The love for Dolly Parton continues, especially in Music City. A new mural, honoring the country music icon, has just appeared in East Nashville, located outside the popular 5 Spot bar and music venue. Artist Kim Radford painted the mural, which was started before Dolly had her far-reaching interview with Billboard, where she spoke out about the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, giving Kim the perfect quote to finish the mural.
“The day before I finished the mural, Dolly had an amazing press release about her upcoming Christmas album and her interview with Billboard,” Kim recalled to CNN. “As I painted the final touches I knew her sassy loving quote — ‘Of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little White a––es are the only ones that matter?’ — would be a perfect finish to send out in my neighborhood.”
https://www.facebook.com/kradford/posts/10224418101343972?__cft__[0]=AZW7IBh_KOWVv9-XwPjrnCgHx-L1zWJmvVRKDrcgwLR4oZc9_b-xmD0dbBVJ-2JhjAsZhae_6PHy6sx5LcDhWukwQyLYdJQrIIsTqoIRa7WaJAkcF64bdYfduaUFBjSDXpiqjq3Z0pDLgI-uOTRAfoQJ&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
“This piece was a passion project and the timing was a happy accident coinciding with her press,” she added.
As part of the interview with Billboard, the 74-year-old also explained why she changed the name of the Dixie Stampede to the Dolly Parton Stampede in 2018
“There’s such a thing as innocent ignorance, and so many of us are guilty of that,” Dolly said of the name change. “When they said ‘Dixie’ was an offensive word, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to offend anybody. This is a business. We’ll just call it The Stampede.’ As soon as you realize that [something] is a problem, you should fix it. Don’t be a dumbass. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”
Dolly likely had no idea how quickly her words about the Black Lives Matter movement would sweep across the country, at least partly because she pays far more attention to her own work than to what is happening around her.
“I’m touched and honored that I’m still around and that I’m able to still be important in the business,” Dolly said. “I honestly feel like I’m just getting started. I know that sounds crazy but I really feel like I might have a big music career, record career. Who knows?”
Dolly just announced the release of her Christmas album, A Holly Dolly Christmas, which includes collaborations with Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, Michael Bublé, Willie Nelson and Billy Ray Cyrus.
The 5 Spot is located at 1006 Forrest Avenue in Nashville. It is currently closed pending Nashville moving into Phase 4 of the reopening plan.