Dolly Parton has died | Hacker News Reader

Dolly Parton has died

theguardian.com

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https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/25/entertainment/dolly-parton-de...

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/25/arts/music/dolly-parton-d..., https://archive.ph/w4vsE

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-news/dolly-par...

I’ve never been much of a country music fan, but I’ve always been a Dolly fan. Great songwriter, philanthropist, and seemed like a genuinely nice person. RIP, Dolly, you were one of the greats.

Her vocals were exceptional, too. One of my favorite videos I've randomly come across on YouTube is "Jolene" slowed down to 33 RPM [0]. The comments are hilarious as well, but the clarity of her vocals and the vibrato that carries through to a slower tempo is really something special to hear.

0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doz1QJ7LwjA

She's one of those crossover performers, such as Kenny Rogers and Taylor Swift who escape Country music as a genre and get mass appeal. Whenever I comment about a Dolly Parton song playing in a public place I hear things like "She's a national treasure!"

Her cover of Stairway to Heaven is definitely crossover at its best

Oh. You weren't kidding! It's good. They avoid all the traps, like not trying to outdo Jimmy Page's guitar solo.

Definitely my favorite version of that song!

It's nice but the original hits more raw to me. Perhaps because I heard it first ages ago. There was a kerfuffle about the song's provenance a few year ago.

I am a fan of covers, like Johny Cash's NIN "Hurt" or Marylin Manson's Depeche "Personal Jesus". If anyone has faves regardless of the genre, please share.

The Band’s cover of Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” is superb, particularly the addition of the accordion.

A band called Lake Street Dive has a phenomenal cover of Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl”.

Scary Pockets is a group with rotating artists (formed by Patreon’s founder/CEO), their covers of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” are two I return to frequently.

Rogers crossed over into country.

My ex-wife was a big Kenny "The Country Version" Rogers fan. I chuckle to myself every time I watch The Big Lebowski and hear Rogers singing his psychedelic "Just Checked In" and wonder what the ex would think of his origins.

Agreed. The climbing voice in Jolene was my favourite of her vocal range. She was a pretty good singer too; not as good as e. g. Ariana Grande in her own prime (before chasing bulimia) but quite good nonetheless.

Sometime she changed the RPMs herself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJEpoLeISCo

The guitar is also immaculate slowed down and that was her too. I always thought it was some hotshot Nashville session musician. One of the best guitar licks of all time.

She was certainly a fine guitarist, but Wikipedia says you were right first time, it was a session player called Chip Young.

Dolly wrote the lick herself, and when she was in the studio with the session players, they wanted her to show them how to play it [0].

She ended up having Chip Young lay it down on the record since her long fingernails made it difficult to nail consistently. This is also why if you watch videos of her playing guitar she plays in open tunings [1].

0: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/31/dolly-parton-r...

1: https://www.guitarworld.com/features/how-does-dolly-parton-p...

I still carry the rather 20th century idea that a performer of almost any kind also ought to have some sort of other talent in addition to their main one. The versatility of that sort of thing is one of the things that should separate a pro from the rest. I generally count "professional level musician" on more than one instrument as fulfilling that contract... perhaps one of the easier of the options, but it still carries that versatility advantage. Another example that I'm quite fond of is famous comedian Steve Martin performing Dueling Banjos with Kermit the Frog. The combo of two professional entertainers playing off of each other combined with the music skills creates the opportunity for a creative routine.

Brian Cox's other talent, in addition to being a Rock Legend, is being an accomplished physicist.

Brian May, too.

Then you will love "The chipmunks at 16 speed"

https://chipmunkson16speed.bandcamp.com/album/vol-1

For a second I misread that as "The chipmunks at 16X speed" and was seriously confused.

I know what you mean, 16rpm makes more sense .

Made famous by the show The Blacklist

first time I hear that song and to my ear, the song was recorded at that speed, then sped up in production.

Her first record deal almost didn't happen because she was told she couldn't sing... apparently the producer didn't like her voice for whatever reason.

Same.

I don't really like country music, but Dolly always seemed somewhat down-to-earth and pretty decent.

Thankfully we have Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, the White Stripes, etc for you

I wouldn't ever say I was a fan per se. But she was always the go-to example of "this is what billionaires should be doing with their money". So I respected the hell out of her.

Of course, she also proves the very point of there being no ethical billionaire, being "only" worth some 450 million instead. Likely because she gave so much of her wealth back to her communities instead. RIP Dolly, indeed.

Completely agree johnnuanmac. Seems like a role model for being a good person while maintaining extreme goals and working toward the impossible.

She was a loving wife to her husband and a great entrepreneur in addition to being a prolific artist. It's hard to find someone so well rounded at so many things before even adding that most of the jobs she created were/are considered positive contributions to society, evenly spread between entertainment, hospitality, foodservice, and adjacent industries. I think I heard she was directly responsible for about 20k total jobs which is INSANE.

