The '9 to 5' hitmaker has thrilled a gravely-ill cancer patient with a surprise phone call and serenaded him with 'I Will Always Love You' just before Christmas.
- Dec 28, 2023
AceShowbiz - Dolly Parton made a dying man's Christmas wish come true. The singer phoned Utah resident LeGrand Gold, who grew up in Tennessee just like Dolly, 77, after learning one of his bucket list items was to get in touch with her before he passed away.
After he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2019, LeGrand made his list with his wife Alice Gold, and among the 11 dying desires was to "meet Dolly Parton." "I thought, 'Well, it's never going to happen,' " he told KSL-TV about how he had been resigned to Dolly never getting in touch.
But earlier this month after the dad-of-five was told his cancer was "spreading" and his chemotherapy was "not working anymore" Dolly heard about his plight and called the Gold family at around 9.30 A.M. on Friday, December 22 morning.
LeGrand's wife recorded the call, which started with Dolly asking her husband how he was feeling and thanking him for being a lifelong fan. Dolly said, "Hey LG! It's Dolly P! I've heard you've been a fan of mine for many years and I just wanted to thank you for that."
After chatting, Dolly also told LeGrand how thankful she was they had been on the same "journey together in this lifetime." She added, "I'm just happy to know that I've touched your life in some way. So thank you for honouring me with that."
LeGrand and Alice then got the chance to tell Parton how much she means to them. He told the "Jolene" singer, "You've been a huge help, especially these past two years."
Alice said to Dolly, "We love your music, (LeGrand) has loved you his entire life, his family goes to Dollywood - like we have all been season pass holders for like ever - and we love you."
Near the end of their call, Dolly told LeGrand that she "will always love" him before serenading him with a short rendition of "I Will Always Love You" - during which she changed the lyrics to "I will always love LG."
LeGrand said, "She sang a song, put my name in the song. I feel like I'm immortal now. It was really cool. It made me feel good."
