Dolly Parton Says You’re “Automatically High” The Second You Get On Willie Nelson’s Tour Bus

Dolly Parton Willie Nelson country music
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Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton are old friends.

And honor of today being 420, I thought this would be a fun little story to look back on.

The two country icons arrived in Nashville around the same time, and Dolly says they both started writing for Combine music and became fast friends during their early days in the industry:

“Willie and I came to town about the same time. Back in 1964, ’65, ’66, we both were writing for Combine Music…And we used to hang out a lot together, different people.

Even Kristofferson back in those days! We all knew each other, and we used to sit around and write different songs.”

Willie even featured his longtime friend on his his 2013 duets album To All the Girls…, where the pair sang Dolly’s song “From Here to the Moon and Back,” because Willie could “play the hell out of the guitar on that particular song.”

And Dolly added that it was the hardest job she’d ever had, because she found it difficult to keep up with his phrasing:

“Singing with him was the hardest job I’ve ever had in my life because we both phrase differently.

And you would think though that because we are both so unusual in our style, that we would just really blend. I mean it worked me to death!

Now he’d already put his vocal down, and so I was trying to sing to it.”

She added that she called him to tell let him know she couldn’t keep up with him, too:

“I called him up and said, ‘Willie, you should have sent me a sack of dope if you thought I was gonna keep up with you!’

Anyway, we finally did it. I never did quite catch him, but I think the blend of it worked out really well.”

And speaking of drugs, it’s pretty common knowledge that Willie loves his marijuana, and actually owns his own cannabis company, Willie’s Reserve.

Dolly did admit to NME back in 2019 that he always offers her some when they hang out, though, but she never partakes:

“Oh I am very aware of Willie’s Reserve, but I do not partake of Willie’s Reserve, no! Oh of course! We laugh about it all the time!”

And really, she doesn’t need to smoke anything… she just needs to step foot on his tour bus:

“All I have to do is get on Willie’s bus and you’re automatically high from the fumes.”

But the honest to goodness truth is, Dolly has never done drugs, and rarely even drinks alcohol, save for special occasions or when she has to fly:

“I never did do drugs or alcohol.

I do drink if I’m out on a special dinner and when I fly ‘cuz I don’t like to fly, so I usually have a couple of glasses of wine, but for the most part I’m just not much of a doper or a drinker.”

I think it’s high time (pun very much intended) that we get another collab from two of the all-time greats of country music, but until that day hopefully comes again, how about a young Dolly and Willie doing a medley of his biggest hits on her show back in the 80’s:

“From Here to the Moon and Back”

And this one only seems appropriate today, too…

And if you’re celebrating today, or even if you’re not, make sure you check out our Roll One Up Country playlist, which of course, features tons of great tunes from the Red Headed Stranger himself.

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