Dolly Parton, the iconic American singer who devoted herself to music since she conceived her first song at just six years old, passed away this Tuesday at the age of 80. Adored both for her achievements on stage and her charisma, her death was announced by her nephew Bryan Seaver with words that summarize the enormous legacy she left far beyond music.
“Dolly lived in the light and is in the arms of God. (…) Dolly opened doors to a generation of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers of all kinds across all continents. Thanks to her example, we have the conviction that everything is possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open and, with the door she opened, she made history and changed it,” Seaver recalled.
“She has always been on their televisions, on their CDs, on their music players, and on their playlists on their cell phones. She became part of their extended families,” he added.
Her nephew also remembered her as a person who honored her father’s legacy, a farmer from whom she inherited the ability to “harvest songs and happiness” despite the harsh environment in which she grew up, without electricity or heating in her home. Born on January 19, 1946, in Tennessee, Parton was the fourth of 12 children of Robert Lee and Avie Lee Parton. Despite her humble origins, she began to stand out from a very young age for her talent as a singer and songwriter. Over more than six decades of career, she became a legend of country music and an artist recognized worldwide.
The singer reached fame thanks to songs like Jolene, 9 to 5, or I Will Always Love You, the latter internationally popularized by Whitney Houston. In addition to her musical career, she also succeeded as an actress in films like 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias. She also stood out for her philanthropic work, especially through initiatives related to education and children’s reading such as her Imagination Library, through which she helped deliver books so that children in Tennessee would not experience what her father did, who struggled to learn to read because he left school to work the land.
An artist bigger than life itself
With her often sharp humor, Parton had a final request to her family: to rest on a bed of cotton because “after spending her life carrying heavy rhinestones (crystals resembling diamonds), she now deserved to be comfortable.”
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That life in the spotlight began in the church where her grandfather preached. At six years old, she composed her first song, Little Tiny Tasseltop, for her beloved doll Tasseltop. By age 10, she already knew how to play guitar and sang for the first time on local television shows. Three years later, she was on stage with Johnny Cash at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
Later, the support of Porter Wagoner, from whom she possibly took her love for rhinestones, led her to achieve her first album with the RCA label. Together they sang The Last Thing On My Mind in the late 1960s. Besides the songs they performed together, with Wagoner she shaped a country style that allowed her to reach the top positions of the most listened-to songs on the radio. The first was Joshua. Then she repeated it with Coat of Many Colors and, later, with Jolene.
Over the years, she was so versatile that she starred in movies, hosted television shows, and created a theme park she named Dollywood in her native Tennessee. She was nominated for Grammy Awards more than 50 times, winning about ten. She also earned multiple honors: in 1999 she entered the Country Music Hall of Fame; in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame; and in 2022, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Her impact was also felt in other areas. During the coronavirus pandemic, for example, she donated one million dollars to research being conducted at Vanderbilt University that later helped develop the vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Moderna.
Her health was a concern in recent months, when she postponed and finally canceled a residency in Las Vegas. Last October, she even denied her death in a video. The one shared by her nephew this Tuesday did not detail the cause of her death.