What a positive legacy to leave - good example for others.

Building businesses that supported entire local economies is a different kind of legacy

Plus sending 318 million books to children.

Also not a fan of country/folk, but today I learned about her special albums trilogy: The Grass Is Blue, Little Sparrow, and Halos & Horns. Quite different music!

Some songs I added to my playlist :)

She transcended the genre entirely

“Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has gifted over 318 million free books to children worldwide since its inception”

Amazing contributions to many aspects of life

As a kid growing up in Tennessee I was the beneficiary of several of her reading programs. They really helped to foster a sense of curiosity and wonder that live with me to this day. Dolly was a real one, she'll definitely be missed.

How much do you remember these books your family was gifted before you were five years old? I thought it was more of a program to increase literacy. Personally, I remember books from when I was pre-kindergarten, but I don't typically think of them as "fostering a sense of curiosity and wonder", though, ultimately, I guess they did.

I just think it is an interesting topic in the framing of content policing and what not, it would be interesting to know what you took from the program.

She also had a program that gave a free book to elementary school kids every year (as a part of the local book fair). The first technical book I ever owned was a very basic intro to html that I received as a part of that program.

Reading this made me choke up. That’s beautiful.

> How much do you remember these books your family was gifted before you were five years old?

I remember nothing of the books that were read to me before I was five. However, I was five when I picked up a book that my mother had been reading to me and found, for the first time, that I could read it myself. I suspect that it worked out that way for me because she'd been reading to me for years before that.

Yeah, it is such an amazing program that was just executed in the right way. She didn't see it hit the billion books like she wanted to in her lifetime, but I'm sure they will get there. I would love to know other examples of philanthropy like that are similar in impact?

[1] https://imaginationlibrary.com/ [2] https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/01/589912466/dolly-p...

My toddler gets a book a month in the mail from Dolly's Imagination Library and we keep reading some almost every day. She's made an impact in so many families <3

Daughter loves getting these in the mail, and this paragraph is absolutely right!

>> That year, Parton explained that as well as improving child literacy, “it’s the fact they get recognised. They get this little book with their little name on it in the mail, and they feel special. They start taking pride in themselves, and they know that somebody out there is thinking of [them].”

My son loves them too!

I'm in a borough of London, and did a bit of a double-take when they told me that Dolly Parton would be sending my daughter a book every month. But indeed she did, and it had exactly that effect, and now she's an absolutely avid reader.

Thank you, Dolly. That meant a lot to us, and millions upon millions of other people too.

Very much this.

My kid's nursery gave out books from Dolly. It was a little ceremony, my kid loved it. We still have them.

But I was really surprised, I thought it was joke, why would Dolly care about my Kid's reading? but she really did. She really did care about a bunch of kids in inner city london.

Obviously I am not blessed with millions, but Dolly does lead by example. I need to do better.

Perhaps then, rather than flying flags at half-mast, it'd be better to send that-many books to children around the world. Sadly it seems people calling the shots, the strong of the day, are more interested in delivering threats and ultimatums, rather than what shiny Dolly did.

What an apparent demonstration that not everyone is gifted the same amount of generosity.

You can donate to her charity.

Probably better than whichever flavor of ideological bullshit our politicians would send, anyway.

When my daughter turned five and received her final book in the mail, it came with a letter that still makes me tear up.

I agree but I came across Dolly Parton syrup in the grocery store once. Had to say for all the good, that felt a bit odd, strange and out of place with Dolly’s character.

Huh, looks she has an entire food line. Wonder if this is planned to be an income stream for some of her charities, similar to Newman's Own.

Interesting program, seems mostly positive, some dissent

https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/dissertations/mw22vh301

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02702711.2019.16...

https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rrq.7010...

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Judith-Butler/publicati...

I think any dissent has to be from the kind of person who just has to find something wrong with everything. I cannot imagine a legitimate criticism of her program to give free books to every kid.

Accomplishments like these are standards we should use for when to build someone a statue

Has anyone successfully rallied their county to get this program enacted? Seems a lot of Cali zip codes are not available…

If anyone hasn't listened to "Dolly Parton's America" (https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dolly-partons-america), I highly recommend it.

Does a great job interviewing Dolly and discussing with her (and those two are around her) who she is, her life events, her thoughts on life. I knew people loved Dolly Parton before I listened but didn't really know why and the podcast helped me understand a bit more of it. It features a LOT of one-on-one time with Dolly in a way that I don't often find docu-series do. It's fantastic!

One minor fact about Dolly I've always found fascinating is that she was married to the same dude for almost 60 years, until he passed away recently. I mean, being as famous as she was as an entertainer - that just seems like an extreme anomaly.

Paul Newman I think. Same thing. He was also married to the same person for decades.

