The Dolly Interview That Didn’t Happen

I was scheduled for a sit-down interview with Dolly Parton today.

Not to host it. I was the producer.

Four media outlets were invited: Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, People … and us.

It was a big deal.

The backstory …

Dolly was on my interview wish list for over 20 years. I’d tried to get to her at least a dozen times for my radio show on the music business.

Then, a couple of years ago, it finally happened. I interviewed her about her Rockstar album and a bunch of other things. We talked about her charity work and how she made me proud to be from Tennessee.

It was a great experience and it felt validating because she came to me.

So when her team reached out about today’s opportunity for a completely different show, it felt like winning the lottery twice.

Maybe my shot with her wasn’t a fluke. Maybe the kid who used to play radio DJ with baby monitors was onto something. And maybe the grown man working out of a tricked-out 5x8 closet is doing OK.

Sometimes the impact is invisible.

When you’re “in the closet,” or wherever you record or broadcast from, you don’t really know where your message goes. You don’t know who hears it in the car, on a walk, at work, in the kitchen, or during a moment in their life when they needed exactly what you said.

Most of them will never tell you.

So the best you can do is show up. Get something great on tape. And put it out there.

Then do it again.

Today’s interview was canceled. Not just for me, but everybody on the list: Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, and People …

It’s disappointing, but not something I’ll lose sleep over or regret. This is part of it.

The reward is getting to do this at all.

The reward is building something that even gets the opportunity.

The reward is being trusted with the message and reputation.

And sometimes the best content isn’t the polished episode that went exactly according to plan, but behind-the-scenes stuff of what didn’t.

If something doesn’t work out, you’ve got a great story to tell.

Keep showing up.