Dolly Parton Gives Her Two Cents on Retiring From the Industry
You're going to have to rip the microphone out of Dolly Parton's cold, dead hand—literally.
The country legend is getting candid about the idea of retirement and, spoiler alert: it's not for her.
While chatting with Greatest Hits Radio's Ken Bruce in support of her upcoming debut rock album, Rockstar—her 53rd studio album—the two drifted into the topic of slowing down, with Parton, 77, sharing that she feels a sense of responsibility to keep going.
"I always believed that if you wanted your dreams to come true and you are lucky enough to have that happen, then you've got to be responsible because you got to keep the dream alive—and every dream kind of spawns another dream," she said. "You can branch off of almost anything that happens and make a business out of that, as well. It's kind of like a tree with good roots, and it's got a lot of limbs, and it's also got a lot of leaves, so why not make the most of it?"
Because of that mentality, retirement isn't even a thought for her. "I'm not one to sit around doing nothing. I would never retire; I'll just hopefully drop dead in the middle of a song on stage someday—hopefully, one I've written," she continued. "But anyhow, that's how I hope to go. Of course, we don't have much of a choice in that, but as long as I'm able to work, as long as my health is good and my husband is good, I mean, the only way that I would ever slow down or stop would be for that reason."
Until that day comes, she says she'll keep "mak[ing] hay while the sun shines."
Next: Toby Keith Treats Uber Driver to Private Performance in New Video