As I suspect you’ve already heard, Dolly Parton died today, at the age of 80. Now, there are so very many reasons to celebrate the life of this talented singer, songwriter, entertainer, actress, philanthropist, and just overall icon, but I think perhaps her greatest achievement was a more subtle one, one that wasn’t entirely obvious unless you started to really look for it. Dolly Parton may have been the last human being for whom nearly everybody – from almost every walk of life, socio-economic class, cultural background, location on the political spectrum, or whatever – liked. Or, at the very least, had no problem with. Who didn’t like Dolly Parton?
Nobody, that’s who.
Dolly Parton lived to be 80 years old, and lived the sort of wildly fulfilled life most of us can only hope for, and even then, hoping to accomplish all that she managed would seem like an overreach. But she did it. Will we ever again have a public figure for whom admiration spreads so widely across the vast, conflicting spectrum of humanity? Maybe? I’m not so sure.
Here’s the official announcement of her passing, from her Instagram:
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Dolly Parton’s contributions to music, especially country music, are, of course, well known. Still, it can’t hurt to listen to a song like Jolene again, right?
It’s also worth taking a moment to remember all of the philanthropic acts Dolly undertook, many of which had some very direct and real benefits. For example, remember the pandemic? Remember the vaccines that kept it from becoming devastatingly worse? Dolly Parton was an early donor of a million dollars of crucial funding to the vaccine research project that would eventually create the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, for example. There were plenty of tech billionaires who could have done similar sorts of things, but who actually stepped up? Dolly.
She started the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to help kids in her childhood home of Sevier County, Tennessee get the educations they need, and it eventually expanded into an organization that has given over 270 million age-appropriate books to kids in America, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia. She’s given money to Hurrican Helene victims, and relief donations to other victims of natural disasters top $12 million. There’s a reason she receieved the Carnagie Medal of Philanthropy in 2022.
Speaking of Carnagie, which begins with the same three letters that spell “car,” we may as well recall we are a car blog, and note that Dolly Parton definitely did have a car marque of choice: Cadillac.
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Dolly’s appreciation of Cadillacs goes way back to her childhood, and, really, the culture in which she grew up. A Cadillac was one of the most obvious and notable signs that you had “made it” in mainstream American culture, and as a result, once Parton started to make money, she wanted to buy a Cadillac, because that felt like the right thing to do, almost a requirement, along with having big hair, as Parton herself has noted on occasion.
There’s that famous picture above of Dolly Parton, likely taken sometime in the 1970s, posing with a 1964 Cadillac Series 62. She bought Cadillacs for her mother for many years, trading them in as their luster faded. Dolly Parton donated one of her Cadillacs, a gold 1997 Cadillac D’Elegance to the Gatlinburg, Tennessee-based Hollywood Star Cars museum, and noted that the car really isn’t all that spectacular in this short interview she did for the museum:
@codyallenshelby Dolly Parton talks about her 1997 Cadillac in the Hollywood Star Cars Museum located in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee #dollyparton #1997cadillacdeville #hollywoodstarcarsmuseum #gatlinburgtennessee #dollypartonscar ♬ original sound – Cody Allen Shelby
I know the audio on that isn’t great, so, apologies for that.
I do realize the car angle here is a bit of a stretch, but I don’t really mind. Dolly Parton was an overwhelmingly positive force in this world, and she’s absolutely worth celebrating and remembering. She really did seem to have a fondness for Cadillacs, too, so it’s not like there is zero automotive tie-in here, but I’m well aware it’s just an excuse to have a justification so we can share our thoughts and condolences on this site.
Rest in peace, Dolly.
I can’t imagine how much good she’s done for this world through her Imagination Library book campaign alone, something we’ve personally be touched by and couldn’t put a value on. Rest in peace, Dolly
“Dolly Parton may have been the last human being whom nearly everybody… liked. Or, at the very least, had no problem with. Who didn’t like Dolly Parton?”
I’m guessing there is one particular blowhard who would be challenged to say something nice about her. Or, if he comments publicly, will find a way to make more about himself and/or his big, beautiful ballroom. That’s not her problem, but his. And, alas, ours.
Ill share a comment from a Burt Reynolds youtube video that i posted years ago:
“I was a waitress at this event. Chasen’s Restaurant in Beverly Hills catered it. Sat at my assigned table which is at the far left was Lonnie Anderson. I was standing there when Burt Reynolds was introduced to Lonnie. The bathrooms for both celebrities and wait staff was the same which didn’t set well with at least one “star”. She said right in front of us, “I can’t believe we have to share a restroom with them!” But as we were given strict orders not to speak to the the party guests, I had to bite my tongue! After we finished serving and were in the kitchen, Dolly Parton came in. She asked if she could “hang” with us as she’d rather be with us than with all the “stuffed shirts” out there. Of course we said yes and we had a great time with her until we were told that there was a “bomb scare”” and everyone had to quickly leave. But Chasen’s manager, Ronnie, wouldn’t let us leave until we cleaned up! Thankfully, there was no bomb!”
