The first time Dolly Parton graced the pages of The Tennessean, she made a grand impression.
Parton, the beloved musician, philanthropist and icon, died Aug. 25, 2026 at 80.
She was 21 when she was first mentioned in a story in Nashville’s flagship newspaper, in coverage of a celebratory breakfast held for the 42nd anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry.
Among a lineup of "beautiful blonde singers," Parton was the show-stopper.
“The sensation of the whole show, an electrifying personality with a stunning country style, was another blonde, Dolly Parton, whose ‘Don’t Try to Cry’ had the stage surrounded solidly by breakfast guests with cameras,” the reporter, Clara Hieronymus, wrote in the Oct. 22, 1967 edition of The Tennessean.
Parton had hooked the audience.
Then, she drew them in, their rapt attention held on the show-stopper in front of them.
“From the sultry, throaty style of that song’s delivery, with its slightly rowdy undertone, Miss Parton moved in another direction with the hymn, ‘How Great Thou Art,’ done with such dramatic reverence that it stilled the clatter of coffee cups and conversation in the whole auditorium,” the story continues.
She was accompanied during her performance by the Wagon Masters, the backing band of Porter Wagoner, the singer who helped Parton make her big break before a famous and dramatic split.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dolly Parton first made The Tennessean in 1967. What the writer said