Yeah and just like Dolly, someone we need more of.

Her husband was Carl Dean.

I meant to say Paul Newman was similarly married for decades to the same person.

De mortis nil nisi bonum, as they say.

George Benson is probably a better example. Like another commenter points out, though, it might just be bias due to the media reporting more on drama than celebrity wedding anniversaries. But, I must admit, I do often look up biographies of entertainers I like and it is quite unusual for them to have a "normal" romantic life.

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwig married in 1988, and they are both celebrities.

I guess the fact that I'm not mildy surprised that people can be married for 60 years says something about how different our cultures are? Even though we're on HN discussing so many other things we have in common.

Divorce is rampant among celebrities in the USA. Maybe not worldwide?

It's not unheard of. But I guess it's a mix of several small factors:

1. divorce rates have been rising for decades.

2. 60 years is a very long time, and that means Dolly would have had to marry around 18-20. Marrying that young these days for my generation very much is an anomaly, and people are putting off marriage more and more these days.

3. Celebrity culture in particular has a much more tumultuous relationship. In a number of cases, marriage may simply be another influential tool to manage fame and wealth rather than an act of love and caring.

I think money, fame, celebrity status, etc. often creates pressures on the relationship.

Kind of like how it sometimes pushes people into drug addictions. That's a stereotype that we've all heard about since kids, but it wasn't until relatively recently that I thought about it seriously that it occurred to me that a touring celebrity musician's life can be stressful and the drugs can be (or start out as) a pressure valve release. I think that part of it clicked to me when I heard a musician being interviewed about it, I forget which. Maybe it was a Beatle talking about their early amphetamine days.

I had a friend in the mid-90s that was in a mildly successful band. They did a few national tours as opener for bands like The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I met up with him once while he was out on tour. I was thinking he was living his best life, like he was gonna brag about the lifestyle. Just the opposite. He hated touring, said it was very stressful, and that he just wanted to eat a home-cooked meal and sleep in the same bed more than two nights in a row. And yes, he said industry folks were constantly pushing free drugs.

Re the drug addictions - another thing to note about touring musicians is that there's a lot of downtime. New cities every day, not much to do until your show in the evening. Pretty easy to slip into unhealthy habits.

I tend to visit the local museums, drink coffee at a cute coffee place and hit up the town square instead of doing hardcore drugs.

Yeah clearly there are alternatives, and plenty of musicians are able to find them. If you're already an addict though, there's not much stopping you from continuing that lifestyle, other than the ability to secure the next fix.

> but it wasn't until relatively recently that I thought about it seriously that it occurred to me that a touring celebrity musician's life can be stressful and the drugs can be (or start out as) a pressure valve release

The 2017 documentary about Avicii [0] does a great job of showing this specific case. He was an introvert so he started drinking to be more comfortable on stage. As he got more famous, the pressure to create more hit records grew and grew. David Guetta explains it better than I could and he's world famous in his own right.

Highly recommend watching it and consider it MUCH better than the 2024 documentary.

0 - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7357302/

Do we have actual data on whether or not celebrities have more volatile relationships?

My gut feeling says they may very well be. But I feel it could also just be the media being bloodthirsty towards celebrity drama skewing our perception of it.

> Do we have actual data on whether or not celebrities have more volatile relationships?

Yes, they are legitimately more volatile [1]

> I find that the overall divorce rate for celebrities during their first 16 years of marriage is 52%, compared to 31% for the UK population as a whole.

>Celebrity first marriages fare worse than subsequent marriages with 57% versus 47% ending in divorce within 16 years, compared to 35% and 28% respectively for UK

[1] https://marriagefoundation.org.uk/research/celebrity-divorce...

My favorite Dolly story that she sometimes tells in talk shows was when she heard about a Dolly Parton Look Alike contest and entered it. She came in second place.

Except for the part where they try to inject their woke agenda into it by trying to suggest Jolene is a lesbian song. Nothing wrong with LGBTQIA+ but that part was super cringe as it was clear they were inserting their own adgenda rather than just interviewing Dolly Parton

I put her in my pantheon with Johnny Cash. Turns out Cash introduced her on her Grand Ole Opry debut in 1959, when she was 13. She killed it. Parton said later she was best friends with Johnny and June.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcfyzJW-BA4

I don't think I've ever seen the interwebs talking about one thing as much as right now.

When Michael Jackson died, reaction online was so sudden it made Google search backend stumble... They didn't have a solution to auto-hotspot-protect half the planet searching his name suddenly.

I'll be interested to see if the mitigations hold today.

As a performer, sure.

But Dolly was 1000x the songwriter that Johnny Cash was.

I’m no artist so I’m left to ask - how exactly is that metric determined?

Let’s not get carried away. Dolly was brilliant, inarguably. But no one is 1000x the songwriter of Johnny Freaking Cash, who was also estimated to have written over 1,000 songs for himself and for others.

