Dolly Parton as soon as gave a strikingly sincere evaluation of a fellow nation legend’s singing capability — and her blunt comment nonetheless stands out years later.
The nation celebrity sat down for an interview for Dave Grohl’s 2014 HBO docuseries Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways. There, Parton mentioned her profession, songwriting, and the Nashville music scene with Grohl for the band’s Twentieth-anniversary album.
However, one sequence of remarks stood out among the many others. It was her blunt confession a few fellow, legendary nation celebrity, Johnny Cash.
RELATED: Dolly Parton’s 1974 Classic Called Most Romantic Country Song—Does It Deserve the Title?
“Johnny was not a great singer as far as a voice, but I always think of Johnny as the John Wayne of country music. He just had a presence, had an authority. He just had a way about him that was just so different,” she admitted.
Parade Daily🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬
She added that Cash embodied “sex appeal.” She watched him perform at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time as a teenager. “I was sittin’ in the audience, and I was just a girl, and my hormones were probably beginning to rage.”
“Johnny came out on stage and all that weird moving and all. It just really stirred me. I just couldn’t understand. I had a terrible crush on him,” she continued.
“That’s what true charisma was. Magnetism, the way he moved.”
Guy DeLort/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images
Parton concluded, “We got to be friends through the years, and I told him he was my first crush. June (Carter Cash) used to get a bit jealous when I would tell him I had a big crush on him; in a good way.”
Cash would later introduce Parton to the Grand Ole Opry community as a young performer in 1959, reported PEOPLE Magazine. This milestone moment was one she never forgot.
Parton sang the George Jones song “You Gotta Be My Baby” alongside her uncle, Bill Owens. She would go on to obtain three encores, as reported by PEOPLE.
Parton informed the publication, “Having him introduce me that evening as a really younger lady — I used to be simply an adolescent, and I acquired to sing on the Grand Ole Opry — that was a magic evening. I felt particular that evening, too.”
The nation legend later spoke of Cash and his spouse throughout an look on BunnieXo’s Dumb Blonde podcast. She stated that her friendship with the Cash’s lasted for a few years.
“He was a real nice guy and very quiet. She was a loudmouth like me, so we got along just fine,” Parton quipped. “And I remember when somebody said something about, ‘Johnny, don’t you get tired of hearing June talk all the time?’ And he said, ‘No. I do some of my best thinking when June’s talking.’”
Dolly Parton continues to report and carry out. June Carter Cash died on May 15, 2003. Johnny Cash died 4 months later. They had been married for 35 years.
This story was initially revealed by Parade on Feb 21, 2026, the place it first appeared within the News part. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
