Everyone, and I mean everyone, loved Dolly Parton. And those that knew her knew that she was something special.
One of those people is country icon Tanya Tucker. In an interview with People, she got pretty candid about her relationship with Dolly - and how much she missed her.
Upon being asked about her passing, Tucker explained, "I can't get my head wrapped around it. I just can't imagine her lying in the ground. It's overwhelming, really."
"Only thing it made me feel, and I guess people would feel this way, is I didn't take the chances that I could've had to really be around her more," she said. She added that when she tried to find photos of the two together, she could "hardly" find any.
Tucker explained that one of her dearest memories with Dolly Parton was performing "Romeo" with her in a duet. "But I didn't spend a lot of time with her there [at the studio]," she reflected.
"I regret that I didn't take some opportunities that I could have taken to get to know her better - having dinner together, sleepovers," the country icon said.
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The Country Icon Also Explained What She Admired Most
The People interviewer then asked, "What did you admire most about Dolly?"
Tucker's response was, "She's kind of the gal that could do it." What a way to put it! The country icon continued, "With the rhinestones on and the big hair, because she was a real outlaw. She did what she wanted to do, and going pop and all that was a big deal for Taylor [Swift], was a big deal for me back in 1978."
"But for her, it's nothing. She would just do it, and she'd do anything she wanted."
She also reflected on Dolly Parton's presence in the music scene being a breath of fresh air. "When I was a kid growing up in music," the country icon recalled of her childhood music career, "my heroes were mostly men, Elvis and Merle, and I patterned myself more after them than I did for the women."
"And now I've changed my mind. Dolly is the kind of person, the kind of artist [I wanted to be]. And the way she handled herself. I mean, she could cuss you out and make you like it. She had a way that was amazing, and I want to be more like her because she's done so much."
