LAST STAND FOR PARTON? : `TREASURES' MAY BE FINAL TRY TO CRACK FICKLE COUNTRY RADIO.

Byline: Jim Patterson Associated Press 

Dolly Parton, age 80, sitting in a rocking chair on her front porch somewhere in the Great Smoky Mountains, strumming an autoharp?

Hard to fathom, huh? Especially when she's wearing a bustier.

The image is supposed to be Dolly in her Golden Years.

But it's pretty hard to envision the bodice-burning blonde ever slowing down. At 50, she's as thin and glamorous as a model, dressed in white denim with a black bustier laced at her famous cleavage.

And yet, here she is waxing about her retirement. Do you believe her? If so, it's time for a reality check. A born huckster does not willingly fade away.

With a conspiratorial smile and nudge to the ribs comes the pitch: ``And I'll be pushing those homemade tapes! But will you come and write about me then?''

Probably. Certainly. Most definitely. Because Dolly Parton is an event unto herself.

She arrives at the Music Row offices of her new record company, and even staffers who have dealt with famous people for decades openly gawk. A tiny blur in the middle of a busload of band members and hangers-on, Parton quickly establishes cheerful dominance of her dominion.

``What is THIS?'' she scolds a young publicist who is trying to squeeze in more interviews than she was expecting. Just as he appears to be actually shrinking, she smiles and squeezes his shoulder and says, ``I'll do it this time.''

In similar fashion, Parton is trying to cajole country radio programmers to take another listen to her music. Caught in the same quandary as other still-vital country stars now considered passe by radio programmers, she has switched from Sony to the new Rising Tide Records (distributed by UNI).

She is promoting ``Treasures,'' an album she says may be her last effort to appeal to the country format. This time she has sidelined her own formidable writing skills in favor of familiar hits such as ``Behind Closed Doors'' and ``For the Good Times.'' As an added attraction, she and producer Steve Buckingham have packed the CD with guest appearances by stars like Alison Krauss, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and members of Blues Traveler and Los Lobos.

The first single is ``Just When I Needed You Most,'' a No. 4 pop hit for Randy Vanwarmer in 1979. Krauss harmonizes and John Sebastian, ex-leader of the Lovin' Spoonful, plays autoharp.

``It's me trying to still get played on country radio,'' Parton said. ``If I don't get some play even with this ... then I'll realize that I'm not wanted in country music.'' She says she'll try and target the adult contemporary market if country radio isn't interested. Parton will support the CD with a CBS television special on Nov. 30.

``People don't realize how serious I do take the music,'' Parton said. ``And I've tried a lot of things through the years because I have ... the theme park (Dollywood in East Tennessee) and other ways to make a living.

``Some of the older artists that's my same age ... they can't get a record played, therefore they can't even work in the honky-tonks unless it's beer joints. And that makes me sad.''

Parton's talent and image will likely keep her out of beer joints for the duration. She has a viable career in Hollywood, even though her variety show failed a few seasons back, and is now working on a sitcom for television. A Broadway show is a possibility, when she finds or writes the appropriate material. Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is a success each summer season.

``I had to overcome my image for my music's sake, but by the same token it's my image that's allowed me to do so many of the other things,'' Parton said. ``I don't regret it, it's just a balancing act.

``It's as much a balancing act as holding up these boobs walking around on these heels!''

A child prodigy in her native East Tennessee, Parton moved to Nashville to pursue a country music career the day after her high school graduation. She replaced Norma Jean as Porter Wagoner's duet partner in 1967, and he helped launch her solo career by producing her records.

Her classic records, many written by Parton herself, came in the 1970s. Among the best were ``Coat of Many Colors,'' ``Jolene'' and ``The Bargain Store.''

She shocked Nashville when she went pop in 1977 with the No. 3 hit ``Here You Come Again.'' Hits such as ``9 to 5'' and ``Islands in the Stream'' followed, as did high-profile roles in movies including ``The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' and ``Steel Magnolias.''

Parton says country music was always her preference, but it just didn't pay to pursue it in the 1970s the way it does now.

``I wasn't making any money here, even though I had chart records - and even No. 1 records,'' Parton said. `` `Jolene' sold 60,000 copies, which was no money. I couldn't even buy makeup remover for that, and I had a band and a bus and everything else.

``I have no regrets of what I've done. I have taken chances and I'm still taking chances.''

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Photo: If Dolly Parton's new album doesn't get noticed on y outh-oriented country radio, the singer-songwriter says she may turn to adult-contemporary music or focus on her Hollywood plans, which include a new sitcom.

Associated Press