Forty-seven years after he snapped a compelling photograph of 23-year-old Dolly Parton making her debut performance in Bangor, city resident and pawn shop owner Orlando Frati finally had a chance last weekend to meet the now-famous country-music superstar.
Frati, 84, had less than a minute backstage with Parton — just time enough to pose for a few quick photos before she stepped onstage for her full-house performance at the Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion on Saturday.
“She was beautiful,” Frati said. “She had on a beautiful dress, and she was all glittered up.” After the meet-up, Parton’s managers escorted him back to his seat. Frati thoroughly enjoyed the concert with his daughter, who accompanied him to the event.
“The show was great,” he said. “She sang so many songs and told a lot of stories about her family and her childhood. She made everyone feel at home.”
But Frati has a more lasting memento of Parton’s recent visit.
At the beginning of June, Frati contacted the Bangor Daily News to suggest a story about a collection of photos he’d taken in the past, including shots of a number of big-name country music performers who performed in Bangor in the 1960s and 1970s.
In particular, he said, he had a nice photo of country newcomer Dolly Parton taken in the mid-1960s, when she opened a Bangor show for country star Porter Wagoner. Now that Parton was finally returning to Bangor, Frati suggested, perhaps readers would enjoy seeing that old photo and reliving memories of old-time country music’s heyday in Maine.
The BDN story and photos attracted the attention of Waterfront Concerts, the organization that books concerts at Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion and other sites throughout the state. Frati was contacted and offered the opportunity to meet Parton backstage and have her sign the old photograph. He understood he would have to buy a ticket for the show, which he did.
He arrived early Saturday evening, carrying his photo of Parton. “When I went to the security area, I found there was a ticket waiting for me,” he said. But he already had a ticket and one for his daughter, too, so he didn’t say anything about it. Someone from Waterfront Concerts took the old photo from him and carried it over to Parton’s tour bus. When he got it back, the photograph was signed.
A little while later, Frati went backstage to meet Parton in person.
After being checked by security staff, Frati was brought over to meet Parton. It was just a few minutes before she would step out on the giant stage in front of a ramped-up, adoring crowd.
“She was very nice,” he said. “She said, ‘So, you’re Orlando.’ And I said, ‘I can’t believe I’ve waited 47 years to see you again.’” No one but Parton’s photographer was allowed to take pictures, he said, and Parton was not signing autographs. For Frati, she’d made an exception.
It was just a few seconds, and then Frati was back in the audience, holding his precious, newly signed photograph.
“I’m going to have it framed and hang it in my house,” he said. “She wrote, ‘To Orlando, love, Dolly Parton.’ That’s awfully nice, don’t you think?”
