Dolly Parton was advised to "tone down" her appearance in the early days of her career.
In a new four-part Apple Music series called What Would Dolly Do? Radio, the Jolene singer recalled the time one of her "dear friends" - country music star Chet Atkins - advised her to "tone down" her look.
"He pulled me over to the side because he really liked me. He said, 'Dolly, I really don't believe that people are going to take you serious as a singer and songwriter unless you tone down your look. You're a right pretty girl. You don't need all that,'" the 77-year-old revealed during the first episode, which premiered on Wednesday.
"And I said, 'Well, okay, I'll take that to heart, Mr. Atkins. Thank you for your advice,'" Dolly continued. "And of course, I just got worse with it. And years later, after I became a star, he sidled up beside me and said, 'Now, ain't you glad you listened to my good advice?'"
Elsewhere in the conversation, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who is preparing to release her first rock album, remembered her husband, Carl Dean, once referring to her outfits as "doll clothes".
"I remember Carl said one time, he says, 'Sometimes I go out in the closet when you're gone, and I think those look like doll clothes. They look like a little girl's clothes,'" Dolly recalled. "I said, 'Well, they do 'til I get in them.'"
Rockstar, which is set to feature collaborations with Sting, Paul McCartney and Elton John, will be released on 17 November.
