Dolly Parton Recalls Getting ‘Whipped’ by Her Grandfather

Dolly Parton was willing to pay a price for her signature style. The country icon opened up to The Guardian in a new interview about her upcoming new book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, which centers around her fashion sense over the years. The “Jolene” songstress revealed that after modeling her clothing choices after the “town tramp,” she would be forced to endure physical punishment at the hands of her preacher grandfather.

“She was flamboyant. She had bright red lipstick, long red fingernails. She had high-heeled shoes, little floating plastic goldfish in the heels of them, short skirts, low-cut tops, and I just thought she was beautiful,” Parton told the outlet of the local woman who inspired her style. “When people would say, ‘She ain’t nothing but trash,’ I would always say, ‘Well, that’s what I’m gonna be when I grow up.”

Parton was “willing to pay” for crafting her image in that way. “I was willing to pay for it,” she explained. “I’m very sensitive. I didn’t like being disciplined – it hurt my feelings so bad to be scolded or whipped or whatever. But sometimes there’s just that part of you that’s willing, if you want something bad enough, to go for it.” From scolding and “whipping” to hurt feelings, Parton endured a lot to express herself – something that would go on to inspire her song “The Sacrifice” from her 2011 album, Better Day.

Despite fighting for her right to dress as she pleases, Parton admits that sometimes looking back she wonders what she was thinking about certain looks. I’ve been at this so long, I’ve worn some of the most bizarre things – my hairdos have always been so out there,” she admitted. “At the time you think you look good, then you look back on it, like, ‘What was I thinking?’”

Being so expressive with her style has sometimes been a detriment to Parton, especially when it comes to record executives. “Sometimes that’s worked for me, sometimes it can work against you,” she shared. “It took me probably years longer to be taken serious, but I wasn’t willing to change it, and I figured if I had the talent, it’d show up sooner or later.”