Dolly Parton has revealed her grandfather used to physically punish her over the way she dressed.
The 77-year-old singer famously modelled her look on ‘the town tramp’ – a local woman who wore high heels and tight skirts – which she admitted her father and grandfather both ‘hated’.
The 9 to 5 singer said her grandfather, a preacher, even went so far as to physically admonish her for her choice in clothing, and that she was ‘scolded’ and ‘whipped’.
Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, she said: ‘I was willing to pay for it. I’m very sensitive, I didn’t like being disciplined – it hurt my feelings so bad to be scolded or whipped or whatever.
‘But sometimes there’s just that part of you that’s willing, if you want something bad enough, to go for it.’
Shocking: Dolly Parton, 77, has revealed her grandfather used to physically punish her over the way she dressed (pictured in June)
She continued: ‘I’ve been at this so long, I’ve worn some of the most bizarre things – my hairdos have always been so out there. At the time you think you look good, then you look back on it, like, what was I thinking?’
Dolly’s iconic outfits would include short skirts, low-cut tops and bright lipstick.
The Jolene hitmaker – who has been married to Carl Dean for 57 years – has acquired an empire worth over £400million but she had to work to overcome prejudicial ideas about her because she is a woman.
She addressed sexism in the industry, admitting she knew how to ‘manoeuvre’ a crowd of men and could put a man ‘in his place’.
The singer estimates she has written around 3,000 songs and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
She also co-owns the ‘Dollywood’ company, which includes a theme park and a water park.
In July the singer said she would ‘rather drop dead’ than retire after six decades in the music industry.
‘I would never retire. I would hopefully drop dead in the middle of a song on stage someday – and hopefully one I’ve written – but that’s how I hope to go,’ she told Ken Bruce on Greatest Hits Radio.
Back in the day: Dolly famously modelled her look on ‘the town tramp’ (pictured on a photoshoot in Los Angeles in 1975)
‘I don’t have much of a choice in that but in the meantime, I’m going to make hay while the sun shines’.
And while the country music sensation is determined to keep performing, she admitted she has scaled back her work schedule in some aspects.
‘I’m not touring anymore but I will continue to do special shows here and there now and then like a long weekend or festival shows,’ she said.
‘But as far as touring I think those days are pretty much behind me… you have to stay gone so long on a tour to make it productive and prosperous and that’s a lot of time at my age – I aint’ got no years to waste.’
Dolly’s new album ‘Rockstar’, her 49th studio album, is set to release in November 2023.
The album will feature 30 songs – nine original tracks from Parton and 21 classic rock covers with collaborators such as Elton John, Sting, Pink and more.
Icon: Dolly said of the future ‘I would never retire. I would hopefully drop dead in the middle of a song on stage someday – and hopefully one I’ve written’ (pictured in 1977)
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk