Dolly Parton Merges With The Infinite

The great Dolly Parton, musician, storyteller, philanthropist, entrepreneur, amusement park mogul, and one of the best of us, has passed at the age of 80.

If you've never heard it, I highly recommend the podcast Dolly Parton's America from RadioLab on NPR.

I grew up in the 1980's when Dolly - through radio play, TV and her hit movies Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and 9-to-5 - became a household name.  In short, I cannot remember a world before I knew who she was.  I even saw her in November of 1985 .sitting in the rafters of the Erwin Center, in a co-headlining tour with Kenny Rogers (Sawyer Brown was supporting). 

As I became a teen, country music was *the enemy* for a good patch, as I think a lot of us shut it down who live below the Mason-Dixon line as we build our little lines between us and them.  So it was not until after college that I finally clicked to who Dolly was as a musician.  It came, really, with the release of Little Sparrow - pretty late for me as it was her 38th album.  I believe I bought Emmylou Harris's Red Dirt Girl the same landmark day (unaware of the Trio effort with Linda Ronstadt until Nathan C showed me the way a few years back).

A second round for the Trio team in the late 1990's

It does seem that as we entered the 00's, the jokes about Dolly became a relic of our forebears* and rather than just noting her striking appearance, the subsequent generation (which had been raised with far more provocative acts) latched onto her musical output, her tremendous generosity and the kind spirit she held up to the world, even when you knew she had to be tired or even heartbroken.  

We were all aware of her humble beginnings in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee, which she'd folded directly into her own mythology via story and song.  And because she knew what it was not to have what others might have, and that she could help fill the need, she gave back.  One example is that millions of kids had a book or three of their own thanks to Parton's generosity.

Generation after generation of performers adored her, and in recent years she was performing duets with The Highwomen, Lainey Wilson and Sabrina Carpenter.  She interpreted the songs of others - and her version of Brandi Carlisle's The Story is at least equal to Carlisle's (I may not-so-secretly like it better, and I love Carlisle's original).

Across demographics, political persuasions, sexual orientations, etc... et al, across the world, Dolly was welcome and a favorite.  Being a bright light tends to open doors.

The last decade has seen a different Dolly-mania, with robust admiration for the performer and younger people seeing her as a true role model.  Breaking away, lovingly from her roots with Porter Wagoner, moving into her own mold, trying on different music styles, writing her own music as she pleased, having TV shows, specials, a career in film, and setting up her various businesses and charities in Tennessee.  Heck, she opened a truck stop this summer (and it looks really nice!).  She sells cast iron pans, baking goods, and Jamie wears a butterfly necklace that was a collab with Kendra Scott.

And people are fine with it, because of who Dolly is.  

About a year and a half ago, Carl Dean, Dolly's husband of sixty years, passed on.  Dolly herself mentioned she maybe hadn't taken great care of herself as she took care of Carl and now her own health was having issues.  But you hope.

If my socials are any indication, her passing is being felt worldwide.  I am not surprised.  She has been a light in a dark time.

I have a feeling people will remember Dolly well into the future.  Her impact was too great, her breadth of work too tremendous, and her legacy is going to be one without compare.

We'll surely miss her, but I welcome all the Dolly tributes I think we can expect in the next few weeks and months.

*Dolly Parton was almost exclusively discussed for her bust size and rhinestone-bedazzled persona in comedy and casual conversation when I was a kid