Dolly Parton had a wardrobe malfunction at the worst possible moment, just before she was to take the stage and accept the Entertainer of the Year award at the CMA Awards in 1978.

The mishap took place just minutes before Parton was announced as the winner, she recalled to People in 2016.

“I remember thinking, 'This is such a beautiful dress, but the fabric is so delicate! I thought, ‘Man, as tight as I wear my clothes…’ — and I was a little hefty then anyway! — I thought, ‘I hope this all holds together!'"

"When they called my name, I felt something creeping up my stomach, and I thought, ‘Oh My God — my dress is coming apart!’" Parton added. "And I thought, ‘What am I gonna do?'”

She handled the situation with class, nonchalantly walking up to accept the trophy with a fur stole in her arms that she borrowed at the last second from Kenny Rogers' then-wife, Marianne, who was seated nearby at the ceremony.

Parton didn't shy away from explaining the rip to the crowd of 5,000, however.

“I had this dress made in case I won, and about five minutes ago, I was hoping I wouldn’t win because I busted the front out of it! My daddy says that’s what I got for putting 50 pounds of mud in a five-pound bag!" the irrepressible country icon quipped.

See Dolly Parton's Life and Career in Pictures

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