Why We Need a Little More Dolly
A look at the legacy Dolly Parton has left behind, and what we can learn from it.
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My brother was born at an unfortunate time, through no fault of his own. I couldn’t warn him; it would be two years before I’d be born myself. In hindsight, the doctor should have picked up baby Calvin and told him that in twenty-one years time, his birthday would be overshadowed by the death of the Queen of Country, Dolly Parton.
If you hadn’t really been aware of Parton’s influence, you may be wondering why you should care about her passing. Let’s start with straight numbers. She holds 25 No.1 songs, 55 Top 10 songs, nine No.1 albums, and 49 Top 10 albums. She has 16 Gold and 11 Platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America. She has sold over 100 million records, putting her on par with current artists like The Weeknd and Ariana Grande. Despite her career starting in the mid 60s, she remained active well into the 2020s, collaborating with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Beyonce. She is the proud owner of ten Grammys with 55 nominations. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her song “9 to 5.” Following her passing, she bumped past Morgan Wallen and Olivia Rodrigo to claim the number one spot as Billboard’s top artist.
She was also one of the shrewdest businesswomen to come out of the music industry. In 1974, she turned down Tom Parker, in his bid to purchase half the royalties of her song “I Will Always Love You” for a cover by Elvis Presley. The gamble paid off; the song became one of the most prolific songs of the 20th century, most notably covered by Whitney Houston (who deserves an article of her own). Her businesses continued to grow alongside her music career. During the 1980s she’d launch Sandollar Productions, which went on to produce the Academy Award winner Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989) and the niche yet marginally successful indie show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). She’d also opened a 185-acre theme and water-park, Dollywood. She was also known for her line of affordable supermarket baking equipment and mixes.
Unfortunately, her death did not warrant the United States to lower their flag in commemoration. But, some background is needed to know why her death was so sudden to society.
Dolly Parton grew up incredibly poor. Parton and her eleven siblings (and parents, included) resided in a humble cabin in rural Tennessee, with little access to proper water and electricity. She had no resources nor proper backing to kickstart her music career. But, despite her fame, she never shied away from her background.
Actions speak louder than words, and Parton proved to us why she was better than anything a billionaire’s PR firm could come up with. In 1988, she founded The Dollywood Foundation, a nonprofit focused on literacy. The foundation is most famous for its Imagination Library, a system that mails a free book to anyone under the age of 5, monthly. Initially confined to east Tennessee, the initiative became global. In addition to that, her product lines never charge a premium for being “Dolly branded,” widely available in supermarkets and dollar stores. Her theme park also provided thousands of jobs in her historically poor hometown.
Dolly Parton knew the power her image held. She never sat at the sidelines of any issue. She was a staunch supporter of women’s rights, since the 1970s. This was at a time where a “traditional” woman—conservative in her own right—was the “standard” woman: stick to a man and do as you’re told. Dolly rejected that. For example, the film “9 to 5” was an outstanding critique of the male dominated fields which she grew up to see. She was recorded to have been a notorious donator to medical and animal-related causes. She notably turned her nose up at the “King of Rock ‘n Roll,” donated 1 million USD to COVID-19 vaccine research and raised 9 million USD to aid families affected by the Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires.
Parton was also a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community since as early as 1991. She provided support as early as the 1980s with the aforementioned Common Threads film, which covered the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic of the time and its impact on the LGBTQ+ communities. She won more awards than I can name for her philanthropy, and I don’t believe it’s a hot take to claim she was a beautiful woman in every definition of the word.
We live in a world where every remotely successful person tries to monetize their fame as much as possible. Billionaires sit on their mountains of gold. Giant companies hire committees to find out how to squeeze the last few pennies out of their consumers. How much goodwill can they sacrifice for another dollar in their bank account?
Dolly wasn’t like that. She had a genuine rags-to-riches story, but never lost sight of the abject poverty she needed to wade through to get there. She gave a fortune to those less fortunate to her. She bet on herself. Her legacy in entrepreneurship, music, and film are unlikely to be replicated.
In a world of super surveillance and data stealers, maybe we need a little more Dolly Parton.
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