What Becomes A Legand Most?

I began Post Apocalyptic Bohemia with the idea of setting my story in print, well, in cyber-print. Before I go to that big Green Room on the other side, waiting for my next entrance, sure of my lines, I wanted to tell my story.

Besides anecdotes from my nearly 60 years of life so far (did I tell you that I once had sex in the back of a limo with a major show biz figure or that while living in LA, I got drunk in a Tiki themed lounge & 10 hours later I woke up in Hawaii?), I have been celebrating famous gay people on their birthday, & the birthdays of the figures that gay people love, because I believe that in a few generations there will no longer be Gay-ness. I wish to get my story told & I also want to get our story down.

When homo haters are at their most irrational, I always want to ask if they really want a world without: Leonard Bernstein, Jasper Johns, Michelangelo, Tennessee Williams, Rock Hudson, King James I, Virginia Woolf, Socrates, Lord Byron, Walt Whitman, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, Cole Porter, Tchaikovsky, Eleanor Roosevelt, Elton John, or James Dean? Probably… religious fundamentalists & assorted other bigots lack reasoning & imagination.

I have been pondering the individuals The Gays give their collective hearts to, asking myself- what makes a Gay Icon or What Becomes A Legend Most?

Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on this day, 65 years ago. I love Dolly Parton. I love her big voice, her big hair, & her big boobs.

I also admire her. She’s passionate about early childhood education, & has done amazing work to give kids who are born in her Appalachian Hills a good start in life with the Dollywood Foundation, which runs the Imagination Library, providing children a new book every month until their 5th birthdays.

Parton is an outspoken proponent of women’s rights. A Christian, like Tammy Faye, she seems to have actually read the Bible & gets the message of the life of Jesus. She supports gay rights & same sex marriage, & has appeared on the cover of Out. Her production company, Sandollar Productions, which she started with her longtime manager/business partner/close friend- Sandy Gallin, an openly gay man, chose as its first project the 1989 Oscar winning documentary about the making of the AIDS quilt- Common Threads.

Drag Queens adore Parton, which is the highest compliment a human being can hold. The wigs, the costumes, the trashy makeup, the over-the-top, larger-than-life hair, & we still believe her sure-enough sweetness & love.

She built a Dolly Parton-themed theme park. I want a Steve theme park- SteveTown!, a place with Mary Jane tasting rooms, whiskey & pizza bars, a Daniel Craig ride & Steve singing songs on the Steve Stage every night . Every evening at twilight, Steve ascends to the top of the Magic Castle with a baby pink spot light following him.

Parton Is Fabulous, & fabulous come from self-invention. This is what the Old Style, Pre-Stonewall Gays cherish, getting kicked in the balls & then having the genius & artistry to remake yourself into a fabulous creature. Don’t you think Dolly Parton fits the bill? She is a Coat Of Many Colors, from her style to her stylish struggle against adversity & prejudice, plus her unabashed sexuality.

Do you think of Dolly Parton as a Gay Icon? What is your favorite Parton project? I am still over the moon for the Trio Albums with Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt.

Stardom or Bust

She was born on January 19, 1946, the fourth of twelve children, to "dirt poor" parents in the mountains of Tennessee -- all fourteen living in a one-room cabin. Today, she is the undisputed Queen of Country Music, a crossover superstar, a pop culture icon, and the idol of drag queens, trannies and hookers everywhere. She is, of course, Miss Dolly Parton; and she was also our latest Mystery Guest!


Parton's flight from poverty began with her successful association with country music star Porter Wagoner, who featured Parton on his syndicated television series and recorded a string of hit duets with his talented protege. By 1971, Parton was establishing herself as a solo star to be recknoned with: "Coat of Many Colors" became a huge country hit, as well as her signature song; until it was topped by the even more-indelible "Jolene"; and then that was topped by the future standard, "I Will Always Love You."

"I Will Always Love You" was written by Parton as a kiss-off to Wagoner as their professional union came to an end; although she was now a bona fide country queen, Parton had her eye on greener pastures. She switched to a high-powered Hollywood PR firm, with Sandy Gallin acting as her personal manager. Her music was specifically tailored for "crossover" pop appeal, and suddenly, Parton wasn't just on Hee Haw and its ilk; she was everywhere, crooning with Cher, camping it up with Carol Burnett, being candid with Barbara Walters, and going chest to chest with Arnold Schwarzenegger.





"Here You Come Again" became Parton's first pop Top 10 smash in 1977; within a few years, Dolly was doing disco ("Baby I'm Burnin'," 1978); recording #1 hits written by Donna Summer ("Starting Over Again," 1980) and the Bee Gees ("Islands in the Stream" with Kenny Rogers, 1983); and becoming a bona fide movie star, stealing 9 to 5 (1980) right out from under a stellar ensemble cast headed by the formidable Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin -- and scoring another #1 hit with the theme song for good measure.


From the beginning, Parton cultivated a flamboyant, eye-catching image: her impossible-to-ignore curves were accentuated by over-the-top gowns, while her huge bazooms were matched by even bigger hair. But what really set Parton apart was her remarkable talent: that heartfelt, heartbreaking soprano would have been as achingly gorgeous no matter the song, but the fact that much of Parton's best material is from her own pen is truly impressive. Even more impressive: in spite of her outrageous appearance, Parton is genuinely admired and respected by her audiences, peers and critics for her achievements and accomplishments. The talent is first and foremost; the boobs, wigs and plastic surgeries are secondary -- tabloids be damned.


