Friends, today we celebrate the life of the Queen of East Tennessee, the closest thing any of our redneck asses got to a saint, and one of the Greatest Living Americans, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean who passed this week at the age of eighty following a brief battle with cancer.
You’ll have to excuse me on this one. The whole state is basically in mourning right now. It’s almost as if every Tennesseean lost their favorite granny.
Born in rural Sevier County, Tennessee, Parton grew up in a one room cabin with eleven other siblings and her father, who was a farmer. Parton wrote her first song at age five in 1951 called “Little Tiny Tassel Top.” Her singing and songwriting prowess was such that five years later she was performing on Knoxville’s Cas Walker show regularly. By 1959 she made her debut at the legendary Grand Ole Opry introduced by none other than Johnny Cash.
Parton would have a legendary music career, winning countless awards, writing and singing over a thousand songs, and becoming part of two Halls of Fame: the Country Music one in 1999 and the Rock and Roll one in 2022 over her objections (I’ll get to that in a minute).
Yes, Aunt Dolly will be remembered for her musical career. That’s not what I want to talk about today. What I want to discuss is what she did when no one was looking.
Music was VERY good to Dolly. A consummate entertainer, Parton probably would count herself as a billionaire today if it wasn’t for this charitable streak a mile wide in her that kept motivating her to give away so much.
See, Dolly’s daddy was the smartest man Ms. Parton ever knew per her own words, but he never once learned to read or write. Knowing what good an education would’ve done for her daddy, Dolly started this program called the Imagination Library in Sevier County that gave every newborn in the area one book a month free of charge from birth until age five.
This program was so successful former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen decided it was worth expanding across the Volunteer State. Once other areas saw how much good it did to put books in the hands of children who never had anything else in their lives the program spread like wildfire. Today, Dolly’s Imagination Library gifts hundreds of millions of books to kids all over the world.
Dolly’s father would say before his passing that was the most important thing his daughter had ever accomplished.
If that were the only thing Dolly did it would be notable. But her charity didn’t stop there. In 2016, the Chimney Tops 2 wildfires devastated her home county and displaced countless families. Dolly’s response was to set up what she called the “My People Fund” which gave everyone $1,000 per month out of Dolly’s own pocket if they lost their home in the fires. Of course donations started pouring in so Dolly was able to increase the final check totals to $5,000 for a total distributed of $10,000 to everyone who lost a house in the fires.
She pledged a million to COVID research. She paid for countless band uniforms, school textbooks, and teacher supplies out of her own pocket. Never once did Dolly ask for any recognition. To her, it was the right thing to do after being blessed with all that money.
And it didn’t stop there.
Because Dolly loved everything about America, she founded a sanctuary in her theme park—Dollywood—that became home to the largest group of unreleasable bald eagles in the country. That sanctuary does daily shows educating park goers on rare birds they may never see anywhere else.
Mrs. Parton wasn’t just a generous soul with all her money. She was decidedly an authentically good person in a world that lacks those qualities.
When she was up for the Best Original Song Oscar in 2006 for “Transamerica” she lost the award to a rap group called the Three Six Mafia for their song “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” that was central to a film called “Hustle and Flow.” Dolly send the rappers a handwritten letter congratulating them on the win and thanking them for keeping the award in the state of Tennessee.
She didn’t have to do that. She was Dolly Parton for fuck’s sake. But she did it BECAUSE she was Dolly Parton, and that’s what Dolly did.
When she was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dolly sent the voting body a handwritten letter asking to be pulled from consideration because she’d never released a rock album. Fortunately for us, they ignored her and voted Dolly in. True to her word, Dolly then released “Rockstar,” which remains my favorite of her catalog.
Everyone from Stevie Nicks to Paul McCartney showed up for Dolly’s one foray into the genre, because when the Queen decides to throw a party and invites you, you show up.
Dolly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Detroit rapper Eminem. After the ceremony Dolly sent Mr. Mathers a handwritten letter praising his performance, calling him the best rapper of all time, and saying she was sorry she didn’t get to meet him because she felt an “unexplainable connection” to the rap star. Eminem just shared the letter in the wake of Dolly’s passing, saying it had a huge impact on him.
Again. Dolly didn’t have to do that. But she did it BECAUSE she was Dolly, and that’s what Dolly did.
In a world where everyone has to make everything political, Dolly remained fiercely apolitical. A story for all of you on that front as well:
There’s a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Tennessee Capitol building. Yes, THAT Nathan Bedford Forrest—the founder of the KKK. Worse yet, the bust is in a wing of “Notable Tennesseans.” Politicians have tried to take it down for years because it’s an embarrassment to the legislature. One year someone suggested they replace Nathan with Dolly.
Dolly sent one of her handwritten letters to the Tennessee General Assembly, saying she wanted to be removed from consideration because she hadn’t earned the title of “Notable Tennesseean” yet. She did put a thought in the letter that she wouldn’t mind consideration after she was gone, though. There’s still hope we might correct that injustice now.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Carl Dean.
All of Tennessee’s surviving residents are basically her kids at this point.
Maybe that’s why Dolly’s passing stings. It’s hard to lose the fun granny you never imagined life without.
Her memory will be a blessing.
Dolly—we will always love you.
See y’all next time.