Here’s Why Dolly Parton’s Three 1980s Owensboro Concerts Were Abruptly Cancelled

In my young mind, Owensboro jumped into the ranks of much bigger cities in 1977 when the Executive Inn Rivermont opened downtown. The massive open-air lobby, the glass elevator, and the parade of big stars across the Showroom Lounge stage were mind-blowing for this sixth grader.

The Executive Inn Owensboro

Sometimes, we would just go down to the hotel to ride the elevators up and down. Cheap fun, and they didn't care. More often than not, though, that was a treat that came with eating in the Patio Dining Room, a restaurant my parents added to our "going-out" rotation. As for big-name stars? The Executive Inn Showroom Lounge was a mere two-hour drive from Nashville, making it a very attractive venue to Music City A-listers. One of the biggest, however, never made it to the stage. It was close, though.

Dolly Parton and the Executive Inn

You can imagine how excited we all were when we learned Dolly Parton had scheduled not one, but THREE shows, at the Exec in January of 1983. (I consulted an inflation calculator and learned that that ticket would cost $174.36 today.)

Now, imagine our disappointment when the shows were abruptly canceled. But that disappointment was tempered when we learned the reason for the shutdown.

Why Dolly Parton's Owensboro Concerts Were Cancelled

Dolly was whisked out of Owensboro via police escort when she received death threats, according to United Press International, which goes on to inform us that the superstar had been dealing with threats of that nature for six years. Why anyone would want to harm or even threaten one of the best people to ever live on this planet is beyond me, but you can't not take that seriously. And so, those 1983 shows were canceled.

But she did give an interview to the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer's Keith Lawrence, who was duly impressed. In 2019, Keith said this about the interview.

Close, but no cigar. Almost only counts in horseshoes. Pick a cliché. Oh here's a good one...what might have been. Sigh.