Wardrobe malfunctions on the red carpet are nothing new these days, but Dolly Parton was the victim of one such event back in 1978 when her gown split up in the front just before she was to be crowned the CMA Awards Entertainer of the Year.
"I remember thinking, 'This is such a beautiful dress, but the fabric is so delicate!" she recalled, according to People. "I thought, 'Man, as tight as I wear my clothes…' — and I was a little hefty then anyway! — I thought, 'I hope this all holds together!'
"When they called my name," Parton continued, "I felt something creeping up my stomach, and I thought, 'Oh My God — my dress is coming apart!' And I thought, 'What am I gonna do?'"
Kenny Rogers' then-wife Marianne came to her rescue. Marianne was wearing a fur stole, which Parton borrowed and she bravely opened up to the crowd about her wardrobe malfunction.
"I had this dress made in case I won, and about five minutes ago, I was hoping I wouldn't win because I busted the front out of it! My daddy says that's what I got for putting 50 pounds of mud in a five-pound bag!" she said at the time.
At the 2016 CMA Awards, Parton was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award and the association honoured the event with a special tribute that featured artists such as Jennifer Nettles and Carrie Underwood.
Parton is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and she is a nine-time CMA Award winner.
