Dolly Parton

In 1977, Neiman, now a Bally Vice-President, decided to pursue a pinball machine based on the rising country music star Dolly Parton. He believed this would be a good fit for rural and country bars, arcades, and convenience stores. He contacted Parton’s publicist and arranged a licensing contract by mid-1978. In 1978, Parton had just won The Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award, its highest honor. Bally assigned well-known pinball artist Dave Christensen to develop the artwork, instructing him to design the machine around Parton’s country star persona.
But, as the pinball design progressed, Parton’s career was developing and taking a new direction. Her recordings were topping the pop music charts and her appeal was broadening. Her style, her music, and her dress were all changing. She had a new publicity team.
In late 1978, Bally asked for approval of the pinball machine artwork, but Parton’s publicists rejected it, unhappy with the country girl image. They told Bally, “That’s not who Dolly is.” They asked for a redesign with a “Las Vegas” style. Having already invested a lot in the design, Bally proposed a compromise — keep the playfield the same but redesign the backglass. They argued it would show “both sides” of Parton. Parton’s people reluctantly agreed. Nieman remembers:

“We did the whole game country-western. I showed them the artwork and the backglass, and they said, ‘Oh, no, Dolly is Vegas.’ I said, ‘really?’ And they said, ‘She’s gowns and lights. She’s everything in Vegas.’” — Tom Nieman, former Bally executive

Christensen was asked to revise the backglass artwork. This delayed the project for several months. Christensen also remembers a specific request, late in the project, for butterflies. The revised version is what finally made it onto the machines.