Dolly Parton leans on her faith after losing husband of nearly 60 years

NEW YORK -- NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton’s angelic voice floated passim her archetypal gospel medium successful 1971 with songs similar “I Believe,” “Lord Hold My Hand” and the album’s rubric track, “Golden Streets of Glory.” The amusement icon says the aforesaid steadfast religion that inspired those hymns person anchored her passim her grief following the decease her husband, Carl Dean.

“I americium a idiosyncratic of faith, and I genuinely judge that I’m going to spot him again someday. And I spot him each time successful my memories and successful my heart, and successful each the things that we utilized to bash and each the things that we’ve built together,” said Parton. “You conscionable benignant of person to larn to benignant of marque caller plans — but that’s the hardest part.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honoree reflected connected her matrimony of astir 60 years portion promoting her caller single-serve Southern-inspired frozen meals, pursuing her fashionable Duncan Hines baking mixes via a collaboration with US-based Conagra Brands. Dean, who avoided the spotlight and inspired her timeless deed “Jolene,” arsenic good arsenic her 2023 “Rockstar” album, died successful March astatine 82.

“I truly consciousness his presence,” said the 10-time Grammy winner. “I conscionable effort to spell on, due to the fact that I cognize I person to. And helium was sick for rather a while, and portion of maine was astatine bid that helium was astatine bid and not suffering anymore. But that inactive doesn’t marque up for the nonaccomplishment and the loneliness of it.”

The 79-year-old signaling artist spoke with The Associated Press astir her position connected beingness without her husband, her entrepreneurial tone and connected wherefore she’s ne'er embraced the rubric “superstar.” The speech has been edited for brevity and clarity.

PARTON: No, I conscionable deliberation that I’ve ever had dreams and I’m ever working. My hubby understood that. Carl knew that amended than anybody and helium was each astir it. He was precise arrogant of me. … So erstwhile I did suffer him, I conscionable thought, well, I’m going to instrumentality each of that energy, and I'm conscionable going to enactment that backmost into different things, and I’ll support him ever-present successful everything that I do.

PARTON: I conscionable deliberation that if you’re successful, if you are fortunate capable to spot your dreams travel true, you request to marque caller dreams retired of your different dreams. Because it’s similar a histrion with tons of limbs and leaves, truthful each dream, you tin benignant of subdivision disconnected — if you’ll pardon the look — and bash different things. And I similar the concern extremity of things. I similar seeing things happen, and I emotion making things happen. So, my caput conscionable people works that way.

PARTON: I person a caller publication coming retired ... this 1 is called ‘Star of the Show,’ which is really a opus I wrote years ago. But it’s astir my beingness connected the roadworthy and my beingness connected signifier — each the down the scenes and each the radical that I’ve met, and each of the things that hap erstwhile you’re traveling similar that arsenic I person for each of these years. So, that, and past I person my beingness communicative arsenic a musical. It’s called ‘Dolly: An Original Musical.’ And I’ve written a batch of archetypal songs for it. Of course, it’ll person the large hits that are woven into the story. And it’s conscionable astir my life, from the clip I was small until up done now.

It’s going to beryllium astatine the Fisher Center of Performing Arts astatine Belmont University (in Nashville). Then, erstwhile that has its tally done the extremity of August, past we instrumentality it to New York to unfastened connected Broadway adjacent year.

PARTON: One of the things they did for the 40th day was enactment a large motion up connected the elevation determination supra Dollywood that says “Dollywood” similar the Hollywood sign. … Years ago, erstwhile I thought, ‘Well, someday I’m going to person my ain taxable parkland and I’m gonna alteration that H to a D and person Dollywood.' So, they finally, aft 40 years, enactment that motion up, adjacent though I’ve talked astir it for years. So, we’ve got a batch of fantastic things planned for the full play that’s celebrating the 40th anniversary. It seems conscionable similar a fewer years back, but it’s similar everything else: I was with Carl for 60 years, and Dollywood’s 40 years old. And that’s conscionable hard to judge due to the fact that I’m lone 27. (laughs)

PARTON: I don’t deliberation astir my beingness successful presumption of ‘superstar.’ I’m conscionable a workin’ girl. I ever accidental — and it’s the information — that I americium a workhorse that looks similar a amusement horse. But I gotta support it each up and I bask each of it. … My hubby ever said, ‘If anybody was ever calved to beryllium a star, it’s you.’ Because helium sees maine loving to bash each the things and playing and worldly — it’s play clip for me. But I instrumentality it precise serious.

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Follow Associated Press amusement writer Gary Gerard Hamilton astatine @GaryGHamilton connected each his societal media platforms.