Dolly Parton’s high school band pays tribute to the late icon…
Talk about an extrovert.
Dolly Parton as soon as fooled a marching band into considering she was previous mates with their director — even though the two had never met.
Nathan Hickman, the band director at Parton’s alma mater, Sevier County High School, told The Post that he first met the nation legend in 2013, when his college students performed a Dollywood live performance in close by Pigeon Forge.
The Sevier County High School band in 2023. Parton anonymously funded tons of of other high school music teams. USA TODAY Network through Reuters Connect
“My students asked if I knew her,” said Hickman. “Of course, I said yes and that we had been friends for years… Truthfully, I had never met her.”
Apparently, Parton overheard the alternate and knew instantly how to make the high school band trainer right into a hometown hero. “When she walked out on stage, she said, ‘Hey Nathan! I’m so glad you are at Sevier County now!’ and greeted me with a hug,” Hickman recalled. “The students’ minds were blown!”
Hickman later realized that the trick was a signature a part of Parton’s stagecraft. “What they didn’t see was someone on the side of the stage giving Dolly the names of the people she was about to meet,” he said. “It’s still one of my favorite memories.”
Parton’s onstage glamour was thrilling, however it was her dedication to youth music packages that shone brightest for Hickman and his band. “We marched in front of her often, and she always stopped by to say hi [and] thank you, and tell the students she was so proud of them for representing our community so well,” he said.
The Sevier County High School band in 2023. USA TODAY Network through Reuters Connect
“She was a tiny giant, and was genuine to herself at the same time.”
Besides funding Sevier County’s high school marching band and music program — a fact acknowledged by the tiny butterflies affixed to the band’s purple uniforms in honor of their bedazzled benefactor — Parton was also an nameless donor to tons of of primarily Black school districts across the American South. She also funded skilled development packages, meals banks and literacy packages for underserved communities and youngsters worldwide.
To honor Parton’s legacy of giving — and her personal time spent as a high school snare drummer — the Sevier County band has three Dolly Parton preparations in everlasting rotation: The 1980 working lady anthem “9 to 5,” the 1983 duet “Islands in the Stream” and the epic ballad “I Will Always Love You,” which Parton wrote and carried out in 1974 and Whitney Houston took platinum in 1992.
That association will get a teary second on Friday, Sept. 11, when the band will carry out it with their neighbors in the Jefferson County High School Band at the school’s halftime present. Band alumni are scheduled to be a part of the live performance.
“Dolly’s legacy is an example of generosity, and that legacy will live on through the students in the Sevier County High School Band,” said Hickman. “Our band program is successful today because of [her].”
Parton died Tuesday in Nashville after a short battle with cancer. She was 80.
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