When Dolly Parton and Patti LaBelle made music with their acrylic nails and reminded me of all my aunties
“I’m deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend who was loved by all,” LaBelle said of Parton. The two sang "Short'nin Bread" in a video that is pure unadulterated 80s joy.
A 1970s baby, I saw my mother (and all of the mother figures in my life) rocking big hair, glossy lips, sequins, and acrylic nails into the early 1990s.
As did the celebrities who have been a part of my pop-culture consciousness as long as I’ve been alive.
Women like Gladys Knight, Carol Burnett, Betty White, Patti LaBelle, and yes, Dolly Parton. These formidable women taught me my ABCs on Sesame Street, how to count on Electric Company, and random trivia on Password. These aunties in my head were just like my aunties, teaching me, guiding me, laughing with me, smiling with me, leaving powdery perfume trails of Jean Naté and White Shoulders in their wake.
That’s why a video of Parton and LaBelle circulating on social media Tuesday afternoon made me pause and shed a tear.
In the hours after Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver announced on Instagram the beloved, buxom country music singer had died, a 46-second clip emerged from Parton’s 1987 short-lived ABC variety show, Dolly.
It is pure, unadulterated ’80s joy.
LaBelle in her crimped “On My Own” hair — the ‘do she debuted when she released the chart-topping hit with Doobie Brother Michael McDonald — is sitting across from Parton, whose trademark curly blond hair is piled high in a massive bouffant.
The divas are dressed in elaborate black gowns drenched in sparkles. Parton’s features a sweetheart neckline and poofy shoulders ending in a lace sleeve that would give Madonna’s wardrobe a run for its money.
The two look like they could be attending a prom, or a tacky wedding. (A Parton classic: ”It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.“) Wherever they are going, we know the vibe is going to be ’80s extravagant.
Parton, in her sweet melodic lilt, asks LaBelle if she would join her in using her acrylic nails as an instrument. The two women look like they are filing their nails as they strike up a rhythm.
Parton, who was born in a log cabin in Tennessee, and LaBelle, a Southwest Philadelphian whose dad was born in Macon, Ga. and moved to the city during the Great Migration, bond over acrylic nails and sing the chorus of the countriest of country songs, “Short’nin’ Bread.”
“Momma’s little baby loves short’nin’, short’nin’ / Momma’s little baby loves short’nin’ bread.”
Nails clicking. Powerful voices crooning. Parton and LaBelle sing the hook of the folk song written by James Whitcomb in 1900 in perfect harmony, their voices blending so beautifully that it’s easy to forget historians’ assertions that Whitcomb “borrowed” the song from Black sharecroppers. Allegedly, he retooled and performed it in a minstrel show.
The video speaks to Parton and LaBelle’s easy friendship and sisterhood.
“I’m deeply saddened by the loss of my dear friend who was loved by all,” LaBelle said in a statement Tuesday. “Dolly’s artistry, brilliance, and extraordinary life inspired so many people including me. Her light will forever shine!”
When this performance was recorded almost 40 years ago, LaBelle and Parton had already been celebrities the better part of two decades. Both were already in their 40s. They’d reached auntie status.
My grandmother used to sing the chorus of “Short’nin’ Bread” while she dealt cards or when she rocked my sister and me in her wooden chair. Parton has been a part of my life in much the same way. Teaching me what it meant to work 9 to 5, performing on musical specials and childhood shows with other aunties and friends like Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, and the queen of Philadelphia aunties, Patti LaBelle.
Parton was my country music auntie. She was America’s country music auntie.
And we will always love her for it.
