KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Back in October, fans of Dolly Parton had quite the scare when her sister, Freida Parton, asked her social media followers for prayers for the country superstar who had not been “feeling her best.”
The well-meaning Freida Parton recently told NewsNation affiliate WJHL that the ask stemmed from their childhood, reiterating that she didn’t mean to alarm anyone.
WJHL interviewed Freida Parton at a trading card event, which is one of her hobbies. At the event, she proudly displayed a trading card of her sister, Dolly, on the rim of her hat.
Parton credited her older sister, Dolly, for helping her during her career. Freida, who considers “all fans to be family,” said her music is inspired by personal experiences, many of them from childhood, and hard work.
The Parton sisters’ album “Crops Come In” has been “lived through,” Freida said.
“The things that we lived through and the things that meant everything to me, and if there’s not a song that doesn’t have a memory or doesn’t have a reason to write, I’m not writing it,” Freida Parton said. “But I like to take the fans back and hope it helps them in their life of raising their children and all that.”
One of the memories that Freida Parton recalled was how her sister became so important to her childhood and her career.
“Dolly’s always been a guardian angel to me,” Freida said. “And Mama got sick when we were 13, and Floyd (their brother), and we had to go live with Dolly and Carl. And in Brentwood, they hadn’t even built the big house yet. They used to let us go out there and pick up wood and stuff, for extra money, because Dolly believed that van did. And I do, too, that you have to work to have some of it, you know. And they wanted us to be a part of building the house, and we were.”
Freida said that she did not mean to worry those who care for her older sister when she asked for prayers in October after Dolly said she had not been “feeling her best.” She explained that, just like her music, she was inspired by the experiences instilled in her as a child.
“I just said what I said because Mama told us to pray. And, so I prayed, and I wanted people to pray for her because she wasn’t feeling good. It’s like, hey, I didn’t mean it to happen. I just asked, you know, for people to pray for. Because that’s the way I was raised, you know, pray.”
Freida Parton stated that Dolly was not upset with her regarding the request and noted her lack of computer knowledge. Shortly after Freida’s announcement, Dolly Parton reassured fans that she was OK, saying, “I ain’t dead yet!”
“She probably thought, ‘Well, she didn’t know about the internet then. She had no idea.’ So I didn’t get in trouble with her or none of the family. But some people were very upset with me because I had said that.”
Through decades-long success in their careers and the personal obstacles they have overcome together, Freida Parton said the hardest job she has ever had was working at Dollywood. Freida said she started the gig shortly after finishing a rock album with Janis Joplin’s manager in Woodstock.