ENTERTAINMENT
Remembering when Dolly Parton ‘turned ’em on’ at Tully Gym and Tallahassee
Tallahassee Democrat
Updated Aug. 25, 2026, 3:22 p.m. ET
- Dolly Parton performed in Tallahassee, Florida, at least twice during her career, in 1977 and 2005.
- Her 1977 concert at Florida State University’s Tully Gym featured a mix of her country classics and newer pop-style music.
- During an interview for the 1977 show, Parton explained her style change was to avoid limitations and make more money.
- A 2005 concert was rescheduled from September to December after Parton was advised to rest her voice.
It was decades ago, but Dolly Parton once lit up Tallahassee in a flash of rhinestones and repartee
The beloved country music icon, who died Aug. 25 at age 80 in Nashville, visited the area at least twice in her storied musical career, almost 30 years apart
Her visit to Florida State University for a performance at Tully Gym in November 1977 was front page news in the Tallahassee Democrat
Under the headline “The New Dolly Parton turns ’em on at Tully,” reporter and future entertainment editor Ellen Templeton scored a one-on-one interview with the legendary songstress
Here’s what she wrote
Remembering when Dolly Parton toured in Tallahassee
Even with the outlandish wig, chiffon and jersey costume and dangling rhinestone earrings, Dolly Parton is as real as moonshine whiskey and chewing tobacco
“I’m just a gaudy person,” Dolly said in an interview Thursday afternoon before her evening performance in Tully Gym
She grew up in a dirt-poor family of 12 children in the Smoky Mountain foothills of eastern Tennessee
Today, the girl who picked out tunes on a homemade guitar and used mercurochrome for lipstick has enough money to buy all the guitars and expensive makeup a star could ever want
Her glittery outfits, wigs and high heels are the realization of her childhood dreams, and as much a part of her as her songs and her legendary chest
And why shouldn’t she wear what she wants to?
Dolly Parton has become one of the most popular singer-songwriters around today. At her concert to a full house in Tully Gym, she was as endearingly gaudy as ever, and she had her act down pat
After Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member John McEuen warmed up the audience with his own easy brand of guitar and banjo picking, Dolly came out, sang a song and captured her fans by saying, “I see some of you out there have binoculars … and I know what you’re looking at.”
When the crowd roared, she added, “I’m talking about my wigs. What are you thinking about?”
The quips are familiar to anyone who has ever been to a Dolly Parton concert. When she pokes fun at herself, it seems to be her way of getting past all the tired old Dolly jokes, so she can get down to the business of singing and having a good time
These days her country hits are mixed in with liberal doses of pop music. She also has a hot backup band called Gypsy Fever
The band boasts guitarists who, prior to the concert, tuned their instruments while playing snatches of Eric Clapton’s rock song, “Layla,” and old Allman Brothers hits
Why the change in style?
“It’s a lot more to me than a change,” she explains. “I’ve always loved all kinds of music … I don’t like to be cramped, I don’t like limitations
“And the other reason is I want to make as much money as I can while I’m in this business.”
Dolly adds that her show is “still basically country.” She recalls that some of her hard-core country fans were upset when they heard she was changing her style, but since hearing the new Dolly “they seem to like it now.”
The new Dolly delighted the crowd with her current top 40s hit, “Here You Come Again,” and a version of “Higher and Higher.” But the audience clapped just as hard after Dolly’s country classics, “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Love Is Like a Butterfly” and “Apple Jack.”
New country music by Dolly, notably “The Cowgirl and the Dandy” and “Me and Andy” proved she’s lost none of her old down-home feel for a simple, emotional country lyric
To write her songs, she says, “I just usually get in an inspired mood. Some of my best songs I’ve written in the early morning when my mind is so clear.”
Dolly won’t pick any favorites as far as her own music is concerned
“I’m really just as proud of every one,” she says. “They’re like your own children.”
She’s also proud that other singers, such as Linda Ronstadt and Emmy Lou Harris, are recording her songs. Both women are friends of hers and they have appeared on Dolly’s syndicated TV show. The three of them are planning to record an album together
Last night, however, Dolly and Gypsy Fever got along just fine by themselves. The only sour note was stuffy, echoing Tully Gym
Even so, Dolly only mentioned the heat once
And her cheering, stomping audience apparently didn’t mind at all
Dolly Patron makes a comeback in 2005 at the Civic Center
In September 2005, fans had to endure a Dolly delay
According to a Democrat story, the music superstar was “advised by her physicians to take a break from her current Vintage Tour to rest her voice (the show features a number of songs performed a cappella, which pushes Parton’s voice to the limit).” The show was rescheduled for Dec. 8
She was welcomed back with open arms by the community and the Democrat when the day rolled around
“Well, hello, Dolly! It’s about time you got around to serenading Tallahassee with hits from your latest CD,” the Democrat wrote. “A bout with acute laryngitis forced country-music queen Dolly Parton to reschedule a Civic Center concert slated for September. She should be in fine vocal fettle when the Vintage Tour rolls in for a performance that’ll highlight tunes from her “Those Were the Days” CD.”
She was joined by former Tallahassee musician Steve Turner, who according to the Associated Press, would be “banging away on the drums.”
“Turner graduated from FSU in 1974 and married college sweetheart Laura Read at the Chapel of the Resurrection next to the old Sweet Shop,” the AP wrote. “When he’s not touring with such artists as Parton, he’s one of the most in-demand session drummers in Music City. He has worked with such artists as Lou Rawls, Glen Campbell, Emmylou Harris, Tanya Tucker and Travis Tritt.”
