Thursday, August 27, 2026

Dolly Parton's Area Visits – 1972, 1975 & 1982

Dolly in 1975
The world is still reeling from the news that beloved Country Music icon Dolly Parton passed away on Tuesday. It was a shocker and it's impossible for anyone not to feel sad about her passing. She was universally loved; not just as a very talented entertainer who gave the world a lot of joy, but as a kind and generous philanthropist who donated hundreds of millions of dollars to literacy, disaster relief and healthcare.

Fairly early in her career, she made two visits to our area. One was when she was part of the Porter Wagoner Show, appearing at Elyria Catholic High School on Friday, June 9, 1972. (I wrote about this appearance here.)
Dolly's second visit was about a year after she had left the Porter Wagoner Show and struck out on her own, appearing at Woody's Val-E-Vue Campground in Nova, Ohio in May 1975.
April 13, 1975
April 28, 1975
I've been to the campground property in Nova and the setting out in the country is quite lovely. (Today the park is Jellystone Park Cleveland/Sandusky)

As for Dolly, by the time she came around for a concert appearance in 1982, her days performing at campgrounds were apparently over. This time, she peformed at the Front Row in August 1982.
July 25, 1982
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To close out this tribute to Dolly, here are a pair of interesting articles about her that appeared in the Journal. The first one is about her decision to leave the Porter Wagoner Show. The second is about her reaction to criticism that she was abandoning her country music roots; she handles it with her usual grace and good humor.
May 4, 1985 
October 31, 1976

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