Dolly Parton, 1946 - 2026

National treasure Dolly Parton, 80, died on Aug. 25. The singer, songwriter and actress, dubbed “the Queen of Country,” wrote (and usually sang) such hits as “9 to 5,” “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “I Will Always Love You,” and “Here You Come Again,” among many others. She worked her way up from a Tennessee log cabin to singing with Porter Wagoner in the ’60s. She went solo, and by the 1980s had become a cross-over star, her image morphing into a less scary Mae West ("It's a good thing I was born a girl, otherwise I'd be a drag queen"). She was an adorable actress, even in iffy vehicles (9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, Steel Magnolias); her theme park, Tennessee’s Dollywood, opened in 1986. Dolly was not only a huge talent, but everyone loved her, whether they wanted to or not: she was a gay-friendly Christian, she supported literacy programs, vaccines, the Red Cross and AIDS foundations, animal rights, wildfire relief, and helped fund several hospitals. She always had a positive spin on her life: “I'm not offended by dumb-blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde,” she said. “I patterned my look after the town tramp. Everybody said, ‘She's trash.’ And in my little girl mind, I thought, ‘Well, that's what I'm going to be when I grow up.’” Parton added, “It takes a lot of money to make a person look this cheap!”

“Jolene” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0eeSoU35wM&list=RDL0eeSoU35wM&start_radio=1