Dolly Parton makes surprise appearance amid ongoing health issues
Dolly Parton made a surprise appearance Wednesday at the grand opening of her new venture, a gas station and restaurant called Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop.
The legendary singer-songwriter, author, and businesswoman, now 80, cut the ribbon in a grand opening ceremony for the travel stop and welcomed guests in a pink-and-blue fringe outfit, complete with a "Dolly" name tag and stiletto heels.
"I'm sure some of you are wondering why I wanted a truck stop. Well, I couldn't leave it to beavers," the "9 to 5" singer said in remarks at the ceremony, referring to popular gas station chain Buc-ee's, whose mascot is a bucktoothed beaver named Buc-ee.
The new one-stop travel center is located off exit 22 on I-65 in Cornersville, Tennessee, about an hour south of Nashville, Tennessee, and an hour northwest of Huntsville, Alabama.
In addition to the usual fuel station, general store, coffee shop, and restaurant, Dolly's Tennessean Travel Stop also features a tour bus, mural, lounge, dog park, electric vehicle charging stations and event space.
Parton's appearance on Wednesday comes almost two months after she canceled her Las Vegas residency amid ongoing health issues. The singer had previously postponed her Vegas shows back in September citing "health challenges" before announcing their cancellation in May this year.
In a May 4 Instagram post, Parton said she was responding well to medications but needed more time to get better and "up to stage performance level."
"My immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple, three years, and they're working real hard on rebuilding [and] strengthening those, and hopefully I'll be up to snuff again soon," Parton said in part in a video at the time.
