Billy Ray Cyrus shares personal letter Dolly Parton wrote him in 1992
Billy Ray Cyrus is sharing a personal piece of his history with Dolly Parton for the first time.
Cyrus marked Dolly Parton Day on Sept. 25 by revealing on Instagram a letter the country music icon wrote him in 1992, shortly after the pair first met and just as his career was beginning to take off.
"Billy, I'm glad to be working with you. I've been looking forward to it for a few weeks now," Parton, who died Aug. 25 at age 80, wrote in the letter. "I'm proud of what's going on with you. I too think you are special. I wish you even more in the years to come."
Parton also included a playful admission about meeting Cyrus.
"I'm sorry I stammered and blushed when I met you but I’m just like all the other girls these days (just a little older)," she wrote.
Parton went on to thank Cyrus for signing photos for her nieces, writing that they would "love" her for it. She closed the note by returning the favor, telling Cyrus to reach out if he ever needed anything and signing it, "Love Dolly."
Cyrus said Parton gave him the letter a few weeks after they first met in Chicago in the spring of 1992. At the time, "Achy Breaky Heart" was beginning its climb, while his debut album, "Some Gave All," had not yet been released.
In a caption accompanying the letter, Cyrus explained just how much he has treasured the note over the past three decades.
He said another of his most prized possessions is a handwritten letter from Johnny Cash and that Parton’s letter sits "right beside it."
"To me they go together," Cyrus wrote, referring to Cash and Parton as two of his heroes who took the time to share personal messages with "an ole Kentucky Boy."
Not long after Parton wrote the letter, the two worked together on her song "Romeo," alongside Tanya Tucker, Kathy Mattea, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Pam Tillis.
Their relationship would continue for decades. Parton became godmother to Cyrus' daughter Miley Cyrus and later appeared with the father-daughter duo on Disney Channel’s "Hannah Montana."
"So many memories and moments with Dolly, from network television specials to 'Hannah Montana,'" Cyrus wrote in his tribute.
He said the Sept. 25 celebration felt like the right occasion to finally share the letter publicly, more than three decades after receiving it.
"Today felt like the right day to share it," Cyrus wrote. "Shine on, Dolly."
