In the 1970s, Dolly Parton joined Willie Nelson on tour . She was working on her solo career and trying to lean to perform with a new band. Parton appealed to a broad audience at the time, but Nelson’s fans were not always among them.
She struggled for the crowd’s attention and later admitted that she wasn’t sure why she had been on the tour. Dolly Parton had a difficult time on tour with Willie Nelson As she profiled Parton, writer Alanna Nash attended one of her shows in Waco, Texas. She was touring the state with Nelson.
“You’ll be able to tell who they’ve come to see as soon as they walk through the door,” reporter Steve Ray told Nash, per her book Dolly . “If the guys have long hair and wear dungarees and flannel shirts — that progressive country look — then they’ve come to see Willie. If they’re rednecks with flattops who bring women who wear short skirts or tight pants, then they’ve come to see Dolly.
” Parton took the stage before Nelson and quickly discovered that most of the crowd was there to see him. As she sang, people talked over her and shouted his name. “It’s beginning to show in her speaking voice now and in her eyes when she turns around and gives the band direction,” Nash wrote.
“A combination of anger and fear. The crowd is far from hers. In some ways, it’s ‘ Where’s Norma Jean? ’” It didn’t help that there were major issues with the sound system.
Still, Parton was diplomatic about the experience. “I don’t.