Let’s just agree that they’re both S-tier writers.

To me, apart from her amazing music and philanthropy, what Dolly Parton represents is something that was (emphasis on past tense) at one time truly exceptional about the United States - that someone from a very humble background (poverty in East TN) could have a tremendous impact on the culture of the world - the other example in entertainment being Michael Jackson (from Gary IN).

Admittedly the US music industry was among the few where this phenomenon happened, although definitionally very few reach pop stardom.

In contrast, much of the world exports only its "elite culture", not the culture of common people.

Your contention is what, that now this is no longer possible or less likely?

Less likely, for many reasons - including the more crowded marketplace for talent, but also a culture that is more corporation generated over time.

I disagree strongly, I think we are even better at identifying talent in the margins today and the leaps are potentially larger.

this is counterbalanced by somewhat talented products of nepotism getting in, like Stella Lefty

i have no idea who that is but also i was talking about society writ large, not just music.

> more crowded marketplace for talent

That is “the people” isn’t it? It is the consequence of democratization and openness.

I am not sure if superstars were good representatives of what most people wanted. Often, I am sorry to say, it was the lowest common denominator. Now common people can actually enter the arena and represent their corner of the population.

But, almost by definition, if you are part of “the people”, you don’t get to stand out much.

Don’t you still see this with hip-hop to some extent?

I also think a lot of the difference is that a much smaller percentage of the population grows up as poor as she did. A person from a similar wealth/income percentile today mightn’t seem to have had such a difficult start.

Obviously lots of other things are different today – it’s easier than ever to access a wide variety of music but that’s not what people tend to do (iirc); there’s less money to be made selling music; there’s perhaps less interest in more ‘rural’ genres of music.

> Don’t you still see this with hip-hop to some extent?

To some extent yes, but I suspect that is declining also as the genre becomes corporatized.

becomes? i think that happened like 15 years ago...

Sure, I was being charitable

See also Britney Spears, who's mom ran a small daycare. Taylor Swift's an in between story, middle class financial services parents, hard to say if they were paycheck to paycheck or not...

Its not necessarily the best thing that big companies have a business model of taking advantage of poor, or relatively poorer, people, particularly attractive young women. See our global Epstein class and global Weinstein class.

Calling Swift middle class and that they were possibly paycheck to paycheck is laughable.

Her father had a huge role to play in her success with his business deals and would largely be considered upper middle class if not higher. If anything, Taylor’s story reinforces the idea that families with wealth offer easier paths in life for their children.

IIRC he worked for a large financial services company (Merrill Lynch?) and was able to transfer to the Nashville office so that Taylor could be closer to the music scene.

No offense, but "the idea that families with wealth offer easier paths in life for their children" - like isn't this obviously the case?

The amazing thing about America is that there are paths for those not as wealthy, but of course they are harder, as much as we might not want them to be... no?

> isn't this obviously the case?

It is, but people often act like it isn't and everybody has an equal chance. Therefore it is necessary to frequently restate the obvious.

"equal chance"

Nobody is claiming this or ever should. The claim is that there is real proof of "success" from dirt poor to middle|upper class with these music entertainer examples. Nothing ever will be equal chance, and that shouldn't really be the goal [depending on how it's defined and implemented].

> The amazing thing about America is that there are paths for those not as wealthy

The US is not special in that regard, and in fact not even particularly good at it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Social_Mobility_Index

The thread is about Taylor Swift, arguably the most successful music entertainer of all time. The parents with upper|middle class gave a boost, but you absolutely cannot buy this level of stardom and hasn't been replicated anywhere that I know of.

America is 100% the place to be rich or poor, if this really is your goal, from Dolly to Jackson or Swift.

> hasn't been replicated anywhere that I know of.

Did you hear about this little band called the Beatles?

I'm from Pennsylvania and a proverbial stone's throw from where Taylor Swift is also from. Trust me when I tell you that there's nothing "middle class" about her. Her parents are wealthy and this gave her a big boost into the entertainment industry, with lots of expensive coaching, music lessons, and trips to Nashville.

Taylor Swift's parents spent 1 Mil+ on her career. I wouldn't call that middle class.

I might give it to them still if they were fully leveraged.

> Its not necessarily the best thing that big companies have a business model of taking advantage of poor, or relatively poorer, people, particularly attractive young women. See our global Epstein class and global Weinstein class.

I agree. But are those kinds of abuse a requirement of a system that raises the voices of poorer people, or is it that we have permitted them?

I don't know if Taylor Swift endured similar hardship in her rise, but if she didn't as other replies have suggested, she's an example of how the system should treat those who are less privileged than she was.

A fun YouTube video of Dolly Parton in an Irish pub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqdKrv1Vh-g

“Dolly Parton makes an impromptu appearance at Páidí Ó Sé’s pub in Dún Chaoin, Co. Kerry and takes to the stage to entertain the locals.

