Carly Pearce is deeply mourning the loss of Dolly Parton. Pearce shares her thoughts on the loss of the Country Music Hall of Fame member, in a touching post on social media.
“I’ve said often in my life, ‘What will the world be without Dolly?'” Pearce begins. “From the time I was a little girl, I wanted to be just like her. At 15 years old, my family uprooted their lives so I could start chasing my dreams, working in the country show at Dollywood. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of not only working with Dolly, but getting to know her.
“She was exactly who we all hoped she would be — kind, funny, gracious, and one of a kind,” she continues. “Heaven got a whole lot sassier, funnier, and brighter today. I will do my part as a woman in country music to continue carrying the light she shined so brightly for all of us. I love you, Dolly. – forever your little Dollywood girl.”
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How Dolly Parton Impacted Carly Pearce
Pearce not only grew up wanting to be like Parton, but Parton was also a crucial part of Pearce’s path in country music. In 2021, it was Parton who invited Pearce to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“Dolly is not only one of America’s greatest living songwriters, vocalists, entertainers and superstars,” Pearce said at the time. “She represents all of the values country music holds for me. She has the grace of a woman in full, a heart that is all love, the grit to get it done, the courage to stand up for herself and just enough glitter to be everyone’s fairy godsister…”
“And the Opry? It’s been the greatest love of my life since I was a young girl listening with my grandparents,” she continued. “All of the greatest writers, legends and pioneers have been on that stage, and I feel them in my bones anytime I walk in the stage door… To actually be asked to join the Opry family, there are no words.”
Later, Pearce shared what it was like being invited by Parton to become an Opry member.
“When she [invited me], I fell to my knees,” Pearce recalled. “And the reason that they had to edit so much of it is because I was hysterical. My favorite part of the whole thing is, I dropped to my knees, and she goes, ‘Well you can’t do it sitting down,’ or, ‘You can’t do it from down there.’ I was like, ‘Oh no, Dolly told me I gotta get up. I gotta get up.’ I tried to compose myself, but in true Dolly fashion, she’s like, ‘Get your butt up.’ And she kind of hit me on the back, which is hilarious. Everybody’s like, ‘Dolly kind of hit you hard.’”
“It was the most amazing — she to me is just the epitome of class, and the epitome of a country music queen,” she added. “And the fact that she took time — she’s never asked somebody to be a member or invited them in her 50 years of being a member, so that makes it even more special, that she did that for me.”