--- title: Dolly Parton: A Dispatch From Her 1977 Tour description: The country superstar was born on Jan. 19, 1946 canonical: https://time.com/4178217/dolly-parton-1977/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-19T12:00:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:04:13.524Z article:section: History og:title: Dolly Parton: A Dispatch From Her 1977 Tour og:description: The country superstar was born on Jan. 19, 1946 og:url: https://time.com/4178217/dolly-parton-1977/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34c4837f1f951081/698878dfa988ca05616b6175/dolly.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Dolly Parton In Detroit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dolly Parton: A Dispatch From Her 1977 Tour twitter:description: The country superstar was born on Jan. 19, 1946 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34c4837f1f951081/698878dfa988ca05616b6175/dolly.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read a Dispatch From Dolly Parton's 1977 Tour  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jan 19, 2016 12:00 PM UTC  Dolly Parton poses for a portrait by her tour bus before performing in September 1977 in Detroit Dolly Parton poses for a portrait by her tour bus before performing in September 1977 in DetroitDonaldson Collection—Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jan 19, 2016 12:00 PM UTC In 1977, TIME sent correspondent Jean Vallely out on the road with Dolly Parton, as the country star—who turns 70 on Tuesday—made her way around the nation. Parton had swapped out her Travelin’ Family Band for the more rock-friendly Gypsy Fever Band, and was aiming for crossover stardom. She traveled in a bus with two bathrooms and 11 berths, plus a closet for 20 costumes and four wigs. But, as the dispatch made clear, she hadn’t left her country roots behind. As Parton said back then, “I don’t want to leave the country. I want to take the country with me.” Here’s what Vallely had to say about one concert in Battle Creek, Mich.: --- > “” --- Reflecting on her career, Parton remarked that, “When I sit back in my rocker, I want to have done it all.” Nearly four decades later, she’s still at it–and that rocking chair remains empty. **_Read the full story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [On the Rock Road With Dolly Parton](http://time.com/vault/issue/1977-04-18/page/74/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4178217/dolly-parton-1977/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4178217/dolly-parton-1977/"},"headline":"Read a Dispatch From Dolly Parton's 1977 Tour","datePublished":"2016-01-19T12:00:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:04:13.524Z","description":"The country superstar celebrates her 70th birthday on Tuesday","url":"https://time.com/4178217/dolly-parton-1977/","keywords":["Music","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34c4837f1f951081/698878dfa988ca05616b6175/dolly.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34c4837f1f951081/698878dfa988ca05616b6175/dolly.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Dolly Parton In Detroit","caption":"Dolly Parton In Detroit","creditText":"Donaldson Collection—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4178217/dolly-parton-1977/","name":"Read a Dispatch From Dolly Parton's 1977 Tour"}}]}] ```