While on holiday in Kerry, singer Dolly Parton paid a visit to former Kerry footballer Páidí Ó Sé’s pub, where she performs her song ‘Coat of Many Colours’ accompanied by musicians Steve Cooney and Seamus Begley.

Dolly signs off at the end of her performance,

Thank you very much and welcome to Dinglewood

This episode of Cursaí was broadcast on 1 October 1990.”

Very cool video and respect to the guitar player for gracefully handling a once in a lifetime opportunity.

That's Steve Cooney. It was Dolly got the one in a lifetime opportunity.

Amazing share! What a performer. What a life.

What a way to recognize her! I get the same feeling when she stormeed Glastonbury in 2014 - pure class. When you think about it, she had all of the virtues of a "national treasure" in the British sense.

I am from the wrong continent to be inculcated in country music from an early age, but I read books distributed from her program every week to the niece. So that's probably her more durable contribution to society, I think.

Something tells me that the songs and films will outlast the books program, but hopefully it's making a difference in the lives of kids. There's no telling how far reaching that can end up being.

On the flipside, how many individual lives have been changed by the books provided to families for free? Impossible to quantify but I'd argue extremely important.

Well, as long as the songs and films continue to make her estate money, I imagine she planned to continue sending out books.

> "wrong continent to be inculcated in country music"

A humorous response to whenever someone says "country music" is: "Which country?"

Random fact, Dolly the cloned sheep was named after Dolly Parton:

"Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell and we couldn't think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton's."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_(sheep)

In the end I think her generosity outshone her other famous attributes.

The past really is a foreign country.

When I was in elementary school Dolly Parton boob jokes made the rounds. I think we've all adjusted our view of her as a person since those days

There are different standards expected of schoolboys compared to respected scientists announcing historic breakthroughs.

Within her family friendly choice of language, she wasn't shy of making jokes about her own appearance:

“I make jokes about it, but it's the truth that I kind of patterned my look after the town tramp. I didn't know what she was, just this woman who was blond and piled her hair up, wore high heels and tight skirts, and, boy, she was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. Momma used to say, "Aw, she's just trash," and I thought, That's what I want to be when I grow up. Trash.”

and:

"It costs a lot of money to look this cheap"

It was part of her fame, for decades, as she intended. She was not shy or ashamed about it.

Nowadays we may be extremely sensitive about that sort of thing (increasingly on behalf of others, unsolicited), but at the time it was not mean spirited or wildly offensive.

> at the time it was not mean spirited or wildly offensive.

That's what "the past is a foreign country" is meant to communicate.

In the 80's there was a relatively famous Canadian comedy duo that did a song called Dolly Parton's T*ts. Definitely there was an obsession with them. I still remember David Letterman joking with her about them, too.

My 4th grade teacher in the early 90s, she called improper fractions "Dolly Parton Fractions," because they are bigger on top. Nearly 20 years later, my kid had the same teacher. The teacher was embarrassed to be reminded of the technique, haha.

The UK office's (Ricky Gervais) final words in the last episode:

"and some say she's just a big pair of tits"

The US's only secular saint. Her memorial service will need to be held in a football stadium to handle the number of people who want to pay their last respects.

yeah she's a treasure to pretty much everyone.

At least, since Fred Rogers died.

To be fair Fred Rogers was a minister, but I would agree that his message to kids was mostly secular.

Fred was a very respected man, but Dolly is also loved. The grief for many is real and most never even met her.

I think you underestimate the impact Mr. Rogers had on us.

I feel like conservatives must have a problem with Fred. MAGA would have definitely cancelled his funding.

They did. They said Rogers telling children that they’re special made them “entitled brats.”

And they’ve been trying for decades.

Also, he stood up for PBS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Rogers%27s_1969_United_St...

"Her memorial service will need to be held in a football stadium to handle the number of people who want to pay their last respects"

Way bigger. Dolly was beloved by millions, if not billions of people worldwide.

You'd need an area the size of Tennessee itself for the memorial service.

No I'm guessing that she arranged for a small personal ceremony only - insisting on that would be in line with her character.

Dollywood can hold more people than a football stadium. Probably will.

Its a nice theme park. She bought it because she thought it would be cool to have a really awesome theme park in TN. She was both correct and successful. It's pretty cool.

What do you mean by secular saint? Genuinely confused by the statement.

I'd assume she means Dolly is worshipped like a saint, even though she is not a religious figure

I still remember how hard I was struck by the scene in The Orville, where someone from another planet hears a Dolly Parton song playing and asks who it is. He goes on to say, "She speaks with the might of a hundred soldiers!"

She did. She is one of our species' great poets.

That was a really great cameo.

