Dolly Parton died today at the age of 80.
It is hard to believe, and honestly, this one makes me sad.
I admired her talent, her determination, her sense of humor, her philanthropy and the incredible amount of work she accomplished throughout her life. She was one of those people who seemed to be everywhere for so long that you almost stopped thinking about the fact that she wouldn't always be here.
And somehow, Dolly always felt a little bit like family.
Not literally, of course, but in that strange way that certain celebrities can become familiar to us after we've grown up seeing them for years and years. Dolly felt almost like an aunt or someone out there in the world who you didn't actually know, but who somehow felt familiar anyway. She was part of the cultural landscape of my childhood and adulthood. She was simply Dolly—the woman with the enormous blonde hair, rhinestones, unmistakable voice, huge personality and even bigger heart.
Now she's gone.
As a music blogger, I couldn't let Dolly's passing go by without writing about her. She was obviously one of the greatest figures in country music, but I think her influence goes far beyond country. When I think of Dolly Parton, I think of Americana. I think of Tennessee, storytelling, family, hard work, humor, heartbreak, determination and that very particular American ability to take the circumstances you've been given and somehow turn them into something extraordinary.
Dolly came from extremely humble beginnings in Tennessee, growing up in a large family with very little money. She started writing and performing music when she was young and eventually made her way to Nashville, where she built a career that would span more than six decades. She became one of the most recognizable entertainers in the world, but somehow never seemed to forget where she came from.
And then there is this incredible fact: Dolly Parton wrote around 3,000 songs.
Three thousand songs!
Think about that for a moment. She didn't just become famous for singing songs written by other people. She was a songwriter in the truest sense of the word. She wrote about love, heartbreak, poverty, family, faith, dreams, loneliness, working people and life itself. Some of those songs became hits for Dolly, while others became famous when other artists recorded them.
One of the most famous examples is “I Will Always Love You,” which Dolly wrote and recorded herself before Whitney Houston's enormous version introduced the song to an entirely new generation. That's one of the beautiful things about great songwriting: the song can keep traveling long after the person who wrote it has finished singing it.
And Dolly wrote thousands of them. Who could forget Dolly's unforgettable duet with Kenny Rogers?
That brings me back to the book I was thinking about this morning: Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.
The timing feels almost surreal to me now.
I was thinking about promoting this book before I even knew that Dolly would be gone this morning.
And if you want to understand Dolly through the part of her career that mattered most to me as a music lover and blogger—her songwriting—this is such a fitting book to pick up. Songteller takes readers behind the lyrics of 175 of Dolly's songs and draws on more than 60 years of songwriting, along with photographs, memorabilia and material from her personal archives. It isn't simply a collection of lyrics; it is Dolly telling the stories behind the songs and the life that inspired them.
There is something especially appropriate about calling Dolly a Songteller. She wasn't simply someone who sang songs. She told stories through them. And with approximately 3,000 songs to her name, she had an awful lot of stories to tell. The accompanying audiobook is particularly special because Dolly herself narrates it, sharing stories, memories and the inspiration behind many of her best-known songs.
I was actually thinking this morning that this would be a wonderful book to recommend. Now, after hearing the news of her death, it feels even more important. If you have admired Dolly over the years but never really explored the stories behind her music, Songteller seems like one of the best ways to spend some time with her again.
Of course, Dolly wasn't only a songwriter and singer. For an entire generation of people, she was also a movie star.
One of the first things I think of is 9 to 5. Dolly played Doralee Rhodes alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, and the movie became one of those films that people continue to watch decades later. And then there was the song itself. “9 to 5” wasn't just a movie theme—it became one of Dolly's signature songs and one of those instantly recognizable pieces of American pop culture.
Official music video for "9 to 5":
Then there was Steel Magnolias, where Dolly played Truvy Jones, the warm and talkative owner of the beauty shop at the center of the story. She was surrounded by incredible actresses, including Sally Field, Julia Roberts and Shirley MacLaine, yet Dolly fit into that cast so naturally. She brought humor and warmth to the role while still being part of a story that could be incredibly heartbreaking.
Those movies introduced Dolly to people who might never have considered themselves country music fans.
And that's part of what made her so special. Dolly crossed boundaries.
Country music, pop music, movies, television, business, books, philanthropy and even a theme park—she managed to become part of so many different corners of American life without losing the personality that made people love her in the first place.
As much as I admire Dolly's music and entertainment career, I think one of the things that made her so special was what she did with her success.
Her philanthropy was enormous. Through the Dollywood Foundation's Imagination Library, she helped put books into the hands of children, encouraging literacy and a love of reading. The program became one of the most recognizable parts of her charitable legacy, and Dolly's commitment to children and education continued throughout her life.
That is the kind of thing I think about when I think of Dolly.
Yes, she had the big hair. Yes, she had the rhinestones. Yes, she had the jokes and the larger-than-life personality. But behind all of that was someone who understood what it meant to come from very little and then decided to use what she had built to help other people.
That's something worth admiring.
Maybe that's why her death feels so strange.
Dolly Parton was one of those people who seemed almost permanent. She had been famous for so long that it was easy to imagine her continuing to write songs, make people laugh, appear on television and find another project to work on.
Even recently, she was still talking about things she wanted to accomplish. She still had plans. She still had ideas. She still seemed like Dolly.
And then suddenly, she wasn't here anymore.
I think that's why I keep coming back to the idea that she felt like family. Dolly was simply there for so much of my life. She was one of those familiar faces and voices that seemed to belong to everyone a little bit.
She belonged to country music, certainly. But she also belonged to Americana. She belonged to movies. She belonged to television. She belonged to the people who loved her songs and to the people who simply knew her from 9 to 5 or Steel Magnolias. She belonged to children who received books through the Imagination Library. She belonged to generations of people who grew up hearing her voice.
And now she belongs to history.
But what a history she leaves behind.
More than 3,000 songs. A career spanning more than six decades. Movies that people still love. Songs that became classics. A remarkable philanthropic legacy. And an ability to make millions of people feel as though they knew her.
I was thinking about Dolly this morning without knowing that I would be saying goodbye to her this afternoon.
Maybe that's the strangest part of all.
But I'm glad I was thinking about her.
I'm glad I was thinking about her music. I'm glad I was thinking about Songteller. I'm glad I was thinking about the incredible body of work she left behind.
And I think I'll always feel a little like I lost an aunt today—someone I never actually knew, but someone who had somehow been part of my world for as long as I could remember.
Thank you, Dolly, for the songs, the movies, the laughter, the stories, the books, the kindness and the memories.
You were one of a kind. And you always will be.
You can find Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1797205099?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
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