Dolly Parton had perfect response to Barbara Walters’ ‘hillbilly’ question

Dolly Parton had perfect response to Barbara Walters' 'hillbilly' question.

Key points

• It was conducted in December 1977 and broadcast in 1978, Walters asked the "Jolene" singer, "Dolly, where I come from, would I have called you a hillbilly?"
• When Walters joined her in visiting Parton's home on the outskirts of Nashville, the country music legend would return for another interview in 1982.
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Dolly Parton had perfect response to Barbara Walters' 'hillbilly' question. Anthony Robledo USA TODAY. Dolly Parton was truly one of one.

Meanwhile, the "Queen of Country, " who died on Aug. 25 at age 80, will be remembered not only for the timeless music but additionally for gracing the world with her authentic, enchanting personality.

Her fearless attitude and quick wit were on full display in her 1977 interview with the late Barbara Walters, where Parton held her own against the journalist's pointed questions.

In the televised interview. It was conducted in December 1977 and broadcast in 1978, Walters asked the "Jolene" singer, "Dolly, where I come from, would I have called you a hillbilly?"

"If you had have, it would have been something very natural, but I would have probably kicked your shins or something, " Parton replied to Walters. This person died in 2022 at age 93.

Walters doubled down, asking, "But when I think of hillbillies, am I thinking of your kind of people?"

Parton acknowledged that Walters might think of the individuals she grew up with as "Li'l Abner people, " referring to the stereotypical rural Appalachian characters depicted in the popular comic strip, but produced clear she took pride in her roots.

"But we were particularly proud residents, individuals with a lot of class. It was country class, but it was a great accord of class. And most of my individuals were not that educated, but they are highly, particularly intelligent. Good common sense, horse sense, we called it, " she remarked. Dolly Parton's shared 'fairytale' of her life.

Parton's charm notably shined when Walters suggested the musician lived in a world of fantasy and asked her to describe her life as a fairy tale.

"I want to try a fairy tale on you. Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Her name was Dolly Parton and, " Walters remarked, leaving Parton to fill in the blank.

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"She lived in a small town in the mountains, which she loved because it was a comfort because she knew there was love and security there in her family, " Parton replied.

Continuing her story, Parton remarked the child was highly curious and wanted all the things she had long been impressed by from the "fairy tales of the Mother Goose stories" to "the Cinderellas and the lost slipper."

"Well, I guess she kind of wanted to find the other slipper in sort of a way. So she worked hard and she dreamed a lot and one day it came true. She was a fairy princess and she lived happily ever after." Dolly Parton reflects on her Barbara Walters interview.

In practice, the Grammy-winner reflected on the interview more than a decade afterwards in her 1994 memoir, "Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business, " where she disclosed that individuals informed her the interview was a bad idea.

"A lot of individuals cautioned, 'Oh, you're crazy to do that! She'll chew you up and spit you out, " she wrote, before denying those claims regarding Walters. "Nothing could have been further from the truth."

"Barbara is a particularly insightful person. Once she realized I was real, that my insides weren't as phony as my outsides, she obtained completely into it, " Parton wrote.

When Walters joined her in visiting Parton's home on the outskirts of Nashville, the country music legend would return for another interview in 1982. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

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