It hasn't been one smooth road, of course; a glitzy attempt to revive the variety television show format in 1987 (creatively titled Dolly) was a major flop; and while another ensemble film, Steel Magnolias (1988), was a hit, the Dolly-driven vehicles Rhinestone (1984) and Straight Talk (1989) were not. Parton's pop music success also bottomed out by the mid-1980's, as she recorded such irresistibly campy, synthesized fluff as "Potential New Boyfriend" (1983) and "Dump the Dude" (1987). Guilty pleasures, yes; critically acclaimed, no.

A return to her roots briefly restored Parton to the top of the country charts in the late 1980's; but then the 1990's saw the veteran diva veering all over the musical map, chasing popular trends with varying degrees of success -- "Romeo" (1993) featured a cheesy cameo by mullet-of-the-moment Billy Ray Cyrus, while a retread of "I Will Always Love You" done as a duet with the smarmy Vince Gill (1994) had none of the delicacy of the 1974 original; nor the panache of Dolly's 1982 re-recording; nor even the bombast of Whitney Houston's zillion-selling 1992 cover for The Bodyguard soundtrack. Indeed, Houston's caterwauling rendition was probably the best thing for Parton's visibility and bank account during that bleak decade.

In more recent years, Parton thankfully returned to her bluegrass roots with a string of critically-acclaimed albums: The Grass is Blue (1999), Little Sparrow (2001), and Halos & Horns (2003). She was nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar in 2005 for "Travelin' Thru," which Parton wrote for Transamerica, a film about a transsexual woman and her son. This venture brought Parton hate mail from some of her less enlightened fans; an irony, considering Parton's longtime standing as not only a gay icon, but also gay-friendly. Hell, she even once opined, "If I'd have been born a man, I'd have been a drag queen!"

A successful venture back to mainstream country, Backwoods Barbie (2008), took its title track from the score of 9 to 5: The Musical, which had a fairly disastrous bow on Broadway in 2009, but proved successful on its national tour. And that's the continuing saga of Dolly Parton: like all true legends, she bounces back after every fall -- and she never seems to muss her wig or break a nail in the process. Neither does soyons-suave, our man in Paris; naturally, he was the only one to guess correctly! Perhaps he and Dolly will form their own bluegrass jug band? As always, thanks for playing, darlings!

Quote Of The Day From Miss Dolly Parton

"You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!"

Happy Birthday to Dolly!

Don't you just love her? I feel like everyody does. My parents love her, my rock n' roll friends love her, young hipsters love her, the industry loves her! It's difficult to find an American country performer who has moved from deep country roots to international fame more successfully than Dolly Parton. Her  single Coat of Many Colors shows the poverty of growing up one of 12 children on a small farm in Locust Ridge, TN. At 12 years old, she was appearing on Knoxville television; at 13 she was recording on a small label & appearing on the Grand Ole Opry. Her 1967 hit Dumb Blonde (which she's not) caught Porter Wagoner's attention, & he hired Parton to appear on his television show, where their duet numbers became famous. By the time Joshua reached #1 in 1970, Parton's fame had overshadowed Wagoner's, & she had struck out on her own, but still recording duets with him.

 During the mid-70s, she established herself as a country superstar, crossing over into the pop mainstream in the early 1980s, when she smoothed out the rough edges in her music & began singing pop songs in addition to traditional country. In the early 1980s, she also began appearing in movies, including the hit 9 to 5. Though her smart marketing, image manipulation (her big, dumb blond stage persona is an act), forays into film, &her entry in the world of pop have occasionally overshadowed her music, at her core Parton is a country gal & a extremely gifted singer-songwriter. With 25- #1 singles, & a record 42 top-10 country albums.She has the distinction of having performed on a top-5 country hit in each of the last 5 decades & is tied with Reba McEntire as the only country artists with # 1 singles in 4 consecutive decades. Among her classics are Coat of Many Colors, Jolene, I Will Always Love You, 9 to 5, & Tennessee Homesick Blues, & they give a hint to why her contribution to bringing country music to a wide audience, not only in America but throughout the world, cannot be underestimated.

 My personal favorites are her late 1980s Trio albums in collaboration with Emmy Lou Harris & Linda Ronstadt. the 1st album was 10 years in the making & received strong sales & reviews when released in 1987.The album strongly revitalized Parton's temporarily stalled music career, spending 5 weeks at #1  the Country Albums chart, selling several million copies & producing 4- Top 10 country hits including Phil Spector's To Know Him Is to Love Him, which went to #1 in the USA. Trio won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal & was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Dolly turns an astonishing 64 today. Readers- what is your favorite Dolly Parton tune?

Brushing off gay rumors, Dolly has been married to Carl Thomas Dean since 1966. She keeps her private life... very private, but did say in an interview that infidelity is the secret to the longevity of their relationship:

"I don't want to know it, if he's cheating on me. If I'm cheating on him, he wouldn't want to know it & if we do, if that's what's making it work, then that's fine, too." She adds, "But actually I can't imagine that either of us would ever marry again."