By Sarah Curran
CELEBRATING his 50th birthday in a Nashville bar, a Newtownards man described the ‘surreal’ moment he learned of Dolly Parton’s death.
Having just visited Boston for a number of days, James and Nicola travelled to Nashville last Monday and the following day they headed to The Stage Bar in Lower Broadway to celebrate, unbeknownst that they would witness history unfold.
James Forsythe had always hoped to one day visit the home of country music in Tennessee and approaching his milestone birthday, he and his wife Nicola decided they would travel to Nashville to celebrate.
The Tennessee icon, died aged 80 after a brief battle with cancer, and is known for her many successful songs including Coat of Many Colours, Jolene, I Will Always Love You and Nine to Five.
“It was about 12.30pm Tennessee time and the band stopped playing mid-song,” James recalled.
“I thought it was quite bizarre because the bar was quite busy and the guitarist said we have some breaking news that has just come on stage.”
The guitarist told the audience of Dolly’s passing, leaving the packed out bar stunned and in silence.
“They then started playing Nine to Five,” he said.
“It was just bizarre, being there on my birthday, in Nashville and just getting the news.”
With tickets that night to the Grand Ole Opry, James and his wife made their way to country music’s biggest stage, where journalists and film crews were already beginning to line the streets as the nation mourned Dolly’s loss.
“It was just unbelievable. It was our first full day and my 50th birthday when all this happened,” James said. James said there was ‘plenty of tears’ at the concert, with a tribute to Dolly played before the artists took to the stage and each artist spoke kind words about her before performing.
“Going to the Grand Ole Opry for my birthday was always planned because I am big into my country and I wanted to go and see what it was like and so to go that night was just unbelievable.”
A tribute night to Dolly was held on Saturday in the popular country venue.
The next day James and Nicola enjoyed a tour bus of Music Row and noticed many American flags at half-mast.
James continued: “No matter where you went on Wednesday and Thursday it was all people were talking about.” Coming through Nashville International Airport on their journey home, chat continued, with petitions launched to rename the airport after Dolly Parton.
James said he and his wife enjoyed their holiday and that the experience was totally unforgettable.
“I will never forget where I was when I heard that Dolly Parton died,” he said.
With much of his trip filled with talk about the legacy of Dolly, James said he noticed there was not one negative thing said about her.
“Nobody had a bad thing to say about her, that is one thing I noticed while I was there,” he said.
“It was universal that everyone seemed to mourn her and say how great she was and praise what she had done,” he continued, noting her literacy scheme for young children.
Dolly Parton was laid to rest in a private family funeral on Friday, where she was buried beside her late husband, Carl Dean, in Tennessee.
The performer was also known for her philanthropy through her non-profit Dollywood Foundation and her literacy programme, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
