Dolly Parton can now afford to buy as many high-end TVs as she wants, but that wasn’t always the case. The 74-year-old grew up in the mountains of east Tennessee, in a primitive one-room cabin, without electricity or running water. With a love of singing and a knack for performing, even as a child, Dolly’s parents had to get creative to find a way for her to hear the Grand Ole Opry.
“My mother’s people were musical, mostly gospel, but my mother and all of her people play some musical instruments, and some of my daddy’s people,” Dolly told USA Today. “I had an uncle, Bill Owens, that used to take me around to different places to sing. He had taught me all the chords on the guitar, because he saw early on that I was serious about my singing.
“I was on television before we ever owned one, on local TV,” she continued. “My dad loved the Grand Ole Opry. Before we had electricity, we had an old battery radio that we used to pour water on the ground wire in order to bring it in. I just knew that I wanted to be out in a bigger world. I knew there was more than just the Smokies. I love my people, I love my home, but I just wanted to do more.”
Dolly has achieved plenty in the entertainment industry, but one of her proudest moment hearkens back to her childhood dreams.
“One of the first early proud moments was when I got to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry,” said the singer. “When I became a member back in 1969, that was a big, big night for me, knowing that my people were listening and that I had made it. Just like the song about New York and Broadway. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Well, country singers always think, ‘If I can make it to the Grand Ole Opry, beyond the Grand Ole Opry, then you’ve made it.'”
Dolly famously left for Nashville one day after graduating from high school, never imagining how far her childhood dreams would take her.
“I would just say buckle up, you little barefooted hick, and know that you’re in for the ride of your life,” Dolly said she would tell her younger self. “This is what you want and you’re going to get it, but you’re going to have to work for it and try to love it. Just try to be strong, try to be tough and use all that redneck strength and knowledge you have and connect that with all the good things you can learn from it, but just know that you’re a tough little cookie. You’re going to have a wild ride, but you’re going to love it.”