‘To me, she was an angel on Earth,’ says local tribute artist who loved country music legend who died last week<\/p>\n
Some people are just larger than life. Some are truer to life.<\/p>\n
Dolly Parton was both.<\/p>\n
Since the announcement of her death on Aug. 25, I have felt this heaviness mixed with joy.<\/p>\n
I think that\u2019s really a perfect reminder of Dolly, who seemed a dichotomy.<\/p>\n
Fake but real.<\/p>\n
Tiny in stature but big in personality.<\/p>\n
Sassy but spiritual.<\/p>\n
It seemed she took her career, her business dealings and her legacy seriously, but herself? Not so such.<\/p>\n
While some people laughed at her big hair and big boobs, she was counting her big money!<\/p>\n
Yet, she wasn\u2019t about financial gain.<\/p>\n
From all we have ever known about her and what we have heard in the last several days, she was all about kindness, generosity and contribution.<\/p>\n
I reached out to my friend Daphne Moens, who just happens to be a Dolly Parton tribute artist and has been since 2010, as the Ultimate Tribute to Dolly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, I knew her but had never sung her songs before until one day I realized my voice type fits hers perfectly,” she says.\u00a0“After COVID, I started to do a proper tribute, not an impersonation with a bad wig or Halloween costume outfits. I wanted to take it seriously.<\/p>\n
“I would study her on film and on record for hours,” Moens says.\u00a0“She had a huge voice. A full Dolly show is like vocal aerobics \u2014 very vocally challenging. There are so many gorgeous songs and I keep adding on to my show. I want to respect her as a person.<\/p>\n
“Of course, there are a lot of Dolly-isms to throw in and try to get the accent right, but I want people to understand who she really was. To me, she was an angel on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
That has been the thing that has really stood out since her passing. She seemed universally loved.<\/p>\n
Dolly was smart enough to keep her politics mostly to herself.<\/p>\n
She also kept her marriage and home life completely out of the limelight.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s that saying? \u201cWhat people don\u2019t know, they can\u2019t ruin.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Dolly speak, \u201cI know when to keep my big mouth shut!\u201d<\/p>\n
In this world where we can\u2019t agree on who to vote for, nor if it is sunny or raining, or even what to have for dinner, it seems we could all agree to admire Dolly.<\/p>\n
I saw her in concert, only once, in 2008 at Casino Rama. I can\u2019t honestly remember the whole set list. I just remember not being able to take my eyes off the stage.<\/p>\n
She was a vision. Lots of costumes, each more glittery than the one before. I remember thinking how stunningly beautiful she was. Somehow her looks weren\u2019t intimidating to any of us ladies who were more plain \u2014 which, in comparison, was every single one.<\/p>\n
She was charming and disarming with her quaint old-timey stories of how her songs were born.<\/p>\n
While I imagine we have all\u00a0listened to many of her classic hits in the last week, people were talking more about her sweet spirit than the music.<\/p>\n
In the last five years or so, I really had wondered why she was branching out into so many different business ventures.<\/p>\n