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When Donny Parenteau heard about the death of Dolly Parton on Tuesday, he was shocked.
“You think these people are just going to be around forever because they’re a part of, like for me, they’re a part of my childhood. I’ve been listening to them since I was a kid; to have them no longer with us, it’s shocking and sad,” said Parenteau.
He’s a well-known Saskatchewan musician and spent years working in Nashville. While playing with Neal McCoy in the early 90s, Parenteau said he met Parton.
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The band had opened for her at Dollywood, and then Parenteau watched her show.
“I remember being out front and watching her show from start to finish, and I just went ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe what I’m seeing, I can’t believe what I’m hearing.’ Her band was just in tip-top shape, and she had that show dialed in like you wouldn’t believe,” he explained.
Afterward, Parenteau and his band were able to go backstage and meet her. He said they were told to just say hello quickly, but Parenteau said she was gracious with her time and called her “an absolute sweetheart.”
They all took a photo together, and Parenteau said he just saw it for the first time on Tuesday.
While Parenteau’s favourite singer-songwriter has always been Merle Haggard, he said number two has always been Parton.
Parenteau said, like Willie Nelson, like Merle Haggard, that Dolly Parton had legend quality.
“All you had to do was say the word ‘Dolly, ’ and everybody knew exactly who you were talking about – there’s very few people on the planet that you can say one word, and they know who you are,” he explained.
Even though Parton is gone, Parenteau said when a legend dies, you have to hang on to what they left behind. And he believes her songs will live on.
“Dolly Parton will surpass everybody, and she’s going to be heard long after a lot of people have come and gone, because that’s how powerful she was,” said Parenteau.
