Beth McReynolds

Every family has their legendary stories they love recounting. My family is no different. We were present at the birth of Dolly Parton’s country music career. Really. The Russell County Fair and Horse Show was an annual highlight in our lives. Rides, horse shows, livestock competitions and big name country music performers. In 1967, the Grand Ole Opry star Porter Wagoner was scheduled to perform at the fair. Wagoner was a very popular singer at the time with a nationally syndicated television show. He had a featured “girl singer” on his show named Miss Norma Jean who was also scheduled to appear at the fair. But when Wagoner introduced his girl singer, instead of Miss Norma Jean it was Dolly Parton. Who? My sister said the crowd groaned with disappointment. It seems Norma Jean had decided to focus on her personal life and leave her singing career only a few days prior and had been replaced by the unknown Dolly Parton. Dolly’s association with Wagoner introduced her to a national audience and began her trajectory to superstardom. My sister assures me I was present for this moment of music history but as I was a toddler, sadly, I have no memory of it. Much to my surprise a Facebook post yesterday told this story of Dolly’s first professional performance with Porter Wagoner and included the newspaper advertisement for the fair. There are the pictures of Porter Wagoner and Miss Norma Jean. It felt like an archeological find to me! Here was proof of that performance at the fair that was part of my family’s history as well. RIP dear Dolly 🦋