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:
View this post on Instagram
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.
View this post on Instagram
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.
The car angle isn’t a stretch at all, especially since I learned about Dolly buying vehicles for her parents. (I wonder if the pickup was a square body Chevy.) Seems like she becomes even more awesome each time I find out something new about her.
RIP, Dolly.
Dolly’s wholesomeness, honesty, appreciation of everyone doing good, and philanthropy to all will be missed by all.
To paraphrase Kacey Musgraves, “What asshole doesn’t like Dolly?”
Let’s not make a saint of the woman… she pushed the Covid vaccine. As she said, “don’t be a chicken squat, go out and get your shot”
So what you’re saying is… her stance on the Covid vaccine was rational, sane and made her more of a saint, eh?
Username checks out.
And she donated $1 million to an institution that developed the very successful and life-saving vaccine.
We just went to Dollywood and Nashville at the beginning of this month; the love for Dolly was so palpably everywhere there, and today I’m so glad that love was going her way while she was still here to receive it.
In Nashville, we toured RCA Studio B (the tours are run through the Country Music Hall of Fame, and highly recommended), where Dolly made some of her earliest recordings. The first time she went there to record, she was running late and was so nervous that she failed to set her parking brake and drove her car (a Chevrolet station wagon) right into the back wall of the building. Supposedly, you can still see where the bricks are different after they repaired the wall, and of course, she had a great quip about making her first big “hit” in Nashville that day!
RIP indeed, she was a jewel of a person.
Having grown up in East Tennessee this hits pretty hard. Dolly’s impact on ET (& everywhere else) was/is indeed incalculably positive & profound. RIP Dolly.
That said,
“Who didn’t like Dolly Parton?
Nobody, that’s who.”
There was surprisingly quite a few people, even in East Tennessee, who were really, really mad at Dolly for her support of various causes such as LGBTQ+ issues, Black Lives Matter, and her donations to Covid vax research; it seemed like the majority of such negativity was about the aforementioned Covid vax research, go figure. Though some critics eventually did come around on some or all of these issues (a testament to Dolly’s positive influence.)
Car-adjacent fact: when Dolly was working in Hollywood in the 1980s (starting with the film Nine to Five in 1980) she had a chauffeur named Jason Pirro who was a trans man that she was fully aware about from the beginning; here’s one report, though it’s from a rather tabloid newspaper, lol, as quoted in a LGBT periodical in 1990: https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/47429921g
She lived a long and fulfilling life. May she rest in peace.
“People think I’m a dumb blonde and that’s okay. I ain’t dumb… and I ain’t blonde either”
Celebrity deaths don’t usually get to me. After all, we usually only get to see a curated public facing persona of these people, and we know nothing about what they’re actually like.
Dolly is one of the few where there can be no doubt that she was a good person. The best type of American, really.
I agree, and that’s because I don’t care about “celebrity”.
But I do appreciate good people, and it’s always sad when we lose one.
I grew up listening to the music on my dad’s favorite AM country station. Dolly Parton was ever-present. When I was a teen, I was given one of her albums, which I still have in the hall closet with the rest of my LPs and 45s. She was a genuine sweetheart and a talented singer, and although her persona (wig, makeup, plastic surgery before it was mainstream, wig) was created carefully and intentionally, but her kindness and friendliness never wavered.
She did have a hit about a car, a VW Harlequin, in fact.
It was called The Car of Many Colors.
Even without any car connection. Dolly deserves to be acknowledged here, there, and everywhere.
RIP Dolly.
Oh no, this is the first I’ve heard. Damn. There are very few who reach her level of fame and seem to not only keep their heads on straight but to be genuinely liked by everyone. The world needs so many more Dollys.
God bless you Dolly. You will be sorely missed. RIP
She was such an icon, sitting her listening to her more pop songs, such a bright spirit that comes through, even in the sadder songs.
Too right Sir – sitting here in Scotland listening to her always emotionally literate lyrics and feeling a bit sad! This is at 2am by the way.
Not a Dolly fan, more of a metal guy, but she understood owning the music.
Probably one of the first artist who was popular but not a superstar earlier in her career who turned down people because they wanted a song of hers and wanted to own it.
She bet on herself and won. Got to respect that.
Also look up on You Tube the Dolly Parton “There I Ruined It” Slipknot song. It is gold.
She was such a class act! This is a rare celebrity death that makes me feel sadness.
Celebrity deaths don’t usually hit me hard. Dolly is an exception. Which is no surprise because she was truly exceptional. As a songwriter, a celebrity, a singer, and, most of all, as a human being.
Yeah. Me too. 🙁
If anything, this IS THE PLACE for obits of stars with pictures of their cars!
I would say I have zero patience for anyone who disliked Dolly. So far, I’ve never met anyone.
I grew up in East Tennessee and she was a sort of permanent fixture. She was one of those rare kinds of people who exemplified what goodness can really be. I cannot believe she is gone. Its like a small piece of all of us died today. Godspeed Dolly.
