Goodbye Dolly

Calling Dolly Parton, who died yesterday at 80, a country singer and leaving it at that is like calling a Bugatti Chiron a car.  Parton was much more than that.  She was a songwriter, an actress, a producer, a businesswoman, and, as I learned going through the alcoholic-beverage section of my local supermarket, a vintner.  She was also a philanthropist and a literacy activist, and her eastern Tennessee amusement park Dollywood became, thanks to her shrewd business acumen, the Disneyland of the South.  IN writing about her music, Chet Flippo explained, "Dolly Parton is the South to many people; her lyrics are the embodiment of the proper Southern virtues of fundamentalist religion, respect for the family, worship of one's parents, praise for the right husband/lover and weepy heartfelt laments over the wrongs suffered at the hands of a callous/drinking/running-around husband.  Many country songwriters take all that and make it corny; Dolly makes it real and believable."

That believability came from her personal experiences growing up poor in eastern Tennessee, showing  empathy for others, and an apparent (and inexplicable) inferiority complex that led to her signature song, "Jolene."  "Jolene" was a dark plea to a flirtatious woman not to take her man away from her,  inspired by an auburn-haired bank employee who flirted with Parton's husband Carl Dean, who was a regular customer and account holder at the bank and who lived a quiet, simple life and avoided the spotlight, suggesting that, for those who have seen the movie Notting Hill,  he played William Thacker to Parton's Anna Scott.  Her soprano voice suggested an ability to try any form of pop, and in many respects she did.  Who else can you think of from Nashville would cover songs ranging from Billy Joel's "Travellin' Prayer," a song many thought was insensitive Northeastern cultural appropriation of Appalachian folk music (Joe Queenan called it "Great Neck bluegrass") to Collective Soul's intense rock tune "Shine"?  Who thought she was capable of writing and singing the up-tempo pop song "9 to 5," the title song for her first movie?  She even made a disco record (though the less said about that, the better) and made what turned out to be her final album, her forty-ninth (did I happen to mention that she was industrious?), as a full-on rock album of covers and originals.

It's her devotion to charity and philanthropy that will live on more than anything other than her music.  She supported numerous liberal causes such as gay rights and universal health care and, during the pandemic, she was a more effective spokesperson for COVID shots than any Democratic politician in Washington.  (She helped fund them.)  Even if you don't like country music, even if you think she merely played an extension of herself as a movie actress (though you must check out her performance in Steel Magnolias),  and even if you have a problem with Dollywood because you think that the last things America needs are more amusement parks, admit it, dude, you loved the woman, didn't you?  Everyone loved Dolly Parton, just as everyone loves Cher.  And while Dolly was still glowing, still crowing, and still going strong, she left a legacy that is with is now and will be here for a long time, at least as long as Sirius XM (probably the last place you can real real country and western music these days) still plays her records.  And so Dolly will never go away again.  RIP.