I grew up in East TN, and this feels like the death of Queen Elizabeth, Mother Teresa, and your favorite fun aunt all rolled up into one. Except no one had a bad word to say about Dolly. She was beloved around the world, but she was an institution back home.

I grew up in Kentucky, so Dolly still felt like a sweet distant aunt that nobody ever had a harsh word about. Went to Dollywood several times as a kid.

My hope is that people will try an emulate her charity and compassion.

Was raised in middle TN myself. Dollywood was amazing rivaling Disney World/Land. It had parts you could go to watch blacksmiths, glass blowers, and others.

> She was beloved around the world, but she was an institution back home.

And the rest of the world is envious!

She made money doing what she loved, and gave a huge amount of it away to help others. Can't ask for better than that, she will be missed.

My mother was a die hard Dolly fan. We even visited Dollywood when I was a kid. One of her favorite movies was with Dolly and Sylvester Stallone called Rhinestone. She watched it repeatedly, and there are quotes from it that are taking up precious space in the ol' memory banks.

If you've never heard the 45 of Jolene played at 33, give it a listen.

Rhinestone! I just watched for first time the other day. I had made my partner watch Rocky to see a different side of Stallone, and she is a huge Dolly Parton fan.

Rhinestone was hilarious and great to watch just because Stallone and Parton were having _so much fun_ together. No sense of sexual attraction, just having a damn great time having fun. Could not help but enjoy that, separate from it genuinely being a fun movie.

What an amazing woman and person in general.

I wish other celebrities did as much as her. Her Imagination Library (https://imaginationlibrary.com) is just one example of her giving back to the community.

RIP. We went to Dollywood last year and I highly recommend it! It was a fun, family-friendly park, and one of the things I was impressed by was how helpful and happy to be there all the workers were. Seemed like a bunch of friendly veterans who took our tickets and let us in.

And it's so clean! Makes The Magic Kingdom look like a toxic waste dump. Also has great rides. Can't recommend Dollywood enough.

More focus on the ride theming makes it a standout park in the USA. Also no students being exploited as interns for work programs which is a nice change.

Dolly Parton's Stampede is a good time as well. Don't read too much into it if you go lol

It used to be lot worse before the 2018 rebranding put Dolly Parton's name in place of a Lost Cause associated term. The old Dixie Stampede was Civil War themed and had plenty of Confederate flags and other things that were questionable in a restaurant/show asking people to pick North and South sides.

talk about the economic impact Dolly has had in her home of East Tennessee around Sieverville, pigeon forge, Gatlinburg and surrounding towns among great Smokey Mountains Appalachia. She is a deified saint among these communities for her work helping people there.

The company Dolly helped build to run Dollywood (and Kennywood and other attractions) Herchend Entertainment bought Kentucky Kingdom out of a lengthy auction process (caused by Six Flags bankrupting the park). So far it has seemed a blessing for the park, watching it slowly transform to be more family-friendly and much better maintained than the last steward (Six Flags).

The more & More I learned about her over the years, It felt like she just never seamed to give into the system and always found a way to keep give back to the world that corrupts so many.

We used to play Coat of Many Colors a lot in my house when I was a kid.

My coat of many colors

That my mama made for me

Made only from rags

But I wore it so proudly

Although we had no money

Well, I was rich as I could be

In my coat of many colors

My mama made for me

Sierra Ferrell does a pretty good rendition of that. Its actually nice to know that Dolly got to hear/see/meet Sierra.. One of a few who might be able to haul a chunk of Dolly's influence forward.

> Sierra Ferrell does a pretty good rendition of that.

Emmylou Harris does a great one also.

Brandi Carlile and I'm With Her just covered this at their stadium concert in Madison, WI last night. Eerie.

TBF, there are probably 100s of Dolly covers being done nightly. I just played Do I Ever Cross Your Mind a few nights ago with my bar band.

Even the metalheads adored her: https://www.reddit.com/r/MetalForTheMasses/comments/1vyofwx/...

As Clarac94 said: "Her philosophy and way of being was metal af, look up her book schemes and charity work and how she stuck up for people like the gay community. She was unapologetically herself, always even when criticised or mocked. RIP Dolly!"

It's heartening to see tributes and obits in publications worldwide. All respectful, and genuinely bereft. One obit, though, stood out to me from the dozen or so I've read so far. It's this one [0] in the FT, which I think deserves a wider audience [1].

[0] https://www.ft.com/content/c57569fb-c1ee-476a-aa31-d402e2f3b...

[1] https://archive.is/9nHs1

Outside of her impact on the music industry she also had an outsized impact on families with young children.

She started a charity called Imagination Library [1] that sends free monthly books to children under six in the US, Canada and even expanded to the UK, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. I will always be grateful for this.

[1] https://imaginationlibrary.com/

Feynman was apparently a fan, too. His name for quarks was "partons". She just played the dumb showbiz blonde, or as she said "it takes a lot of money to look this cheap". Others in this discussion have more to say about this, but - she was obviously a super nice and thoughtful person.

