Dolly Parton delivered a performance at Glastonbury 2014 that redefined the term 'crowdpleaser', converting the festival's 200,000 attendees into a sing-along congregation. Dressed in a white rhinestone-studded trouser suit, she strutted across the Pyramid stage, leading the audience through an hour of clap-alongs and sing-alongs.
The set included absurd highlights such as a hoedown where Parton played banjo, fiddle, and a rhinestone-studded saxophone, using the latter to perform the Benny Hill theme tune twice. She also invented a song about the mud, prompting the crowd to chant 'mud, mud, mud' in unison. Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora joined for a gospel version of 'Lay Your Hands on Me'.
Parton's stage banter was as entertaining as the music, featuring bawdy puns and a rewritten history of 'Jolene' offering her husband to the hussy. Despite the corniness, moments of beauty shone through, including 'Jolene', 'Coat of Many Colors', and a closing 'I Will Always Love You'.
The performance culminated in 'Islands in the Stream' with a Kenny Rogers substitute named 'Richard', leaving the entire festival in her hands. As Parton herself said, 'It was corny, but it was fun.'
