If you have never been to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, they are fun to visit. The whole area is just beautiful.

I've always had great admiration for this "gal", and think she has a beautiful voice. I'm not surprised about her generosity and actions.

I always have always felt that Dolly was genuine. My favorite quote of her is something like, "It takes a lot of money to make me look this cheap."

I remember her from the Porter Waggoner days, and every interview I've seen since, has me convinced she is genuine--and a musical genius. I haven't visited Pigeon Forge since she bought Silver Dollar City and turned it into Dollywood, but even back then I knew she was from Sevierville--somewhere I have a pic of myself, standing beside the road sign.

I think it's great that she visibly supports others who are less fortunate, it sets a great example that other successful people should follow (and too many don't).

While I like a couple of the songs she's written, I don't find her singing style or the public persona she has created to be to my liking. Many do, though, I know that.

She is such a great business woman, she knew not to hand over the rights to I will always love you (about Porter Wagoner, her business partner with whom she was breaking up) to Elvis Presley. Back when women weren't a strong force in the work world. She also happens to be a good person.

Elvis Presley reportedly was interested in recording it, but Parton refused to sign over half of her publishing rights to him for a Presley performance of the tune.

Composers (or whoever owns a song's rights, when they're sold) can't block recording of their released songs by other artists. There is a standard royalty paid to the composer (or rights owner) from sales of cover versions but other arrangements can be negotiated.

I'm not sure what the Dolly/Presley thing was, maybe a negotiation by him to (essentially) get her to drop the standard royalty fee so that he could earn more. (I'll pay you less than standard but if I record it, you'll make more than if I don't). If so, he always had the option of recording it and paying her at the standard rate. This is the so-called "mechanical royalty", currently 9 cents per copy.

She didn't want to sell the song (ETA: half the song). That was Elvis' standard deal. And back then, people gladly gave up their (half of the) songs. She had enough integrity to know what was solid gold. She's still making money off of it.

You're saying they each had preferred terms and were unwilling to negotiate a midpoint win-win to reach a deal. Compromise is the essence of business transaction negotiation.

I wouldn't describe stubbornness as being integrity.

I'm pretty sure it would take a lot of integrity not to sell out to Elvis in his heyday. Believe what you will. So we don't see eye to eye, I'll still be able to sleep.

;)

At the time, she chose to take 100% of nothing instead of 50% of something? That's stupid, not clever. As someone who spent a career helping clients negotiate business transactions in different contexts than this, having that happen more than once would have caused me to take a walk from such a client. Some people don't need good advice because they won't listen to it.

Moving along.........Dolly has written so many hits for so many people. I was surprised to learn this about her. For me it was, "Oh, Dolly wrote that, and that and that!"

Dolly has put together a telethon, to be aired on the 13th, to benefit the victims of the fires in E TN. She has also pledged $1K per month per family for 6 months for the fire victims.

I've always considered her a canny business woman.

Before I retired the company I worked for had several clients on Music Row, one of which was Dolly's label. I was working there on a fairly large job and I got to know my contact fairly well. He asked me if I ever met any country artists and I told him no, but there was only one I really cared to meet: Dolly Parton. A couple days later he had me look out the front window, there was a white stretch limo out front. Dolly was in the building handing out yellow roses to everyone, her album '18 Yellow Roses' had gone platinum.

Dolly was on the first floor, so I made my way down with my ladder over my shoulder into the large room she was in, opened a ceiling tile and stood by my ladder and pretended to be working. I and my ladder were placed in such a manner that she would have to squeeze past me and my ladder to exit the room, and so she did. As she squeezed past she hesitated, looked me straight in the eye and said "hi". I'm embarrassed to say all I could do was smile.

kent, that picture makes me smile. I have met many, many country artists, not star stuck by any, but I could see it with her. She's a legend, even in our home state. Great, great lady.