There probably isn’t another child in New Zealand who would call Dolly Parton “aunty”.
But that’s what Steve Guest’s daughter called the country music star, who died at her home in the US on Tuesday, aged 80.
The beloved performer was remembered for her business acumen as well as her philanthropy.
Guest, who lives in Christchurch, worked as a UK and European publicist for Parton for more than 20 years. He first introduced his daughter Gracie to Parton when she was a baby during a UK tour in 2010.
“She was three months old, and Dolly picked her up, and the first thing she did was cry,” he told RNZ’s Checkpoint.
“I've got this amazing picture of Dolly holding Gracie out at arm's length because Gracie was so scared of Dolly and then they just formed this lovely, almost grandparent friendship.”
Over the years, Parton sent Gracie messages, letters and gifts.
However, the highlight was priceless. Parton sang Gracie a personal rendition of Jolene, one of the singer-songwriter's biggest hits, while they were on a tour bus at the Glastonbury music festival in 2014. Gracie was about four years old, says Guest.
“... Dolly again picked Gracie up, sat her on her knee and started singing Jolene to her while Dolly is in her full rhinestone outfit.”
Parton wasn’t as familiar with the famed festival as other artists might be, so she quizzed Guest about it before her set.
“I said, ‘Oh, well, there's a lot of people, and there's a lot of mud, depending on the weather’.
“... She sat down, and she wrote a song called Mud, there and then, on the spot, and she actually performed it at Glastonbury, which was, it was a bit of a pastiche, a bit of a jokey song, but she played it, and everyone just laughed.
“But ironically, it was the sunniest afternoon at Glastonbury.”
Parton played in front of her biggest crowd – more than 120,000 people.
Working with and knowing Parton personally was a blessing, says Guest.
“She's never late. She's always slightly early because she always said, ‘Why is my time more important than somebody else's? It's not’.
“It was a respect thing.
“She always wanted to know about other cultures and backgrounds and countries. She was genuinely interested in you and where you come from.”
The biggest lesson he learned from his time with Parton was humility, especially in the face of extreme fame. Parton was happiest at home “cooking chicken and dumplings”.
The song I Will Always Love You, written by Parton but popularised by Whitney Houston as the theme song for the film The Bodyguard, was his favourite song.
“That's what she used to sign off on all of her letters and little trinkets and mementoes.
“I think what she's done in her art form, in terms of music and film, is absolutely superb.
“But ultimately, things like what she's been doing with her Imagination Library and a children's book charity, which has given away over 400 million books to help early literacy across the globe, is something that she was immensely proud of.”
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