Country singer icon Dolly Parton is mourning her uncle, Bill Owens, who passed away today at the age of 85.
In a post on her blog, she wrote: “I’ve lost my beloved Uncle Bill Owens. I knew my heart would break when he passed, and it did.”
The singer credited Bill for her success, saying his constant encouragement got her where she is today.
She penned: “I’ll start this eulogy by saying I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t been there.
“He was there… there in my young years to encourage me to keep playing my guitar, to keep writing my songs, to keep practicing my singing.
(Image: Instagram)
“And he was there to help build my confidence standing on stage where he was always standing behind me or close beside me with his big ol’ red Gretsch guitar.”
Dolly described how he took her to local shows and got her her first job on the Cas Walker show, adding: “He took me back-&-forth to Nashville through the years, walked up-&-down the streets with me, knocking on doors to get me signed up to labels or publishing companies.
(Image: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
“It’s really hard to say or to know for sure what all you owe somebody for your success. But I can tell you for sure that I owe Uncle Billy an awful lot.”
She went on to say that her uncle was also a great musician that helped her write several songs, including Put It Off Until Tomorrow.
Dolly said: “Uncle Bill was so many things. He loved the music, loved to play, loved his guitar and loved to write and sing. He wrote great songs, at least 800 of them through the years.
(Image: Redferns via Getty Images)
“We wrote several songs together, the biggest one being “Put It Off Until Tomorrow.” We won our first big award on that one back in 1966. It was the BMI Song of the Year.”
She continued that he had written recorded by “Loretta Lynn, Porter Wagoner, Ricky Skaggs, Kris Kristofferson and many others” and travelled the road with many artists including Dolly herself.
“He was funny, friendly and generous. He always had a kind word for everybody and gave good advice to young people starting in the business,” said Dolly.
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She also detailed Bill’s environmental passion, working with foundations to bring back the endangered chestnut tree to the Great Smoky Mountain area, and to protect the environment around her amusement park Dollywood, going so far as to plant 70,000 trees on the park property.
She concluded by saying: “I bet a lot of our own relatives don’t even know all of the great things that Uncle Bill did behind the scenes through his life.
“But the greatest thing he ever did for me was to help me see my dreams come true and for that I will be forever grateful.
“I’m sure that Uncle Bill’s friends, fans, his wife Sandy, his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids will join me when I say that we will always love you. Rest in peace, Uncle Bill.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