Here's my favorite track of hers, Todd Terje mix of "Jolene": https://youtu.be/Xkl36pu8aLY

Miley Cyrus is Dolly Parton's god daughter, Miley did a really phenomenal version of “Jolene” - probably my favourite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwblaKmyVw - She also did a great version together with Dolly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RINEaGraHMc

9 to 5 is such a great song. Adding it as I don't see it linked here. Strong pro-worker message too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbxUSsFXYo4

the story of how she wrote this is fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTLXYJGvhI4

The movie is snare-drum-tight scriptwriting. Great flick.

End of an era. She was a very active philanthropist and will be dearly missed for all the good she brought to the world.

Shameless plug for the Dolly Parton Book Club, for which you can register your child (even not yet born) and they will send them a free age-appropriate book every month until they turn 5. https://imaginationlibrary.com/

Dolly Parton's film production company Sandollar produced the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_(film...

Dolly Parton was an incredibly savvy business person, talented songwriter and performer, and an outstanding human being. One in a billion.

I will always remember her appearance on the Late Show with Steven Colbert where she moved him to tears with an a cappella song: https://youtu.be/R91VssUiGiY

She still has a hit single dropping in 2045.

R.I.P. Dolly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRPdwWzTTi8

I originally had no idea Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was a Dolly Parton cover.

And written the same day she wrote Jolene

Whitney's version gives you goosebumps; Dolly's original will make you cry.

I was in awe of her books for kids program.

Simple, direct philanthropy that helps any/all kids:

https://imaginationlibrary.com/

If you are curious to know more about Dolly, I wholeheartedly recommend the podcast series “Dolly Parton’s America”. One of the best podcast series I’ve listened to and gave me so much respect for Dolly. The world is a little dimmer without her in it!

Very sad to hear. Rest in peace.

I was at Dollywood a few weeks ago. I highly recommend a visit if you ever get the chance. She has a fantastic legacy in more ways than one.

The only thing I have in common with Dolly Parton is living in the USA and I grew up seeing her as a big sister and the best of what we can be. I wish I had 1% of the love she carried with her. This news is much more difficult than I would have expected. I guess that might be specific to 70s and 80s kids.

She was a kind soul and I could sense she was extremely battle hardened, the perfect combo. A true philanthropist. For those who may not know, she originally wrote and sang Whitney Houston's biggest single 'I will always love you'

She wrote that song and Jolene on the same day. Basically cemented her legacy and future with one afternoons worth of work.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has been gifting free books to kids from birth to age 5 for over three decades: https://imaginationlibrary.com/

I remember in the early-80s, maybe 5th grade, being taught fractions, specifically the "Dolly Parton fraction", where the numerator is larger than the denominator. I've got a feeling they don't teach that anymore.

She was, I believe, the largest or one of the largest private donors to the moderna covid vaccine

Here is her families statement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9govup-IG3c

It was a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt in April 2020 to support three COVID research projects, including one related to the Moderna vaccine:

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/0...

Thank you

It’s interesting that she never got any flak for it from conspiracy theorists. I guess they realized she was so beloved she was untouchable.

> I guess they realized she was so beloved she was untouchable

For real. If there is a heaven I’m sure the red carpet was rolled out for her.

Dolly was one of the unequivocal good ones. Damn girl, RIP.

One of THE best humans to have ever graced this planet. I've never heard a single negative thing about her. I wish I believed in heaven.

in some sense, the collection of innumerable entirely positive memories effect one aspect of heaven for her, i believe.

In regard to heaven, you don't need to believe for her - she believed.

If anyone wants to listen to an underrated Dolly track, my rec is Silver Dagger.

I'm going home, I'm going home...

Long As I Can See The Light: https://youtu.be/tMgyIUvz9ak?si=zZq0yHRHmGl7LsFB

You know how, sometimes, you downright think "that is impossible!", with certain people, when you hear of their death. And then, of course, you realize ...

This.-

She always seemed so full of life, it's difficult to believe she's gone.

Fun fact: Dolly, the cloned sheep, was named after Dolly Parton. The sheep was cloned from a mammary gland cell, so...

Others have mentioned Sierra Ferrell - she seems to be the most obvious and vivid wildlife which is native to the ecosystem in which a huge gap left by this passing.

And Sierra is a very sharp and kind human being from what I can tell. We've had the good fortune to hang out a few times at IBMA and once in Tennessee. She has always been very fun and curious and easygoing with my son, and she radiates a continually inspired view of the future of the music "industry".

I don't know her super well, but she runs in my circles of friends who are interested in a radical rethinking (for many of us, an abolitionist view) of IP. I have no idea her views in particular, but it feels notable to see the kinds of folks coming up through that scene.

