As the world remembers Dolly Parton following her death Aug. 25 at age 80, there is a little-known - at least by those who didn't truly know her - connection to the chiropractic profession worth revisiting: Dolly once publicly acknowledged using chiropractic care, and another entertainer even recalled meeting her at a chiropractor's office when she was young.
The earliest documented evidence comes directly from Dolly herself. In early November 2009, she posted on Twitter, “Aahhh chiropractor... Hurts so good 😊,” adding, “You lug these around and see if your back don't hurt!” Glamour reported the exchange two days later, noting that Parton was joking about the physical demands her famous figure placed on her back.1
Eight years later, singer Kesha appeared on “The Graham Norton Show” and was asked about her connection to Dolly through her mother, songwriter Pebe Sebert. Kesha said she had met Parton once, when Kesha was 10, at a chiropractor's office. The episode was recorded Nov. 16 and broadcast Nov. 24, 2017. The exchange occurred during a discussion of Dolly’s 1980 recording of “Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You),” a song co-written by Kesha's mother.2 (Kesha and Dolly later re-recorded it together for Kesha's 2017 album, “Rainbow.”) And in a 2022 Rolling Stone interview, Kesha recalled, “When I was a little kid, my mom came back from the chiropractor and told me, ‘Oh, I just saw Dolly.’”3
Dolly also was included in a list of celebrity patients in an article published in the Asia-Pacific Chiropractic Journal. The article included other prominent entertainers and athletes such as Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Tina Turner, Venus Williams, Bob Hope, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Cher, Clint Eastwood, and Madonna.4
As the world remembers one of America's most recognizable entertainers, the chiropractic connection is a memorable footnote to the Dolly Parton story. It also begs the question: How many other entertainers and celebrities use or have used chiropractic?
References
- Lester S. “Racy Question: How Do You Feel About Your Boobs?” Glamour, Nov. 4, 2009.
- “The Graham Norton Show,” Series 22, Episode 8. Broadcast Nov. 24, 2017; recorded Nov. 16, 2017.
- Weinflash A. “Kesha on Dolly Parton: ‘She's a Guiding Light, and Has No Idea.’” Rolling Stone, March 9, 2022.
- Rome PL, Waterhouse JD. “Social and Professional Involvements in, and Contributions to, the Biological Sciences by Chiropractors: With Other Notable Contributors to the Discipline.” Asia-Pacific Chiro J, 2023;4(2).
