Dolly Parton Was ‘on the Brink of Being Scared’ in Front of a Star-Studded Audience

Dolly Parton played a concert to an audience of big names in the 1970s. She shared how she felt ahead of performing.

In 1977, Dolly Parton’s career was on enough of an upward trajectory that she was performing for audiences of celebrities. At a show in New York, a number of big names turned up to watch Parton sing. While Parton is confident in her abilities, she admitted that getting in front of this crowd was a daunting task.

Dolly Parton performed to an audience of celebrities at one concert

In 1977, Parton geared up to play three shows at New York’s Bottom Line. This was a big opportunity for her, as it gave her a chance to perform songs from her more pop-centric album New Harvest … First Gathering. Parton had been performing in front of audiences for years at this point, but the show in New York felt like a new frontier. It didn’t help that there were many highly recognizable faces in the audience.

According to the book Dolly by Alanna Nash, celebrities like Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Candice Bergen, Phoebe Snow, John Belushi, Lily Tomlin, Eric Idle, Patti Smith, and Janis Ian were in attendance. Parton admitted that she found the crowd a bit intimidating, but she was able to relax once she got onstage.

“I was a little nervous — on the brink of being scared,” she said. “But when I walked out on stage, I was at ease. The crowd was just great.”

Dolly Parton felt out of place with audiences like this, said her guitarist

According to Parton’s guitarist, Don Roth, she often felt ill at ease when she was around celebrities.

“One thing I learned a long time ago is that Dolly Parton is still very much a little girl. She’s very uneasy in surroundings she doesn’t know,” Roth said. “I think that’s the only reason she likes her bus. It’s a security blanket to her. She leaves the concert, she goes back to her little room on the bus. And I know she’s very insecure at these press parties she does only because RCA or Katz-Gallin says do ’em. She’d rather go back to the bus and get into a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.”

He said that she went “into the shell” when she felt out of place and didn’t seem like her typical warm, bubbly self. Still, she won over the crowd in New York with her onstage banter.

She admitted she still feels starstruck around some people

Even after years of fame, Parton admitted that she sometimes feels starstruck. She said that Jagger, who was in the audience at her New York show, is someone who still makes her feel nervous. Several other rock stars also impress her.

“I’m working on a rock album now, and I’ve been talking to Elton John, Mick Jagger, and Debbie Harry,” she told People. “Every time I speak to one of them, it’s just such a thrill.”