Doubt surrounds Parton

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 8:39 a.m.

Questions have been raised about whether country music legend Dolly Parton actually sang all of her songs Tuesday night at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

On Thursday, Parton's tour publicist said she was unable to reach the headliner for comment, but referred the Sun to a statement Parton made to fan Web site www.dollymania.net in October, when lip-syncing allegations were made by other media outlets.

"Yes, there are portions of the songs in the show that are prerecorded," Parton told Dollymania on Oct. 19. "I tell you that at the beginning of the show when I say, 'If you notice some enhancement or doctoring in the show, it's not to fool or trick anyone. It's an effort to entertain by being able to have a bigger production and, hopefully, a better sound.' "

Despite that statement, Parton has been dogged by lip-syncing accusations during her "Hello, I'm Dolly" tour, the singer-songwriter's first major outing in more than a decade.

In an Oct. 20 story, a reviewer for the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal wrote: "For such a respected artist ... (the use of prerecorded tracks) was a bit disappointing and a seemingly unnecessary distraction. But the bulk of fans either didn't notice or didn't seem interested in playing the, 'Is she or isn't she singing?' game."

And on Nov. 6, a reviewer for the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer noted: "Parton's legacy of authenticity made it doubly troubling that, for whatever reason, she elected to use prerecorded vocals on some of her most cherished songs. On 'I Will Always Love You,' 'Coat of Many Colors' and others, a vocal track, awash in processing and sibilant echo, played as Parton mouthed along."

Las Vegas Sun freelance reviewer Leah Robinson, who awarded the show 4 1/2 stars (out of a possible five) in Wednesday's edition, said she read a report beforehand that Parton might have lip-synced during the tour, but did not see clear evidence of it at the Caesars show.

"She did bluegrass, acoustic songs, and there would be no way to lip-sync that sort of thing," Robinson said. "And one time, you could hear where the sound cut out when the microphone moved away from her mouth."

Lip-syncing has become a hot-button issue since Ashlee Simpson's Oct. 23 "Saturday Night Live" debacle, in which the teen pop star was embarrassed after being caught using a prerecorded vocal track on live television.

Caesars spokesman Michael Coldwell referred questions to Parton's publicists, but said, to the best of his knowledge, "We have not had any customer complaints, and the word of mouth on the show is that it was a spectacular performance."

Robinson said Parton used a teleprompter that scrolled lyrics and even a few of the headliner's prepared jokes, but that Parton made no secret of that fact, referring to the technology from the stage at one point during the performance.