Dolly Partons high school band pays tribute to…
Talk about an extrovert.
Dolly Parton once fooled a marching band into pondering she was previous pals with their director — even though the 2 had never met.
Nathan Hickman, the band director at Parton’s alma mater, Sevier County High School, told The Post that he first met the nation legend in 2013, when his college students performed a Dollywood live performance in close by Pigeon Forge.
The Sevier County High School band in 2023. Parton anonymously funded a whole bunch of other high school music teams. USA TODAY Network via GWN Connect
“My students asked if I knew her,” said Hickman. “Of course, I said yes and that we had been friends for years… Truthfully, I had never met her.”
Apparently, Parton overheard the exchange and knew immediately how to make the high school band trainer into a hometown hero. “When she walked out on stage, she said, ‘Hey Nathan! I’m so glad you are at Sevier County now!’ and greeted me with a hug,” Hickman recalled. “The students’ minds were blown!”
Hickman later discovered that the trick was a signature half of Parton’s stagecraft. “What they didn’t see was someone on the side of the stage giving Dolly the names of the people she was about to meet,” he said. “It’s still one of my favorite memories.”
Parton’s onstage glamour was thrilling, but it was her dedication to youth music packages that shone brightest for Hickman and his band. “We marched in front of her often, and she always stopped by to say hi [and] thank you, and tell the students she was so proud of them for representing our community so well,” he said.
The Sevier County High School band in 2023. USA TODAY Network via GWN Connect
“She was a tiny giant, and was genuine to herself at the same time.”
Besides funding Sevier County’s high school marching band and music program — a fact acknowledged by the tiny butterflies affixed to the band’s purple uniforms in honor of their bedazzled benefactor — Parton was also an nameless donor to a whole bunch of primarily Black school districts across the American South. She also funded skilled development packages, food banks and literacy packages for underserved communities and kids worldwide.
To honor Parton’s legacy of giving — and her own time spent as a high school snare drummer — the Sevier County band has three Dolly Parton preparations in everlasting rotation: The 1980 working woman anthem “9 to 5,” the 1983 duet “Islands in the Stream” and the epic ballad “I Will Always Love You,” which Parton wrote and carried out in 1974 and Whitney Houston took platinum in 1992.
That association will get a teary second on Friday, Sept. 11, when the band will carry out it with their neighbors in the Jefferson County High School Band at the school’s halftime show. Band alumni are scheduled to be part of the live performance.
“Dolly’s legacy is an example of generosity, and that legacy will live on through the students in the Sevier County High School Band,” said Hickman. “Our band program is successful today because of [her].”
Parton died Tuesday in Nashville after a transient battle with cancer. She was 80.
We present you with the trending topics. Get the best latest Entertainment news and content on our web site daily.
