<p id=”par-1_52″>When <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/dolly-parton/”>Dolly Parton</a> was 13 years old, Johnny Cash introduced her to the crowd at the Grand Ole Opry. She watched him <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/music/”>perform</a> that night and harbored a crush on him ever since. Years later, Cash heard about the way Parton felt about him that day. Here’s what he said in response.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dolly-parton-said-she-had-a-crush-on-johnny-cash”>Dolly Parton said she had a crush on Johnny Cash</h2>
<p id=”par-2_35″>In the earliest days of Parton’s career, her uncle drove her to various venues so she could perform. By the time she was 13, she had the chance to <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-broke-1-key-rule-grand-ole-opry.html/”>perform at the Grand Ole Opry</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-3_30″>“Uncle Bill was really good at talking to people and convincing people,” she wrote in her book <em>Dolly Parton, Songteller</em>. “And who’s going to say ‘no’ to a little kid?”</p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>On this day in 1959, introduced by Johnny Cash, 13-year-old Dolly Parton makes her Grand Ole Opry debut singing George Jones’ “You Gotta Be My Baby.” She receives three encores. <a href=”https://t.co/nYUxe5BzFm”>pic.twitter.com/nYUxe5BzFm</a></p>— Eric Alper <img src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/1f3a7.png” alt=”🎧” class=”wp-smiley” style=”height: 1em; max-height: 1em;” /> (@ThatEricAlper) <a href=”https://twitter.com/ThatEricAlper/status/1816435731520242128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 25, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<p id=”par-4_14″>Cash introduced her to the audience, and she immediately fell in love with him.</p>
<p id=”par-5_54″>“I was thirteen years old,” she wrote. “Johnny Cash introduced me, and I thought he was the sexiest thing that ever was. That’s when I first felt hormones raging. It was his charisma and me being a growing girl. It was the first time a man had ever made me feel like a woman.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-later-reacted-to-her-speaking-about-him”>He later reacted to her speaking about him</h2>
<p id=”par-6_20″>In 1997, decades after Parton sang at the Opry, she spoke about the way Cash made her feel that day.</p>
<p id=”par-7_48″>“That’s when I first realized what sex appeal was,” she said on <em>Ralph Emery on the Record</em>. “I was 13 years old, it was like ‘Oh!’ It was like, ‘Holy moly, what is this?’ And then little did I know, he’d be the first person to introduce me.”</p>
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<p id=”par-8_12″>She noted that she first saw him when he performed that night.</p>
<p id=”par-9_23″>“First I had seen him on stage and I had all these feelings,” she said. “Which now I know was just being horny.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_22″>Cash reacted with a look of shock. When asked to comment, he said, “I really appreciate that. That was nice of her.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dolly-parton-told-johnny-cash-s-wife-that-she-had-a-crush-on-him”>Dolly Parton told Johnny Cash’s wife that she had a crush on him</h2>
<p id=”par-11_21″>When she first saw him, Parton loved everything about Cash. She recalled feeling drawn to the way he moved his body.</p>
<p id=”par-12_58″>“In the early days, I had a big crush on Johnny Cash,” she told <a href=”https://www.wmagazine.com/life/dolly-parton-interview-2021″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>W Magazine</a>. “He was young and skinny, and he just had that magnetism. The way he moved around — you know, so sexy. I found out later he was just having <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-thought-johnny-cash-moved-around-sexy-found-later-having-withdrawals.html/”>withdrawals from drugs</a>, but it still touched me. He was so, so sexy.”</p>
<p id=”par-13_15″>She later joked with Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, about <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolly-parton-crush-johnny-cash-told-wife-watch-step.html/”>her childhood crush</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-14_36″>“Years later when we were friends, I told him and June about it,” she told <a href=”https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/rock-pop/hello-dolly-1.589187″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Irish Times</a>. “I joked with her that he was really my first love and that she better watch her step.”</p>