She will always love you. Because Dolly Parton is – in fact – a better person than all of us. That’s why we bow down to America’s greatest gift to the world before Miss Parton has to deny her own demise on the internet once again.
When Freida Parton recently asked on social media for people to pray for her older sister, there was great panic. Shortly afterwards, the all-clear was given: Dolly Parton is currently struggling with health problems and has had to postpone her planned series of concerts in Las Vegas for a year. But the scythe of death will hopefully not steal a hair from her blonde head for a long time yet. It was a rare piece of news: good news from the USA. With Dolly Parton, what the United States imagines when it closes its eyes and flatters itself in its best version lives on: a loud, colorful authority, as shirt-sleeved as she is warm-hearted, loved by all. A global institution who made it from a wooden cabin in the Appalachians to Hollywood thanks to his indestructible optimism. And someone at whose table we all have a place – regardless of our background and beliefs, as long as there is a spark of humanity in you. The American Dream may be a lie. But Dolly’s Utopia is as intoxicating as a jug of moonshine whiskey and as true as the hangover afterwards. The artist mastered the path to becoming a universal idol because she was never one thing, but always the other: artificial and kitschy like a plastic flamingo on the trailer park artificial turf – but also full of wisdom, depth and authenticity. A devout Christian who doesn’t leave the house without a gun – but also a progressive feminist and patron saint of marginalized communities. A tough 450 million dollar business – but also a modest favorite aunt who puts American Pies on the windowsill to cool off.
FROM A COUNTRY BUMPKIN TO A PIECE OF GOLD
In the very beginning, however, Dolly Parton was simply one of twelve children in a remote log cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River. Her mother was either pregnant or ill, the famous daughter remembers. And the only thing that kept her warm at night in winter was the bedwetting of her siblings, with whom she shared a bed, Parton once said. When the family could afford a battery, they listened to music from The Grand Ole Opry on the radio. The legendary country concert hall where the careers of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline began. When Dolly was five, she wrote her first song. Eight years later, she was at the other end of the radio line – Johnny Cash announced the teenager for her first concert on the stage of the big old Opry. Even then, Dolly had a penchant for the flashy: she painted her lips with merthiolate, an orange-pink antiseptic for disinfecting wounds and the only, well, make-up in the log cabin. Barely out of high school, the singer traveled to Nashville. There she was discovered by Porter Wagoner, a country superstar with the hairstyle of a King of Rock’n’Roll and the stage outfits of a box of Christmas tree decorations for Christmas in Texas. The duo performed weekly on Wagoner’s TV show and conquered the country charts. After seven years and her number one hit “Jolene” as a solo artist, Dolly realized that her meteoric rise was overshadowed by Wagoner’s declining star. But it was only when she composed the farewell ballad “I Will Always Love You” for her mentor, moving him to tears, that Porter realized that he would no longer be able to hold on to this talent.
WELCOME TO DOLLYWOOD
While colleagues like Tammy Wynette (“Stand By Your Man”) sang as if they were only allowed to leave the kitchen with their man’s permission, Dolly Parton’s lyrics were brimming with female self-confidence from the very beginning. In her songs, she embraced the abandoned and the rejected. “Coat of Many Colors” became both a lullaby for Christian families and an anthem at LGBTQ parades. Soon, the boots of the country genre weren’t enough to keep up with Dolly’s stride. Pop songs and movies alongside Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds made her a mainstream pop cultural phenomenon in the 1980s – and in 1986, the artist immortalized herself with her own amusement park: Dollywood. What would have seemed like megalomania to others became a touching gesture to boost the economy of her birthplace thanks to Parton. Dolly Parton is still active musically today. Her album “Rockstar” reached number 3 on the American Billboard charts in 2023 – the highest position of her career on the genre-independent hit parade. Dolly dedicated the collection of rock cover versions to her husband Carl Dean. Throughout his life, he stayed out of the limelight and continued to work as an asphalt contractor even after his wife had poured millions of dollars into the household coffers. In March 2025, Dean passed away after almost sixty years of marriage. And even if “Rockstar” is really more for boomer dads who need a soundtrack to mow the lawn, Dolly still has her manicured fingers on the musical pulse of the times. With Sabrina Carpenter, she re-recorded her song “Please Please Please” as a duet and when Beyoncé set out to be the first black woman to reach number one in the US country charts with the album “Cowboy Carter”, Parton supported her on two songs as a duet. “Cowboy Carter” became a commercial triumph and achieved its historic goal. Because wherever Dolly Parton is, the United States of America is back for a little bit of a better world. And for that we salute proudly under the “Stars & Stripes” flag. As long as it blows in the wind in the colors pink, blonde and baby blue.
STAR OF THE SHOW: MY LIFE ON STAGE
No single book is enough for this career. “Star of the Show: My Life on Stage” concludes a trilogy of illustrated books in which Dolly Parton takes a look back at her life and work. This time the focus is on her work as a live performer, from her beginnings as a sidekick to country star Porter Wagoner to sold-out stadium tours around the world.
With 350 rare photos and personal anecdotes, the all-rounder takes us through his own history. We are happy to put in a few “9 to 5” shifts to browse through them. Dolly Parton & Tom Roland, “Star of the Show: My Life on Stage”, Ten Speed Press, 336 pages, approx. 55.-, crownpublishing.com
Also blonde and also iconic: Brigitte Bardot.
You can explore books, merchandise and the entire Dolly-verse here.
Pictures: © pa picture alliance (dpa)
