miley Cyrus, P!nk, Brandi Carlile, Elton John, Melissa Etheridge, Lizzo, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, Nikki Sixx, John 5, Linda Perry, and more.
The project is slated to drop on November 17 via Butterfly Records in partnership with Big Machine Label.
Rockstar will be available as a four-LP set, 2 CD set, digital download and on all streaming platforms. Fans can preorder and pre-save Dolly Parton’s Rockstar HERE.
Madeleine O’Connell graduated from North Central College with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Broadcast Communications before deciding to pursue her studies further at DePaul University. There, she earned her masters degree in Digital Communication & Media Arts. O’Connell served as a freelance writer for over two years while also interning with the Academy of Country Music, SiriusXM and Circle Media and assisting with Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast. In addition to Country Now, she has been published in American Songwriter, Music Mayhem, and Holler.Country. Madeleine O’Connell is a member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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