Reba McEntire Recalls Contacting Dolly Parton for Their 2021 Duet: 'You Don't Call Dolly, You Fax Her'

"I even asked Kenny Rogers one time, I said, 'Do you have Dolly's cell number?' He said, 'No.' So you fax her," Reba McEntire told Dave Cobb on Apple Music's Southern Accents Radio

Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty

Good luck getting in touch with Dolly Parton via phone.

In an interview with Apple Music's Southern Accents Radio dropping Saturday, Reba McEntire told host Dave Cobb about her experience collaborating with the 76-year-old "Jolene" icon on an updated version of "Does He Love You" for 2021's Revived Remixed Revisited album and revealed the unconventional method through which they got in touch.

During the interview, Cobb, 47, who produced all 10 tracks of the album's Revisited section, questioned the 67-year-old "Fancy" musician about what it was like "making that phone call" to ask Parton to collaborate on the duet, originally recorded with Linda Davis and released in 1993.

"Well, you don't call Dolly, you fax her," McEntire said. "And you fax your people and your people talk to her people."

Surprised by the response, Cobb asked for more details, as fax machines aren't exactly common household items these days. "That's the only way I know to get ahold of her," admitted the three-time Grammy winner. "I even asked Kenny Rogers one time, I said, 'Do you have Dolly's cell number?' He said, 'No.' So you fax her."

Parton's penchant for faxing may come as a surprise, as she appeared alongside her goddaughter Miley Cyrus in a T-Mobile commercial promoting 5G phones, which aired during Super Bowl LVI earlier this year. However, the 29-year-old former Hannah Montana star has also spoken publicly about receiving faxes from the prolific singer-songwriter.

In an October 2020 interview on The Graham Norton Show, Cyrus revealed Parton asked her to collaborate on a duet titled "Christmas Is" for her A Holly Dolly Christmas album. "She faxed me," she said at the time, noting she didn't own a fax machine to receive the message. "She gets upset when you don't respond, and it's like, I'm sorry, I don't even know. Half the people watching your show might not even know what a fax machine is."

Elsewhere in McEntire's Apple Music interview, she spoke about her relationship with Parton and complimented her singularity as an artist and human. "She did tell me one time that she gets up early in the morning and she writes. She writes every day," dished the "I'm a Survivor" performer. "But Dolly is different than anybody I've ever met, whether they're in the business or not."

"She's so creative, so witty, so spunky, so feisty. And the biggest-hearted person I've ever met in my life, and I've met some bighearted people," continued the Reba actress, detailing her appreciation for the "I Will Always Love You" songwriter. "But she's a giver and I don't know, I'm in awe of Dolly. I'm not intimidated, it's just, I'm in awe of her. She's just... I don't know."

Her complimentary words for the big-haired country diva didn't stop there. "I put her out there sometimes, God's little sister because she helps so many people and takes care of so many people," said McEntire. "It's just like an angel on earth. I really respect her a lot."