Dolly Parton Had A Vision Of Superstardom Beyond Nashville: Interview with Alanna Nash, Let It Roll Season 9, Episode 9

In this episode, author Alanna Nash and host Nate Wilcox discuss “Dolly: The Biography,” one of the first critical biographies ever written about a country superstar — and what Nashville made of it.

Nate and Alanna discuss Dolly Parton’s humble origins and her almost supernatural drive; the evening at her first house outside Nashville that produced both “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” in a single writing session; what it actually took to get out from under Porter Wagoner, who had her tied to his publishing company every way a person can be tied; the phone call Chet Atkins made to Nash, out of the blue, to correct one line in her book; why Nashville spent years convinced her husband Carl Dean did not exist; how she got to every joke about herself before anybody else could; and the time capsule at her Tennessee resort holding a song nobody will hear until she turns 100.

Alanna Nash has interviewed Dolly Parton across four decades. She is also the author of “The Colonel,” the definitive book on Tom Parker, and a longtime friend of this show.

If you want more country, there is a lot of it here. CountryRoll is an eight-part run with music writer James Porter following Ken Burns’ “Country Music” series, and the archive also holds Joe Nick Patoski on Willie Nelson across three episodes (1st one, 2nd one, 3rd one) Peter Guralnick on Sun Records across two (1st one, 2nd one) Barry Mazor on Jimmie Rodgers and Ralph Peer, Cary Ginnell on Bob Wills and his mentor Milton Brown, the late Travis D. Stimeling on the Nashville Sound, and Alanna Nash again on Colonel Tom Parker.

Let It Roll is a history of commercial music from the Renaissance forward, with a focus on the long American century (1917-2026). Listen to the incredible original series of 350+ hour-long interviews with the authors who wrote the books — organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host and guest - plus hundreds of others where it’s just fans talking about the music they love.

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