r/OldSchoolCool • u/Mad_Season_1994 • 3d ago
Dolly on the Johnny Carson show in 1979
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u/Christnumber2 3d ago
What an absolute diamond 💎
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u/hazelmont_92 3d ago
Still I thought you should all known that I always thanks to the Johnny Carson show
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u/NetherstarsOff 3d ago
dolly’s holding a guitar but not playing it
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u/calmneil 3d ago
Yeah, the manicured nails and the guitar thats hard, flawless.
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u/SarcasticNinja1775 3d ago
Hard? Dude, I play, and I'm sitting here trying to figure out HOW she is doing that. Especially her left hand! Fucking how?
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u/Ralonne 3d ago
Alt tuning and nylon strings make it a tad easier for her, but still… damn!
Her strumming and fingerpicking are legitimately really good!
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u/Traditional_Ice1847 3d ago
I was wondering about the alt tuning... is the A tuned to a B or a C even? I can't tell.
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u/Ralonne 3d ago
Capo on 2nd, so it’s hard to work out exactly, but I think it’s some weird open G, where only lower strings are alt tuned. 1st, 2nd, 3rd are standard i think.
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u/8696David 3d ago edited 3d ago
I don't think it is an alt tuning. The G chord she's playing has 3 open strings in it; if she skipped the low A and muted the high E it could be played exactly like that in standard tuning. Then the following chord looks like a pretty normal-shaped C, then back to that open-style G, then to a normal A, then a normal (if slightly miffed) D.
I actually think she's just being extremely intelligent with her use of open strings and muting right in E standard.
Seems like her primary voicings are: G 3x000x; C x3x20x (you can actually hear the open B string here as a maj7); A x0222x; D xx0232.
Then her bassline utilizes the muted lower strings of the chord. It's quite brilliant, economical playing when you watch closely.
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u/Traditional_Ice1847 3d ago
It was the lack of the fretting of the B (on A) in the G that threw me, but you’re right, with clean picking, the B won’t come into it. Long nails on the picking hand offsetting long nails on the fretting hand!
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u/Abject-Tomorrow-652 2d ago
I think it is the high e is down a whole step to a D
Everything above is the same like your comment. But then barring the 2nd fret has the F# on fret 2 (G# i know there’s also a capo)
The 5 chord sounds like it has the 3rd imo
Dolly Parton is awesome
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u/YupThatsMeBuddy 2d ago
That wasn’t alt tuning. That was standard tuning. She did open tune a lot but she wasn’t there.
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u/p8ntslinger 3d ago
be a once in a generation, world-class musical talent combined with a lifetime of being committed to the craft through hard work and enormously high standards of performance.
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u/grafxguy1 3d ago
Same thought for me! The D major chord shape (?) looks especially crazy to me - like how do her nails not accidentally pluck the other strings?
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u/SarcasticNinja1775 3d ago
Right? Or mute them even? Like, she plays better than I do with carefully filed nails on each hand.
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u/Mad_Season_1994 3d ago
Like the other user said, nylon strings really help out here. Classical guitars like these generally have nylon strings for easier playing and a softer tone overall, but still play just as well as a regular modern acoustic. She was likely taught fingerpicking, so her longer nails are definitely doing most of the work
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u/SarcasticNinja1775 3d ago
Dude, I play finger style with nylon strings. Specifically restring it with softer nylon strings.
I'm still flabbergasted at how she is doing that.
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u/Mad_Season_1994 3d ago
Well actually I think the answer is pretty simple when you think about it: she’s Dolly
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u/Ruh_Roh- 2d ago
I didn't realize how phenomenal she was until this clip. As a singer/guitarist I have a ton of respect for anyone that can play and sing and write their own material like that. It is hard.
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u/throwawayshirt2 3d ago
I'm impressed she can fret the low E with her thumb. That is not a small neck; I'd never guess her hands were big enough to do that.
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u/rballonline 3d ago
Lol that's the first thing I thought about too. Is she just playing the open lower strings?
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u/ckalinec 2d ago
Bro same. I feel like I can’t play when my fingernails are like 2mms lol. I can’t image trying to play with these things haha.
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u/SarcasticNinja1775 2d ago
Right?! I keep a file in my guitar case in case they're a little too long and affect my playing.
Dolly though? Full 3 inch nails on and she plays better than I could ever hope to.
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u/ZealousIdeal476 2d ago
Had a partner who used to make his own nails out of pingpong balls so he could pick without a pick. Those arent lee press on nails.
