Dolly Parton Covers W Magazine’s Volume 5 The Originals

Today, W Magazine revealed that legendary multi-Grammy Award winning, Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominated and Emmy Award winning Country Singer and actress Dolly Parton is the cover of their latest issue, Volume 5 The Originals. As part of the interview, Parton speaks about her tattoos, her first time performing at the Grand Ole Opry, having a crush on Johnny Cash, choosing not to give Elvis Presley publishing rights for her mega hit “I Will Always Love You” and so much more. W Magazine Volume 5 The Originals is on stands October 19th.

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On why butterflies are her symbol: “Butterflies don’t sting, they don’t bite, and they are so beautiful…And I just kind of related to them with my own personality. I claimed them as my little symbol.”

Discussing her (multiple) tattoos: “I have a few little tattoos here and there…Most of my tattoos came because I’m very fair and I have a tendency to scar when I get any kind of cut. I’ve had surgeries for different things, and if the scars didn’t heal properly, I just gotta put tattoos to take the sting out. I don’t have the real heavy, dark tattoos. Mine are all pastel. And I have more than one!”

Remembering her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry and the first time she heard her song “Puppy Love” on the radio at just 13 years old. “I got an encore…but I only had the one song, so I sang it again! When I heard ‘Puppy Love’ on the radio for the first time, I about killed myself. I was sitting on the counter at my aunt’s house, and suddenly I heard my voice. I slid on the floor, ’cause she was mopping. I was trying to get to the radio. Even to this day, I’ve never had anything that was more exciting than the first time I heard myself on the radio.”

Talking about a crush she had on Johnny Cash: “I love boys. I still do. In the early days, I had a big crush on Johnny Cash. He was young and skinny, and he just had that magnetism. The way he moved around—you know, so sexy. I found out later he was just having withdrawals from drugs, but it still touched me. He was so, so sexy.”

On her decision not to give Elvis Presley publishing rights to her song “I Will Always Love You”: “I said, ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t give you the publishing.’ I wanted to hear Elvis sing it, and it broke my heart—I cried all night…But I had to keep that copyright in my pocket. You have to take care of your business! Every­body’s going to use you if they can. These are my songs—they’re like my children. And I expect them to support me when I’m old! Priscilla, Elvis’s wife, told me that when she and Elvis divorced, Elvis sang my song to her. That touched me so deeply. And they also played the song at Whitney Houston’s funeral. After that, I thought, I bet they’ll play the same song when I go.”

On being smart in business: “You have to keep going, but you have to be smart about your time and your choices…I can enjoy all this fun stuff, but I always say, when it comes to business, I look like a woman, but I think like a man. Over time, that has helped me a lot: I will tell you where to put it if I don’t like where you got it.”

On whom she would like to play her in the inevitable movie about her life: “Well, there’s different phases…We’d probably have to cast a little Dolly, a medium Dolly, and an older Dolly. I had two or three different people in mind, but they’re almost as old as I am now! I could play myself. And I might! I’m whatever age I have to be. I always say, I’m as old as yesterday, but I’m as new as tomorrow.”

[Photo Credit: Harmony Korine for W Magazine]

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