Country singer Carly Pearce was one of several performers who took the stage for “CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton,” which took place in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 21. The tribute honored the career, life, and legacy of Parton, who sadly passed away on August 25 at the age of 80, following a brief battle with cancer.
Pearce’s appearance at the special tribute was quite fitting and has a full-circle twist. Not only is she a huge Parton fan, but she worked at the music icon’s Dollywood before becoming one of country music’s biggests acts.
Carly Pearce Opens up About Dollywood Past Before Dolly Parton CMA Tribute
Carly Pearce singing Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” at her CMA tribute was fitting, given that Pearce actually worked a 9-to-5 as a teenager at Parton’s Dollywood. Speaking to “Good Morning America’s” Lara Spencer that night, she shared how performing in honor of Parton was a full-circle moment.
“When I was a kid, 16 years old, I took a job working at Dollywood, so my whole life I made this joke that I really did work 9 to 5 for Dolly,” she began. “So the fact that it came completely full circle tonight, loving music like I loved Dolly and being a little girl that grew up looking at her and idolizing her, and saying, you know what, if she can do it, I can do it too.”
Parton’s CMA tribute was full of remarkable performances that included Ella Langley singing a rendition of “Jolene,” Lady A taking the stage with “Islands In the Stream,” Lainey Wilson singing a duet with Luke Nelson to “You Can’t Make Old Friends,” and Carrie Underwood delivering an emotional closing performance of Parton’s hit, “I Will Always Love You,” in which she was joined on stage with all the night’s performers and special guests.
Pearce Conviced Her Parents to Quit School to Work at Dollywood
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Pearce revealed that she convinced her parents to allow her to quit high school so she could work at Dollywood at 16. “So my first job was singing in a country show called Country Crossroads at Dollywood. I convinced my parents when I was 16 to let me quit high school and homeschool. It’s insane. I know,” she shared.
Speaking with Taste of Country in 2023, Pearce said that while she doesn’t “credit a lot of my success” to working at Dollywood, the job did teach her the importance of “work ethic,” having to “play six shows a day, five days a week,” as a teenager.
“Because the schedule is definitely not for people that maybe don’t want to work hard or don’t want to put in the work,” she added.
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Carly Pearce Shares a Special Dolly Parton Connection Dating Back to Her Early Career