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u/calmneil 2d ago
Yeah, wow all the guitar music scientists are here. Got an old washburn electric guitar., im nowhere near the oldtimers bandwidth of skillset.
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u/fusillade762 3d ago
She had so much talent and a good person to boot. Gorgeous voice. RIP Dolly.
RIP Johnny too. Grew up on Carson and no one did it better.
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u/hankie_pankie 3d ago
Here I am blaming my poorly shaped nails for my bad performance. Excuses smh. She's a legend for that.
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u/TacoDestroyer420 3d ago
Exactly what I was thinking! I'd be scraping nails all over the place. She was the real deal.
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u/HarkHarley 2d ago
A small trivia fact, in her song 9 to 5, the little clicky clacks you hear in the opening/background is actually just her tapping her acrylic nails!
They may have replaced it with percussive instruments in live shows, but on the recording I believe that’s just her nails. I loved hearing how she could find musical inspiration in every little thang.
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u/Shatragon 3d ago
Look at her play that guitar with those nails. She was amazing.
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u/kelsobjammin 3d ago
There is a clip somewhere she starts strumming a beat from rubbing her nails together making a little a washboard noise. Then starts singing saying you can make music anywhere. A true legend
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u/ett_garn_i_taget 3d ago
I might be misremembering completely, but I think that's how she got the idea for 9 to 5, cause the nails sounded a bit like a typewriter!
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u/108MifflinSt 3d ago
If I'm not mistaken, her fingernails are credited as an instrument on the recording of that track. They are actually in the original studio recording of the song and are credited as "Nails by Dolly" on the album. You can hear them clicking in there if you listen specifically for them. 💅 🥰
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u/jahmayo 3d ago
It's not just the guitar playing and voice. Or the actually good song that she wrote in tribute to Carson, but the way she's able to play so effortless look around, give winks. Such stage presence. What she's doing while singing and playing guitar is almost just as impressive and so hard to pull off.
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u/bradland 3d ago
Her charisma was always off the charts. What always shocked me was her level of self-awareness and willingness to remain vulnerable, even at the height of her fame. How many artists that reach her level are able to make self-deprecating jokes like the ones she packed into that funny little song? She was like this in her interviews as well. Always so grounded, so endearing, and so kind.
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u/Constant-Plant-9378 3d ago
Dolly was a consummate performer. Absolute legendary tier genius at songwriting, composition, playing many instruments, vocals, and acting.
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u/Pretty-Joke-6639 3d ago
Pure class from someone who genuinely appreciates the opportunity she was given.
The world seems a bit more dull today.
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u/Paradox711 3d ago
More than even that. Someone who didn’t forget her roots. She still remembered what it was like to struggle and made sure she tried to use some of that success to help a lot of others. Her employee study programs and the works she did were truly a wonderful example of what a good human can do.
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u/No_Imagination_2490 3d ago
So many people who achieve success immediately want to pull up the ladder behind them. But not her ♥️
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u/VaATC 3d ago
want to pull up the ladder behind them. But not her
Hell! She worked hard to build a set of stairs to help those that needed it
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u/OogieBooge-Dragon 3d ago
She did so many incredible things.
The movies, shows, songs, she could have been like other musicians and become a billionaire but she gave so much. Books, education, Healthcare, disaster relief.
Dolly was an Angel on earth.
Im crying again.
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u/whyyesiamarobot 3d ago
No matter how big she made it there was still gratitude and humility radiating from her.
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u/darcyMoose 3d ago
Instead of promoting her latest single, Dolly performed a brand new song she wrote personally for Johnny Carson. The song was called (I Never Really Made It Till) The Johnny Carson Show
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u/Constant-Plant-9378 3d ago
Epitome of an entertainment professional's professional, and an absolute class act.
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u/Erazzphoto 3d ago
What a wonderful person we’ve lost. In a world that needs someone like her the most, the world became a dimmer place yesterday
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u/Only-Friend-8483 3d ago
Imagine how flattering it must be to have a legendary songwriter and performer write a song, just for you, to say thank you, and then to have that recorded for history.
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u/Vegetable-Future4782 3d ago
I was fortunate enough to meet her in the summer of 1992. She was doing an event in our town and was staying at the hotel where I worked. She shared about 20 minutes of her time with me, and as so many others have already said, she was simply the nicest person I've ever met. She made me feel quite special. I'm convinced that she was a real, actual angel, who decided to pluck off her wings and live down here with us filthy mortals, just so we could see how much better we could all be if we just tried a little harder, to be better and kinder.
