The 1978 Neil Young tour that almost included Dolly Parton

Rust and country: When Dolly Parton almost opened for Neil Young in 1978 Have you ever been to a gig where the opener has upstaged the main act? It's a more common occurrence than you might think when the rising star of this up-and-comer shines brighter than the mainstay of the musical skyline. Nirvana famously opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1991, blowing the stage wide open for the Californian rockers to just pick up the pieces, while a young Jimi Hendrix came and upstaged every member of the London blues scene in '66, laying down a simply iconic set that couldn't be followed. Heck, The Rolling Stones had to once deal with the challenge of following James Brown: a truly impossible task. But the tension can often be made healthier by viewing the line-up of a gig slightly differently. Rather than it becoming a competition of the opening and closing acts, when it champions the individual greatness of two artists willing to share an audience, the dynamic begins to make much more sense. At least, that's what the brains behind Neil Young and Dolly Parton's live bill were thinking in '78 when they booked the pair to play at Richfield Coliseum. 'We are not the least bit concerned about how she will go over with Young's fans,' Jim Morey, Parton's manager, told Billboard at the time, when critics were scratching their heads as to just how this gig was booked, 'Nobody knows Young's fans better than he does, and he wouldn't have put Dolly Parton on his show if he did not think that she would appeal to his audience.' The question marks came over the fact that by '78, Parton was a proven headline act. Hot off the heels of Here You Come Again and Jolene, her greatest hits were already out in the open, and she was no longer in a position to introduce herself to the world. But where the booking contradicted that idea was how it came after the tour was sold out, and so Parton would be playing to a room of entirely Young fans. So why on earth would the already established Parton voluntarily relegate herself to the introductory forms of music, where a crowd was there to be won over and not celebrated? 'She's taking second billing to Young,' columnist Shirley Eder wrote in the lead-up to the show in '78, 'I couldn't believe that when I heard it, but it's true… We checked it out and learned that Ms Parton wants Neil Young's rock audience to become better acquainted with her. You know something, I believe that's a smart move. Billing isn't as important as a long-running career. And she could very well be getting more money than Young on the tour.' But then, right as music fans were about to experience one of the most iconic double billings in history, and Parton was to announce herself into the rock and roll halls of fame, the rug was pulled from beneath her stiletto. Young decided to change tack, opting for a different concept for the tour shortly before rehearsals began, which involved a bizarre set design and even roadies dressed up like Jawas from Star Wars. More crucially, he removed any semblance of country or folk sounds from his setlist, which should have been informed by the upcoming album of those genres, Comes a Time, and so there was no place for Parton, no matter how determined she was.