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On This Day: Dolly Parton Guest Stars on ‘Reba’ in 2005

Two queens of country music, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire are colleagues as well as friends. Both contemporaries of the same era, the two icons created their own legacies in country music. In addition to country music, the two also collaborated on TV. 

On this day, 16-years-ago, on April 15, 2005, the two teamed up on Reba’s classic sitcom. During the fourth season of the WB show, “Reba,” Parton made a guest appearance on an episode titled “Reba’s Rules of Real Estate.” In the episode, the “Jolene” singer played Dolly Majors, the real estate agency owner where McEntire’s character works. In the episode, McEntire’s character begins to see behind Majors’ sweet personality and realizes how ruthless she is.

Their longtime friendship began way back in 1977 when McEntire debuted at the Grand Ole Opry alongside Parton. Since then, the two have remained close. In 2020, the two queens of country even got candid together on McEntire’s podcast, Living & Learning with Reba McEntire. Even though the singers have had a lot of success, they’ve both overcame adversity. 

Dolly Parton on Reba’s Podcast

During the podcast, McEntire shared her story of getting back to business after going through a divorce. Parton also shared her tough decision not to sell away her rights to hit song and save her legacy for her family with “I Will Always Love You” when Elvis’ agent asked for more than she felt was fair. Together, they reminisced on how their struggles in their personal lives and in business made them stronger women, 

Throughout the years, McEntire and Parton have joined one another for musical performances. During a 2018 interview with E!, McEntire confessed that she’d love to tour with the “9 to 5” singer. 

“Wouldn’t that be a hoot? Yeah, I would consider that in a heartbeat,” the “Fancy” singer said, fondly remembering working with her friend. “I love Dolly Parton. When I was doing the Reba TV show, Dolly spent the whole week with us on set. She was one of the guest stars and that’s the last time we really got to sit down and visit.”

In addition, McEntire revealed that she would be interested in doing a Thelma & Louise-type project with Parton. “Anywhere you can go in the world and you say Dolly — you don’t have to say Dolly Parton — everybody knows Dolly and everybody loves Dolly. Why wouldn’t you want to hang out with her?”