Dr. Glenn Mollette
I was in the third grade when my teacher announced that President Kennedy had been shot. I was in the parking lot of an auto parts store in Englewood, Ohio when I heard on the radio that Elvis had died. I will always remember where I was when I learned the sad news that Dolly Parton had died.
The first time I saw Dolly was on The Porter Wagoner Show. For a long time, Wagoner’s female guest artist was Norma Jean.
He always introduced her as “the pretty Miss Norma Jean”. Then, one Saturday night there was a new guest singer. It was Dolly. Dolly was a young rising star who caught the attention of Wagoner. He knew she was an awesome talent.
The parting song that she wrote for Wagoner became a major hit. “I Will Always Love You” was a phenomenal hit for Parton but then became a mega hit when it was sung by Whitney Houston in the 1992 movie The Bodyguard. Houston’s version of the song has sold over 24 million copies worldwide and has over 800 million downloads on Spotify.
Dolly made an indelible impression on all of us. Anyone who ever heard her sing or watched her in a movie was touched by the person of Dolly. She wrote great songs. She was an amazing singer and fabulous actress. She was a smart business person. Her success brought her more and more successes.
There is nothing that any writer or television/radio person can add to Dolly. All we can do is grieve and embrace all she gave us, which was a lot. She had 25 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Song chart. She had many other popular songs like “9 to 5” and “Islands in the Stream”.
She made at least 23 movies including 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Joyful Noise. She won eleven Grammys out of 55 nominations. She had many business ventures including Dollywood, a theme park in Sevierville, Tennessee.
She owned Dolly Wines, a line of cake mixes with Duncan Hines, a pet accessories line called Doggy Parton and a plethora of fragrances. She had apparel and beauty products and Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop. Recently, she was working on building a hotel in Nashville called Song Teller Hotel.
Her net worth has been estimated to be between $450 million and $650 million.
We loved Dolly for a lot of reasons. She was a real person. The plastic surgery and her super success never tarnished her ability to connect with people on all levels. Her Imagination Library project has gifted millions of books to children. Her financial support of hospitals and medical research was also in the millions. She supported multiple humanitarian causes which helped and encouraged so many.
I saw her in the Ryman Auditorium just a few years back. She was doing an acoustic performance with no bells or whistles and only a small ensemble of musicians. It was a simple show to raise money for struggling Nashville musicians.
My wife and I were able to buy seats in the balcony and then sat for a mesmerizing two-hour show of Dolly just giving us her best in song and performance. I believe that’s how she lived her daily life and that’s one of many reasons why we will always love her.
