Dolly Parton! What more do we have to say?
She’s the reigning queen of Country music, and no one is likely to steal away that crown anytime soon. Sorry, Taylor.
Everything that Dolly does seems to turn to gold. Much of this has to do with her vibrant and cordial personality that’s sweet as apple pie. But, she’s also incredibly talented, charitable, and downright gorgeous for her age. The 75-year-old singer-songwriter always looks all dolled up whenever she’s out in public. And one of her most iconic physical features is her eclectic assortment of wigs. They’re pretty much one of her signature pieces of flare. Truth be told, she probably has a couple hundred stashed away – one for every occasion. (We’ll reveal the actual number in just a minute, so bear with us)
We’ve been seeing Dolly’s extravagant wig collection for decades now, which makes it particularly intriguing how we just recently discovered a HUGE secret about them. Join FactsVerse as we reveal this secret which will make you forever see Dolly’s wigs in a whole new light. But don’t you worry. It’s not like what we’re about to tell you is particularly scandalous. If anything, it’s downright fascinating.
But before we divulge the juicy details about Ms. Parton’s hairpieces, let’s take a quick look at how she’s presented herself over the years and how her image has contributed to her success.
Dolly’s Wigs: The Key To Her Success?
Before we go any further, you should know the backstory behind why Dolly often chooses to wear wigs. Speaking with the Hallmark Channel, Dolly Parton shared how she used to keep her hair teased. But despite how much she loved it being big, bleached, and all that jazz, she revealed that it would often just break off. There is only so much treatment that you can put hair through before it loses it’s substance. So, one day she had the realization that she might as well just wear a wig. After all, that way, she would never have to endure another bad hair day again. She could keep her hair as big as she wanted and never run into any “technical” problems.
Dolly further expressed her belief that country singers NEED to have big hair. Evidently, it’s just as crucial a part of the job in her eyes as their singing voice.
Although Dolly absolutely loves to wear wigs while on stage and when she’s out in public doing her thing, you won’t always spot the Jolene singer in one. She told Elle magazine back in 2019 that she doesn’t actually always wear them in her daily life. But even when she leaves home without one, she always makes sure that her natural hair is on point. She can’t be seen at this point looking raggedly and unkempt. That would ruin everything she’s been working for for years! Or at least, that’s how she sees it.
When she’s at home, however, wigs are rarely a part of her day-to-day wardrobe. She told the outlet that when she’s lounging about in her Tennessee bolthole, she likes to wear scrunchies. But even though she’s not going all out when she’s enjoying some R and R out of the public eye. She still puts on a bit of makeup and fixes her hair as cute as she can. It’s arguably kind of like a security blanket for her. At this point, her image is such a crucial part of her identity that if she were not to do these things. She would probably feel downright naked.
When talking with Hallmark, Dolly Parton admitted that she’s still perfectly happy with what’s she’s got beneath her wig; which is why she doesn’t feel the pressing need to wear them every day. She said that she likes to keep her natural hair the same color. And she keeps her roots up for her husband of more than half a century, Carl Dean. The last thing she wants is to look great for everyone else and then return home just to look dreadful.
And as far as length goes, Dolly Parton disclosed that she keeps her natural hair just a little below shoulder length.
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Dolly’s Been Wearing Wigs For More Than 50 Years
At this point it might seem like Dolly was born wearing a wig. Sure, she says that she doesn’t always wear a wig, but when’s the last time you saw her not rocking one? Well, as it turns out, Parton has been donning bold, beautiful hairpieces since 1967, when she started appearing on The Porter Wagoner Show.
Porter Wayne Wagoner was a country music singer who sadly pasted away back in 2007. Throughout his career, he was known for his flashy Manuel and Nudie suits and his big blond pompadour. His show was a variety act that introduced a great many of up and coming country stars, and Parton was one of those lucky guests. After making her appearance, Dolly went on to perform with him as a duo act from the late 60s to the early 70s.