An occasional co-writer of hers, Melody Walker, also seems to be a thought-leader on questioning industry (and also societal) norms. I strongly suggest her content (and if you're not familiar, their beautiful co-written ballad, American Dreaming).

I don't recall if I've spoken to Sierra about IPFS - I think I actually have, when describing the release process for my second record - but it's an interesting synchrony to have Dolly leave us (and for many of us, to instinctually turn to Sierra for inspiration) and for IPFS lose its primary maintaining org in the same day.

It's obvious that the long-term future of traditional music is as the lifeblood of peer-to-peer topologies and communities.

Here's Sierra summoning the energy of Dolly last Sept:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeV6-hTLe6U

I'm sure she'll do a generationally-relevant tribute in the next week or two, as will Billy Strings.

(Reminder: Both Billy and Sierra have released their entire catalog DRM-free: https://pickipedia.xyz/wiki/DRM-free)

People suspected the health news in the last ~months before to be more serious than initially alleged to not be serious at all. Now they were confirmed.

Of all her songs I think Jolene is by far the most interesting. Several copied the song, such as Miley Cyrus, and while not bad, it seems to not quite capture the underlying idea of the song. I have a hard time Miley being as plausible in the "please don't steal my man just because you can" compared to Dolly. It's like a whole generation in between and the lyrics just don't really fit much at all to Miley, even if one reasons that it is the melody that is more important - but even then, Miley's voice seems to fit to other songs better than happy-go-lucky country songs.

This comment makes it seem like you really wanted to attack Miley rather than discuss Dolly’s health.

Make time to listen to Dolly Parton's America podcast:

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dolly-partons-america

I knew she had been sick recently but always assumed she'd bounce back.

We're worse off.

some people are really sick but it's not evident because they keep it concealed

Also when you are 80 something can go from a bit of a cold to deadly dangerous real quick.

Wow. I knew she was close but still. She has always held her in a special place in my heart as I am sure so many else do. I hope there is a national day of mourning. And parades. She would've like parades

Her father couldn't read so she built a program that mails 3.5 million books to children every month.

That's an amazing contribution to literacy

In an odd coincidence, Jolene by Dolly Parton played on YouTube Music as I drove home with my daughter. When we got home, my wife told me Dolly Parton had died. I don't listen to much of her though I'm fond of this song, and we get the Imagination Library books. Seems like she was good person, and a great singer and songwriter.

Her playing at Glastonbury here in the UK only seems like the other day, but I just checked and it's been _12 years_! She played her most popular songs and the audience treated her like the star she was. What an incredible, talented, kind-hearted woman. An inspiration to so many for all the best reasons.

My daughter loves Dolly from her books and I love reading to her. What a win win, RIP Dolly you are a class act.

Amazing human who popularized the amazing Country Music. Listening to Country Music radio all day as respects.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dolly-partons-america/...

Sad news - she was a treasure.

The woman wrote Jolene. If that doesn’t get you to heaven then nothing will.

I found this remix music video strangely hypnotic when I happened across it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExeQM08TwbE

My wife is at an eye appointment. I have no idea what to expect when she gets home. After Dolly's super bowl performance my wife (and her mother) were crying at just the thought of her passing away.

She did so much for children's literacy, underserved children have benefited from her reading program. I support her book club because it makes humans smarter. The world really lost a great spirit.

I will be crying 9-5 today.

I guess this is why English Wikipedia was down. It's back up now.

Stars who were born into poverty sometimes struggle with being generous (Charlie Chaplin for example). But that certainly didn't seem to be an issue for Dolly. What a life.

Somehow "USS Dolly Parton" has a bit of a ring to it for the next US warship after the "USS Dorie Miller".

Hang on, why on earth would you think Dolly Parton of all people would want a warship named after her?

Sad, but she was beloved and lived a great live. She was successful, but gave back a lot in her local community.

What a life. Dolly somehow managed to be enormously famous without ever seeming consumed by fame. RIP.

One of the most generous music artists to have lived. Dolly's legacy will greatly outlive her.

She was truly a gem. Beautiful inside and out. May she rest in peace.

We need more celebrities to step up like Dolly. You will be missed.

Dolly Parton seemed nice on that episode of The Orville.

I saw Dolly at Hardly Strictly in 2005. She was great.

An icon, one of the best of us and a true one of one

She was such an impressively kind person.

Heartbreaking. Rest in peace Dolly.

RIP. One of the last real ones.

RIP Dolly, she was a good one.

Dolly was a force.

off-topic here

very, very sad. she was such a good person in this age of trump especially in the country music scene

Even if, say, hypothetically, that I agreed with you, we don't need to bring up that name in association with this perfect angel of a lady on this sad day.

Let's just say that she's a wonderful person and an excellent example and leave it at that.

It is a lot easier to appreciate the light when you're aware of the dark.

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