Dolly Parton's classic 1967 hit "Dumb Blonde" is a brilliant number warning against judging her for her looks. And it's a song the singer still hopes she holds up to.
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"Dumb Blonde" was Dolly Parton's first song in the Top 10, and was the song that kickstarted her career. When speaking to Pitchfork, Dolly Parton explained how the song got her involved with Porter Wagoner, and how she hopes she still lives up to the song's meaning.
She said, "It kind of sums me up, even to this day - I hope so!"
"It was that record that actually got the attention of Porter Wagoner, and he had asked me to come to be the girl singer on [The Porter Wagoner Show]. It was that very song that kind of started it out."
Very succinctly, Parton goes over just how important that one song has been to her. Not only is the song a representation of who she hopes she is, it also helped greatly in getting her where she is today.
But I don't think this is a matter of hope. I know the song still sums Dolly Parton up today.
Dolly Parton Is A Professional At Being Herself
Want proof that Dolly Parton lives up to "Dumb Blonde?" Well, listen to her talking about the song again with Norah O'Donnell on CBS's Person to Person.
"That was my first chart record, but I still to this day when I sing that song, I think about the fact that just because I'm blond, don't think I'm dumb, because this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool," she said, referencing the lyrics.
"I was so excited to have a record, and that started my career. But still, I think about that title, and what that really had meant through the years. Thinking you're dumb, when you know better."
Then, O'Donnell brings up the fact that Dolly Parton is a brilliant businesswoman, but her answer cements her simply as being brilliant.
"I don't know how brilliant I am as a business woman ... I'm a very professional Dolly Parton," she said.
"I can't tell anyone else how to do it, I just know what I have, and I feel like I know what I can do with what I have, and I surround myself with smart people that can handle stuff that I cannot handle and do the things I'm not qualified to do, and I know what those things are."
This level of cognizance, to me, anyway, really proves that this blonde ain't so dumb after all, even after all these years.
