In 1978, the great Dolly Parton, finally received the credit she was due – winning Entertainer of the Year on the heels of her Heartbreaker album release.
But in the moment that Johnny Cash and Ronnie Milsap announced Dolly the winner, the popular singer actually hoped her name wouldn’t be the one called. She explained why in her acceptance speech:
“I had this dress made in case I won and about five minutes ago, I was hoping I wouldn’t win because I busted the front out of it! But my daddy says that’s what I got for putting 50 pounds of mud in a 5 pound bag!”
In the moments before she was “crowned” Entertainer of the Year, Dolly realized that her specially made dress had busted in the front.
Luckily, she was sitting next to Kenny Rogers’ wife who was wearing a big fur stole:
“I was sitting down there near her, so I grabbed her stole and held it up”
In an interview with People Magazine, Dolly said she remembered the dress’s fabric being so fragile and delicate. She even recalled thinking that with her preference for tight clothing, she really hoped the whole thing would, “all hold together.”
Unfortunately for her, that wasn’t the case:
“I remember thinking this is such a beautiful dress, but the fabric is so delicate. I thought, ‘Man, as tight as I wear my clothes…’ and I was a little hefty then anyway, I thought ‘I hope this all holds together!.
When they called my name, I felt something creeping up my stomach and I thought, ‘Oh My God, my dress is coming apart!’ And I thought ‘What am I gonna do?’”
And talk about a terrible moment to have a wardrobe malfunction, but Dolly handled it with grace – as always, even giving the crowd a good giggle in the meantime.
Dolly shared her thoughts on one of the biggest moments in her career:
“I wanted to look good when I won the award, but I did think, ‘Well, this is very entertaining!’ That that fit in well with the award!”