I remember hearing music my whole life. My Momma's people were, and are, very musical so there was always music in the house. Momma used to sing to all us kids when she was cooking or washing dishes or really anything. We also sang in church.
They ground me. I call it my Smoky Mountain DNA.
Well, I live in Nashville, so I guess I am in Tennessee all the time when I am not working somewhere else. If you mean the mountains, I get to my Tennessee Mountain Home more than you think. I use it as a retreat to focus, remember what is important. That's where I do a lot of my songwriting.
What are your favorite places to visit?
I live to travel, but I don't like to fly much. My husband and I like to camp so we get out in the camper as much as we can. In my spare time I love to read.
My mama probably instilled the belief in me that I could do anything I wanted. Between reading the Bible to me and telling me how blessed and special I was, I guess I actually believed it. Maybe I'm not as special as I am blessed.
From an early age my uncles Bill and Lewis Owens also saw something in me and they helped me be what I am today.
The love of music and having the opportunity to stand up in front of an audience really helped my confidence.
When people applauded, it was a reaffirmation for me.
When I saw him outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat there in Nashville I saw his dark hair and eyes and thought he was beautiful. I just knew.
Well, I can't speak to anyone else but me. Carl and my marriage is not a "celebrity marriage." We were two kids who met outside of a laundromat.
Carl is my home base, and he keeps me grounded. The world I work in can be bizarre but when I go home and go camping with him, the world is normal and calm. Carl doesn't go with me much because he likes it quiet. When he does go, he sneaks around. Sometimes he will pay his way into Dollywood just so no one will notice he is there. He has actually appeared a few times with me on the stage acting like he was one of my band members. He is a great practical joker.
Plenty of people have underestimated me through the years. They see the hair and the boobs and the makeup and think they know who I am. It is my experience that most men want two things and I wasn't going to give them either so I always had the advantage. I have surprised more than a couple of them. They say I may look like a woman, but I think like a man.
It all started once I partnered with Sandy Gallin. He shared my vision and we were blessed when "9-5" became so successful.
I love it all, but I feel most comfortable alone with my notepad and a guitar.
God has filled me with ideas. When I am quiet, I can hear all of those ideas and, the best ones have been very successful.
I think helping the kids through the Imagination Library is a great thing. Whatever you can do to help a young’un is a good thing. I believe that God didn't let me have children so that all kids could be mine.
I don't do any of it alone. I have some wonderful angels who help me with the Foundation and with my Dollywood businesses. They should get most of the credit for making my dreams reality.
I do get up early, it is the quiet time of the day when I can sit down and write. My days have always been full, and God has blessed me with a lot of energy. I try to take care of myself and to focus on what is important first—the rest of it will happen if it is meant to.
When we started talking about it, I couldn't believe it. It seems like just yesterday! I was in my 30s then—just like I am now (HA!). The park has been a great success and has expanded with Splash Country and the Dixie Stampedes and all. I always dream big—and I have more dreams about the parks and other things I want to do in the future.
When we started, I wanted to do something for the area. Folks around here needed jobs. The area needed something to rely on. We had the beautiful mountains but not much else.
What I knew, but most folks didn't, was how great the people are here in the mountains. They came to work at Dollywood, rolled up their sleeves and welcomed families from all over the country like it was their own home. That hospitality, on top of all the great shows and rides and everything, made the park different. It's that way today. We have world-class rides and entertainment, but it's the Smokies and the people that make it different.
You know that's the music we were all brought up on. Mountain music and Gospel is what we heard as kids. That music is a part of me. It was the right time for those albums.
I hear music all the time in my head—but I hear it my way. You can take anything from something like "Stairway to Heaven" off the "Halos and Horns" CD and know that I heard a different song than Led Zepplin did. To me that song was very spiritual and offered a great place for a choir.
The same goes for many songs. You need to keep them fresh and new. It's like putting a new outfit on one of your children. They may be the same but they look different. Whether it's better or not is up to each person.
Oh, I like performing almost anywhere but I really Like Dollywood. It's like performing at home.
I listen to a lot of different things. I love all types of music. I am working on a new CD that is based in folk music. The Moscow Circus performed at Dollywood for Festival of Nations and they brought an old song to me called "Those Were the Days" and I love it. I am working on it to be a part of something really soon.
Country music is like all other types. They go through cycles. Change is good. It reforms and energizes the music.
They are America's music and will continue as long as we have great singers and songwriters who use it to express themselves.
I think it is great that people want to come to the mountains and experience their beauty. At Dollywood we do everything we can to protect that experience at the park and I know the park service is doing the same thing with Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Area developers and the government are starting to recognize the same things and curb the development.
I think it's the people more than the mountains. They were tough on the people. They built character and tested the folks who settled here. They are beautiful and are magical, but the people of these mountains are what made the music different. They suffered, loved, and lived. It all showed up in the music.
You never know. I keep dreaming and if God thinks it is the right thing then I'll do it.