Reba McEntire Shares the Dolly Parton Lessons She Carries With Her
Reba McEntire has described what Dolly Parton taught her about work, confidence and success during a recent appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show. Billboard reported her remarks on 21 October 2026.
McEntire said Parton carried herself with confidence and poise. She could cut a joke quickly, and she made everyone around her feel comfortable. McEntire also recalled a week Parton spent in California in 2005, filming an episode of the TV series Reba. On that set, McEntire said, Parton treated everyone equally.
The two singers recorded together for decades. In 2021 they made a new version of "Does He Love You," a song McEntire first recorded with Linda Davis in 1993. Earlier in 2026, before her death, Parton released a collaborative version of "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" with McEntire, Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus and Queen Latifah.
Parton died on August 25 at age 80, after a brief battle with cancer. McEntire was filming the TV show Happy's Place on that day. She said she felt Parton with her throughout it.
McEntire also talked about her own career. She said she reinvented herself by moving from music videos to movies, then to television, then to Broadway, where she starred in Annie Get Your Gun. A reinvention, in this sense, means a deliberate change of direction, and McEntire presented her moves across media as a series of such changes.
Her tribute to Parton was also public. At the 2026 Emmys ceremony honouring Parton, McEntire performed "Appalachian Memories," a song Parton released in 1983. She wore a sparkling white gown and jewellery, including a butterfly ring that had belonged to Parton.
McEntire and Hudson have shared the stage before. A 2024 article on the show's website describes the two discussing singing together, and the show has featured McEntire in several of its musical segments since its first season. The show's YouTube channel has posted a video of the conversation, with a description that says McEntire talks about what Parton taught her about confidence, kindness and success.
For anyone who grew up with Parton's music or her television work, the appearance offers a close look at how one of country music's best-known voices passes on what she learned from another. McEntire's account centres on Parton's manners as much as her music, and on how a person can hold a room without raising her voice.
