Dazzlin’ Dolly

The news of Dolly Parton’s passing didn’t surprise me. She hadn’t looked well and reports of her health struggles hinted that it may be something more than the challenges of eight decades. At 80, she sure didn’t look it or act it, on stage at least. I never saw her perform in person, but after our visit to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville a few years back, it was clear she was a force to be reckoned with. Singer, songwriter, actor, philanthropist. Her legacy lives on. And simply being a good person. That was Dolly. You can tell it was true because on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at precisely 9:25 (yes, as in her song “9 to 5”) the top of New York City’s Empire State Building lit up in a pink sparkle tribute to honor the country music icon. A lot of other landmarks did, too, as well as the Buckingham Palace Band of the Coldstream Guards playing her hit song from the 1980 comedy film of the same name during the Changing of the Guard ceremony in London. That’s when I felt my throat tighten and eyes well up with tears. Watching those royal musicians kicking it on the BBC in their traditional black and red garb. Gosh, she was something else.

Born January 19, 1946, in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Dolly was the fourth of 12 children. She came from nothing but was a child prodigy whose musical talent was evident by the time she was 10 years old. I can still remember seeing this tiny woman with big hair on TV singing her heart out with that goofy guy Porter Wagoner. She shined like a locomotive light. I never knew that she’d written “I Will Always Love You” for Wagoner before they parted ways in 1974.

Her list of professional accomplishments would tower over her 5-foot frame in 6-inch heels:

• Dolly sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
• She wrote and recorded so many iconic songs, from the haunting “Jolene” to the pop-crossover tune “Here You Come Again” and a little disco-country hit “Two Doors Down.” (My favorite is “Coat of Many Colors.”)
• She starred in successful feature films such as “Steel Magnolias” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
• Eleven Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, two Academy Award nominations, six Golden Globes and a Tony Award.
• Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Wait, there’s more.

A good union woman and working musician, Dolly was a member of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, which represents about 70,000 singers and players. She also joined the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAF-AFTRA) in 1969.

In 1995, she established the Imagination Library to provide free books and promote early childhood literacy worldwide.

She was married to the same man, Carl Dean, for nearly 60 years.

And how she played guitar with those nails is beyond me. Yet she did it so well.

One of Dolly’s quotes from Rolling Stone magazine in 1977 sticks with me: “I never really found my place ‘til I moved to Nashville and got in the music business. That was my real place, so I fit in. I was born restless, I really was.”

She knew what it meant to be different and took some heat for her progressive views. “We are all God’s children,” she once said. “We are who we are, and we should be allowed to be who we are.”

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dolly donated $1 million to fund research proving the mRNA vaccine technology worked. That led to grants, development of the Moderna vaccine and saved millions of lives. Oh, and a rewritten version of “Jolene” in 2021 called “Vaccine” that you’ll want to google just for giggles.

Sometimes, though, Dolly got serious. “Find out who you are and do it on purpose. And do it with purpose,” she was known to say. “Don’t ever sacrifice who you are, your principles and your morals and your values to just try to get ahead in business. It ain’t worth it.”

Rebecca and I have never been to the “Dollywood” theme park in eastern Tennessee. I think it’s time we did.

RIP, Dolly. Thank you for the joy, comfort and inspiration. And thanks for being you.

(YouTube VIDEO: If these three voices don’t give you chills, you’d better check your pulse. In 1987, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris released a collaborative album called “Trio.” It went platinum, so in 1994, they recorded “Trio II,” but it wasn’t released until 1999. That was when the three legends appeared on David Letterman’s “Late Show” to perform Neil Young’s song, “After the Gold Rush.” If you listen closely, you’ll notice that they altered two lines in their original Trio II recording: “In the nineteen seventies” was changed to “in the twentieth century.” And “I felt like getting high” was changed to “And I felt like I could cry.” No one knows if Dolly got Neil’s permission to change the lyrics. Perhaps she asked for forgiveness instead. But I doubt it.)