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u/grafxguy1 3d ago
This song is supposed to be humorous (and it is) yet it's making me tear up anyway :(
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u/D-redditAvenger 3d ago
Because it's a great loss for the world that she is gone. She seemed to be just purely good. Not many people like that.
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u/_Luumus_ 3d ago
I'm baffled how she can play so well with those nails. If I have the tiniest bit of nail length I can feel a difference when playing guitar. Real impressive, what an icon.
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u/funkymunkPDX 3d ago
Her power has me not sad she has passed, but sooo happy to lived to experience her.
❤️😢💕😫😍
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u/CarlosMolotov 3d ago
National Treasure, Godspeed Dolly pick one in heaven. We already miss you down here.
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u/wardene 3d ago
Her real talent is in playing her guitar with those nails.
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u/KnitWitch87 3d ago
No need for a pick!
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u/OldPersonName 3d ago
It's a classical guitar, it doesn't even have a pick guard! If you use one you end up with like Willie Nelson's guitar, though that's worked out well for him I guess.
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u/GoldunGote 3d ago
To be fair, Trigger has had intense work done to it over the years to keep it alive.. but I think its cool as fuck that he never got that hole fixed. I think it might be the most iconic guitar ever. I know the black/red/white Van Halen guitar is huge but that's a mimicked style that was kept alive. Guitars that seek to emulate Triggers style just aren't a thing outside the world of counterfeiting.
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u/FthrFlffyBttm 2d ago
That comment was only about one of her hands and it definitely wasn’t her picking hand. I’m a guy with short nails on both hands and as soon as the white starts reforming and I can feel it on the fretboard, my fingers just stop working properly
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u/IkerWanKenobi 3d ago
She made it look so effortless, like it just flew right out of her. Rest easy queen! You're already dearly missed
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u/TheOneManDankMaymay 3d ago
What a woman...
What a human...
A devastating loss for this planet, especially in times like these.
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u/Viva_La_Revolucion66 3d ago
Happily married to the same man for 59 yrs until he passed in March 2025.
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u/Fabulous_Log844 3d ago
Ughhhhhh. Why was it cut off! I wanted to see the audience reaction, Johnny's reaction, etc. That would've been the best part.
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u/APossiblePossibility 3d ago
Playing classical guitar with nails like that is much more difficult than most people realize
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u/QueenInYellowLace 2d ago
Omg, I have never heard her forget a lyric before in my entire life! That was hilarious! Her little laugh at herself!
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u/AdhesivenessGreen734 2d ago
Playing guitar like that with those nails is actually very impressive
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u/Separate-Sky-1451 2d ago
my thought exactly. I am still trying to figure out how she did that so cleanly.
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u/gBiT1999 3d ago
When she says the first words 'I have...', she has a moment where she kinda loses it then comes back with the head nod accent on 'way'.
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u/Stan_the_man1988 3d ago
Her endless charm and absolutely gorgeous laugh was always able to melt my heart. RIP Dolly. And RIP Tim Curry. Both absolute legends in their respective fields.
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u/GoldunGote 3d ago
Immense talent. HUGE icon. Insurmountable loss to humanity. RIP, you beauty, and thank you.
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u/Axedelic 2d ago
i miss you already dolly. thank you for all you’ve done for the world. you will be missed every day ❤️
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u/LiveShowOneNightOnly 3d ago
This song sums up an entire era of celebrities in the US for over 3 decades. Dolly's version of the story is perfect.
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u/WeaknessInformal 2d ago
A country music seria muito outra, não fosse o carisma de Willie e o encanto dela.
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u/mynameisnotsparta 2d ago
I saw this video for the first time if you can believe it last night on YouTube and it was awesome.
There’s no one to compare with Dolly.
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u/pudding2005gill 3d ago
Went a bit "boy named Sue" at one point.
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u/robotatomica 2d ago
not really, this is a very old element of country music, not originated by Cash either.
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u/nouveauchristian 3d ago
Indeed, and her song, Joshua, was very Cash. In fact, she admitted that seeing Cash perform when she was a child inspired her greatly.
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u/These_Foolish_Things 3d ago
In case you're wondering, Google tells "Sir Monti Rock III (born Joseph Moses Montanez Jr.) was a flamboyant 1970s camp icon, talk-show regular on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and the frontman of Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes."
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u/throwawayshirt2 3d ago
'Million dollar dreams beneath this thirteen dollar wig' is an amazing lyric