The festival of hip-hop culture surrounding NBA All-Star weekend seems to have pushed Dolly Parton all the way out of town to Primm.

But imagine a backing beat when the singer offers a telephone sampling of her upcoming single, and you have a hip-hop declaration in the making.

Parton was in the studio last month working on the album "Backwoods Barbie." The title track is "my story about my look," she explained, quoting some of the lyrics:

"Too much makeup, too much hair, but don't be fooled thinking that the goods are not all there... Don't let these false eyelashes lead you to believe I'm as shallow as I look, because I run true and deep."

The singer, 61, laughed when asked if this is her response to Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman."

"I'm the original redneck woman," said the singer, who performs Saturday at Buffalo Bill's Star of the Desert Arena. "I love (Wilson), I should be so lucky as to have the success she's having. I haven't had things played on the radio in years."

The upcoming album makes a sincere attempt to cure that with a radio-friendly approach. "If they don't play this one (then) I'm not going to worry about that part (of my career) any more."

However, she assures fans, "I'll never retire. I'll be writing and singing and making records even if I have to sell 'em out of the trunk of my car."

It wouldn't be all that big a stretch, given the schizophrenic nature of Parton's career. "A lot of people really do know I'm a serious writer and singer," she said. Last year's "The Acoustic Collection" was a box set of three bluegrass and folk albums she previously released on her own label.

But more people know her as a celebrity caricature, "just a big girl with big hair, big tits, big mouth," as she says.

"But I am all of that," she added, and the duality "makes it fun for me, really."

It was the latter persona that first made Parton a Las Vegas showroom attraction in 1981, in the wake of her "Nine to Five" crossover fame (the movie is now being developed as a theatrical musical).

Some blame her $350,000 per week salary for effectively killing star policy for the rest of the decade and creating today's rent-the-room practices.

Parton remembers those big-money shows at the Riviera as her first shot at a big-time paycheck after years on the honky-tonk circuit. "That's why we were doing those type shows, to get all the money you can. (The casinos) can afford it. They're gonna steal everybody else's money. Why can't I have some of it?" ...

A local subcontractor didn't want to go on the record, but wanted to weigh in on last Friday's Neon section story about magician Steve Wyrick's long-delayed theater and club complex at the Desert Passage mall.

While not intentionally naive, the article may have gone too far suggesting delays were all based on the comparatively small scale of the endeavor compared with, say, MGM's CityCenter.

The tradesman says that from March through September, contractors were only paid in "trickles." "We were funding his job for all intents and purposes," he said.

The projects also started without a complete set of plans and contractors were doing much of the work "with very little information." Electrical drawings, for instance, weren't submitted until mid-November, and the wiring required major revision at a late stage to provide enough power for the stage production.

Wyrick and ventriloquist Ronn Lucas had their "soft" openings last weekend, and if all went as planned, singer Martin Nievera was scheduled to join them Wednesday with a 5 p.m. show sandwiched in between Lucas in the afternoon and Wyrick at night. ...

Calling in the cavalry: Late last year, the Hard Rock Hotel's longtime promoter, Andrew Hewitt, jumped ship to book a new rival concert venue at the Palms.

Now, with the hotel out of limbo -- a $770 million sale to Morgans Hotel Group closed earlier this month -- it sounds like management is seeking help from AEG Live, which operates the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The company is the concert arm of the Anschutz Co., operated by Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz. The company has a lot of clout with artists and managers because of its hand in the Staples Center and Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

However, it's too early to know if AEG will book the venue exclusively or, more likely, if The Joint will remain an open venue and AEG will present concerts there that don't conflict with those at the Colosseum or, down the road, Boyd Gaming's Echelon Place replacement for the Stardust. ...

Finally, here's how you know Danny Gans is more of a man's man than a gal's guy. Though he routinely has turned down interview requests from major news outlets and national television appearances -- including "The View" and David Letterman -- the NBA All-Star Game was apparently the offer he couldn't refuse. Gans will perform the national anthem on Sunday.

For most of the things he turns down, Gans cites scheduling conflicts or the fact that he doesn't need help selling tickets. With the Beatles "Love" now selling out every show as his Mirage roommate, you don't suppose the latter has -- No, I'm sure he's just a hoops fan.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. E-mail him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.