Dolly was a good human, and she understood that greed is a sin, people are people, and being kind doesn’t cost anything. the world is much darker without her.
Wouldn’t let people leave in a bomb scare? go fuck yourself Ronnie! lol
Her loss hits hard here in the Smokies. There is a Dolly mural off Haywood in Asheville that I’m sure has already been filled with memorials to one of the great ones. RIP Dolly
Still, it can’t hurt to listen to a song like Jolene again, right?
Yes, yes it can. I find that song incredibly grating. For me, it is literally worse than nails on a chalkboard (and I use the word “literally” literally). I was surprised when I first became aware Jolene was her song – I’m not that familiar with her music, but I mostly liked her music when I heard it.
Aside from my somewhat random strong disdain for Jolene, I have nothing else negative to say about Dolly Parton. In a time when we can’t even agree the sky is blue, it speaks highly to her character that she is universally regarded as a very good person.
The whiny county can do that too you. I’m kind of ok with Jolene but I can’t take anything from reba just nails on a caulk board.
That is a very short list, indeed. 🙁
I think about that topic occasionally – public figures who are universally liked, about whom there is nary a negative comment. Four people come to mind:
As Mr. Rogers said, “Look for the helpers.” Dolly was a helper, and we need to pick up her baton and keep going.
Steve Martin?
Every time I hear or read Jimmy Carter’s name a voice in my head yells “He’s history’s greatest monster!!!”
I can’t be the only one for whom The Simpsons has created that Pavlovian response. The association is now so strong that I often say that line out loud when his name comes up in conversation. It can be really awkward when people don’t get the reference.
Recently one of our Welsh icons, bonny Tyler, passed too.
Another with very few with words against her
Keanu Reeves?
I was lucky enough to see her in concert in 2016. She was warm, articulate, and funny, and could still put on a hell of a show even in her 70s. I am so happy I splurged (for my budget at least) and got tickets for my spouse and I to see that one!
Loved Dolly. When we moved to TN started getting those free books for the kids. She was truly a great human and an inspiration to us all.
What a legend and didn’t seem sick or anything when she would pop her head out. I figured she had at least another decade left.
I was excited to see her take on buckees with her travel centers. She really helped change pigeon forge her stuff was always classy and not so no soul corporate like the stuff that spung up around it. Hopefully they continue that in her image and legacy.
Not a huge country music fan, but Dolly had such a beautiful voice and could really make you feel a song’s point. After The Gold Rush by the trio (Dolly, Emmylou & Linda) is a masterpiece, as are several others they performed. Thank you Dolly for all you did in this life.
I don’t normally tear up when a celebrity passes, but, yeah. Absolute legend.
But hey, she made it to 80 and lived her dreams. That’s an accomplishment in itself.
Heard the news on the radio on the way back from lunch. Talk about a mid-day down-note. No one in my family listens to country or her music much, but we were still planning to visit Dollywood on one of our yearly trips to Orlando within the next year or two based on her simple awesomeness.
She transcended music, and borders. One of my wife’s relatives in Brazil is a straight-up Dolly Parton superfan and has amassed a pretty amazing collection of her albums on vinyl.
And, it turns out she also had the best taste in cars. RIP
Must have an eyelash or something in my eye …
DYK Dolly was in a computer game?
https://youtu.be/pWY1Cx-X3Ik?si=Lyse6GClz4dVUuzt
I’m pretty bummed to find this out.
Dolly will be sorely missed, a genuine and generous soul. Rest In Peace.
Wow this really is the place where I get all my information.
RIP to a real one.
RIP Dolly.
Wrong 80 year old.
I feel like she was the last pure, good soul in this country.
This is a tough one. My wife and I were supposed to see her perform in Vegas last year until she postponed and ultimately cancelled her shows. I’m not much into country but she was a legend.
Her and my avatar are the two truly nice people in entertainment. Rest in peace queen.
Honestly, this site is probably the last place I would’ve ever expected to find out, but I don’t think the car angle here is that much of a stretch as I managed to learn something new.
Either way, I think she was an embodiment of the true America, what’s good about the country rather than what isn’t, more representative of the silent (and sadly somewhat powerless) majority. Can’t say the same about too many other celebs. May she rest in peace.
Rest in peace Dolly! She’s probably being chauffeured to the other side in a white limozeen. Dolly was a fixture in the cassette players/cd players in our cars growing up.
She was the best
Dolly grew up like my grandmothers, on both sides of my family. Poor, small town country folk, in other words. My dad’s mom grew up in a two room log cabin with 10 siblings. My mom’s mom slept on a straw mattress, and only ate what they could grow or raise on their farm. They both remember getting indoor plumbing. And they’re both still with us, at 86. I know they’re not gonna live forever…but hearing about Dolly today really hit home for me.
I’ve always loved Dolly, but learning about her upbringing made her more real, somehow. I highly recommend listing to her album, “My Tennessee Mountain Home.” It reminds me of, well, all the stories my grandmothers have told me over the years.