Dolly Parton Says There’s Only One Thing That Could Make Her Retire

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Country music legend Dolly Parton has been ruling the industry for over five decades, and retirement isn’t on her agenda anytime soon.

The One Thing That Would Make Dolly Retire

In a recent interview with USA Today, Dolly made it clear that working is her livelihood, something that she doesn’t plan on stopping.

“Work is everything to me,” she says. “That’s all I know. It’s what I do. It’s how all these things have come to pass.”

Despite achieving monumental success in her career, including numerous Grammy, Emmy, Oscar, and Tony nominations and wins, slowing down isn’t on her radar. In fact, the only scenario she envisions that could make her step back from the spotlight is if she or her husband, Carl Dean, who she has been married to for over 50 years, were facing health issues.

“I would only retire if I was ill or if my husband was ill and needed me,” she admitted. “That’d be the only thing that would make me pull back.”

Dolly Says She Was “Silly” To Believe She Could Become a Country Star

When she was a kid, growing up in the rural countryside, Dolly had big dreams of one day being part of the entertainment industry’s hustle and bustle. She’s sure that daring to dream of a life that seemed out of reach is what shaped her into who she is today.

“I was silly enough to believe it could be done, and I didn’t know it couldn’t be done, until I did it, as they say,” Parton says.

“I’d worked in the fields, being a country girl and I’ve done all that menial labor because that was just the chores and stuff we had to do back home. But I hated every minute of it. I didn’t like school either.”

Looking back on her journey from rural Tennessee to worldwide fame, she attributes her success to dreaming big and putting in hard work.

“I thought, ‘Well, what’s the worst that can happen?'” Parton tells. “‘I can always go back home, study to be a beautician and still get cheap makeup and bleach and all the stuff that I was going to always do no matter what.'”

It turns out, the big dreams she had as a kid would become a reality. She’s sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female artists ever. Her latest achievement is releasing her 49th solo studio album, “Rockstar,” in November.

Listen to Dolly Parton’s title track from her 49th studio album below.