This photo of Dolly outside the Ryman is my favorite photo of almost anyone, and it includes a Caddy:
https://d7hftxdivxxvm.cloudfront.net/?height=1600&quality=85&resize_to=fill&src=https%3A%2F%2Fd32dm0rphc51dk.cloudfront.net%2F8j4u8BRjOX-3LIrs1qEyyw%2Fmain.jpg&width=1600
That is an AWESOME picture, thank you for that!
Why did Dolly Parton have to die while at the same time, Donald Trump has to continue to live?
You’re a real peach.
I’m more of a plum.
A rotten plum.
Scientist: If we send astronauts to the sun, they’ll burn.
Trump: What if we send them at night?
Is this nonsense supposed to be some kind of justification for the depravity of the other person’s comment?
Depravity?
“Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!” –DJT
You can eff right off with your hypocrisy.
He tried to pin the Hortman assassination on Tim Walz for political reasons. Called fallen soldiers WW “suckers” and “losers”. And then this gem:
“The Atlantic also reported that Trump was angered that flags were flown at half-staff for McCain, saying: “What the f—- are we doing that for? Guy was a f—-ing loser.”
So you can DOUBLE eff off with your hypocrisy.
How am I being hypocritical? Am I making depraved comments? This isn’t team sports. I am not responsible for the President’s comments. It’s too bad so many people are so deranged and lacking in dignity these days.
“How am I being hypocritical?”
You are defending Trump… someone who has said it was ‘good’ when someone died. Someone who molested underaged girls. Someone who is a criminal grifter. Someone who insults friends and allies and delusionally thinks the leaders of Russia and North Korea are his friends.
The world will be a better place when Trump dies.
AND… that was my point. The world was a better place with Dolly Parton in it.
The opposite is true with Trump.
Anyways… Dolly Parton was great.
I didn’t defend Trump, I criticized calling for his death. Unfortunately, a lot of people like you can’t see the distinction. I’ve never voted for Trump, but I’m glad he won so that we can watch wretched people like you reveal yourselves for who you really are.
“I didn’t defend Trump, I criticized calling for his death.”
I didn’t call for his death per se. I merely asked why Dolly should pass away while a deplorable person like Trump should continue to live.
Unfortunately a lot of MAGA people like you can’t see the distinction.
You can split all of the hairs you want, I’m not MAGA and your comment is disgusting. Only an absolute degenerate who is obsessed with Donald Trump would post such a thing on an article about Dolly Parton. You need to take a deep look in the mirror.
You’re quite strange, CRM. You didn’t vote for him because presumably you thought his policies and behaviors were bad for the nation. But you’re happy he is making the majority of the country angry through his bad policy and depraved public behavior. That’s very weird.
“I criticized calling for his death”
Doubly strange since Manwich didn’t do that. But you’re so eager to rush to the president’s defense that you don’t realize this.
Reading comprehension doesn’t seem to be your forte, as I’ve never once defended the President. I simply pointed out that someone who would use the comments section of an article about the death of Dolly Parton to call for another person’s death is a sick, depraved individual. A lot of people on here are clearly so blinded by hate that you can’t even read what I wrote. You are demented.
“Call for another person’s death”
Reading comprehension, huh? That’s funny, because for the second time I have to tell you he didn’t call for anyone’s death. You’re inventing it and demonstrating that you can’t comprehend even short written comments. Do you understand this?
Don’t even bother responding to me until you’ve addressed this point, because you’re using it as the basis to call other people “sick, depraved, and demented”.
“Why did Dolly Parton have to die while at the same time, Donald Trump has to continue to live?”
That’s not calling for someone’s death.
Do you really not understand this? Seriously?
Enjoy the mental gymnastics that you have to engage in to justify your moral turpitude.
You just accused someone of calling for someone’s death when you don’t know what that actually means, and refuse to address that because you know you’re wrong about it, so you lob a personal insult and leave.
Gymnastics and turpitude are yours, buddy.
I don’t care how you define it, wishing a person is dead is depraved. You are depraved for defending them. You make decent people sick.
I’m sure you don’t care about the actual definitions of words because you are fact-immune and want to keep perpetually offended and clutching pearls. So go ahead and do it. Keep making things up so you can give yourself the vapors.
“Decent people”
Fucking LOL on that one.
You remind me of an old friend. He overdosed on helium, he was so upset and was telling me he was worried no one would ever take him seriously again. “Come on now, I said, don’t talk like that.”
“Is this nonsense supposed to be some kind of justification for the depravity of the other person’s comment?”
Yes because what goes around comes around.
perhaps a prune
And we like prunes, right? RIGHT?
Nah… just slightly overripe…
FDT
I think the Grim Reaper has bad eyesight. The wrong 80 year old got picked. The list said “Donny” but he misread it as “Dolly” and we’re all the worse for it.
Must have been a typo or clerical error from the HR department.
The world is a better place from her having been in it, but worse off now that she’s gone.