Miley Cyrus Remembers Her Last Talk With Dolly Parton

When Miley Cyrus sat down with Zane Lowe for Apple Music’s series, the conversation turned, almost inevitably, to the woman she calls her godmother – Dolly Parton. The queen of country, who slipped away in August after a brief battle with cancer, left behind a swirl of memories, but one moment in particular stuck with Cyrus: their final phone call.

“The last thing we talked about was my new album, Bass Persuades,” Cyrus said, a smile cracking through the nostalgia. “Every time I get a vinyl pressed, the first thing I do is send a copy to Dolly. It’s become a little ritual, you know? She always loved the tactile feel of a record.”

Even though their musical worlds could not be more different – Parton’s glittering Nashville roots versus Cyrus’s genre‑bending pop‑rock experiments – the two women found a common ground in authenticity. “She’s famous for the big hair, the sequins, the whole spectacle,” Cyrus explained. “But underneath that, there’s a real, raw person everyone gravitates toward. That’s the part I connected with.”

Cyrus also drew parallels between Dolly’s guidance and her own experience growing up as Hannah Montana. “There was a time when I lived behind a persona,” she recalled. “Dolly showed me you can wear a costume and still be true to yourself. Sometimes I think of what I do as ‘drag’ – a performance that sits on top of the person who feeds the tortoise every morning. Dolly helped me love both sides.”

One memory that made Cyrus laugh was Dolly’s reaction to a tear‑filled performance of “End of the World” on David Letterman. “She asked, ‘Why are you crying?’ I told her it was about losing my mom and the world ending. She said, ‘Music is escapism. Let them cry. You have to get through it.’ That’s Dolly – she loved me even when I was a mess of emotions.”

When Lowe joked that Parton could probably sing “I Will Always Love You” without shedding a tear, Cyrus admitted she had. “I cried on stage with her,” she said, voice soft. “She understood that my tears come from standing on the shoulders of people who paved the road before me – people like Dolly, who are no longer here to answer the ‘what now?’ question.”

Reflecting on the timeless wisdom she received, Cyrus summed it up with a simple truth: “Dolly was always right. It’s like a mom’s advice – you roll your eyes when you’re young, then realize she knew everything.”

After the singer’s passing, Cyrus posted a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, describing the loss as “beyond words.” She added that the love and guidance Dolly gave will continue to echo in every note she sings, every vinyl she spins, and every moment she lets herself be vulnerable.