In Dolly’s book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, she explained that Porter and his fellow musicians and entertainers would always wear western suits, but that wasn’t the look that she was going for. She wanted her look to be shiny, extravagant, and vibrantly colorful. And obviously, this hasn’t changed.
But when she made her debut appearance on that show, that was around the time when she was still wearing her hair all ‘teased up’, pumped full of product, and bleached to hell and back. But for anyone that’s ever spent a great deal of time keeping their hair all done up like that, they know just how hard it is to stay on top of.
After Dolly discovered the wonders of wigs and all of the conveniences they offer, she never looked back. And the greatest part about making the switch to wigs was how she could always have her hair exactly how she wanted it. Before then, she would often invest a great deal of time into working on it to have it not do what she was going for.
Soon enough, wigs became her trademark.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Dolly owns at least 365 – one for each day of the year, of course!
The Secret Of Dolly’s Signature Wigs
By now you’re probably antsy to learn the big secret of Dolly’s iconic wigs. You can’t blame us for creating a bit of anticipation!
Without further ado, it’s time to finally reveal what she’s hiding underneath all of that platinum blonde she’s got going on.
Truth be told, the country music star sometimes likes to hide her microphone battery pack inside her wig. She revealed this fascinating fact when speaking to the talk show host Graham Norton back in 2017. While she didn’t announce this to the world on his popular show, Norton shared her little secret when interviewing with the Ireland-based periodical Listowel Writer’s Week.
But, she doesn’t just do this out of convenience. According to Norton, Dolly keeps her mic battery stashed away there so that she can keep her waistline looking as slim as possible.
Dolly has always been fairly petite, and she’s very proud of her tiny waist, so according to Norton, she had a specially constructed little pocket built into most of her wigs to house this crucial piece of sound equipment. Most stars will wear their battery packs somewhere around their hips, but this way, Dolly can keep her waist looking as trim as can be.
Graham joked that she must have microwaved bits of her brain at this point, but her look evidently is more important. You got to hand it to her though! That’s some serious dedication and commitment to keeping up her image.
Jokes aside, Graham Norton told the outlet that Dolly is without a doubt his favorite guest to ever appear on his program, which is saying something considering the many high-profile stars that have shared the stage with him over the years. Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, and Tom Hanks have also appeared on his show, among countless other stars, so for Dolly to be his all-time-fave is pretty noteworthy!
What Dolly’s Been Up To Lately
As of 2021, Dolly Parton’s net worth is an estimated $600 million. That’s a whole lot of dough, but if you ask us, she has earned every last penny of that. Throughout her seven-decade career, she has amassed enough awards, trophies, and plaques to fill the Smithsonian,
She has the most number 1 hit singles of any star – at 25. And as far as the country charts go, she has a mind-blowing 109 number ones. Over the years, she has released 65 albums and has more than 3,000 song credits to her name.
Her latest album was 2020s A Holly Dolly Christmas. Previously in 2017, she released I Believe in You and the year prior she put out Pure & Simple.
In 2020, Dolly Launched her Netflix musical film Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, for which she won an Emmy.
Currently, Parton is gearing up to release her 2022 album Run, Rose, Run. She’s also getting ready to publish her first novel of the same name in March. The album will consist of 12 tracks, and James Patterson will be co-writing her book.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Parton Donated $1 million to research being conducted at the Vanderbilt Medical Center and encouraged others to follow suit. In March of 2021, Parton got vaccinated at Vanderbilt University and used her social media accounts to advocate for others to likewise get the vaccine in an attempt to put an end to the pandemic.
At a later event, she sung her song Jolene with the lyrics tweaked to the word’s ‘vaccine, vaccine, vaccine’. She’s been a fierce advocate for the mRNA vaccines even though the world remains polarized by them.
But it doesn’t matter what your thoughts are on the ongoing pandemic. There is one thing we can all agree upon. Dolly Parton is country music royalty! What are some of your favorite Dolly songs? And did you know that she kept her microphone battery pack tucked away up in her wig? Let us know in the comments
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