A legend has passed. Dolly Parton passed away yesterday and, in remembrance, today’s classic song of the day is one of her most notable, “Jolene.” Released as a single in October of 1973, “Jolene” was a multi-genre hit, reaching #60 on the Billboard Hot 100, #44 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, and #1 on Billboard’s Country Songs chart.
Dolly Parton was born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, the fourth of twelve children in her poor Appalachian family. When she was ten years old she got a gig singing for a local variety show on a Knoxville television station. She made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry stage in 1959, when she was just thirteen years old. She moved to Nashville in 1964, when she graduated from high school. She started writing songs with her uncle, Bill Owens, two of which became hits for country singer Bill Phillips. In 1967 she was picked to be Porter Wagoner’s singing partner on his popular The Porter Wagoner Show, which led to much wider exposure. She had her first #1 country hit in 1971 with “Joshua,” and the hits just kept on coming.
Ms. Parton scored a huge number of hits on the country charts then, in the mid-70s, started to cross over from her mountain country roots to more mainstream pop music. Her mainstream hits started with “Jolene” and included “Here You Come Again,” “Two Doors Down,” “Starting Over Again,” and “9 to 5.” She also ventured into acting, appearing most notably in the movies 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Steel Magnolias.
For all her success as a performer, Dolly Parton thought of herself first and foremost as a songwriter. In addition to writing “Jolene,” she also penned “9 to 5,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “I Will Always Love You” (a major hit for Whitney Houston), “Joshua,” “Rainbowland” (for Miley Cyrus, her goddaughter), “To Daddy” (for Emmylou Harris), and “Waltz Me to Heaven” (for Waylon Jennings).
I admire Dolly Parton most for her philanthropic activities. She founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to improve educational outcomes in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee. Her annual Dolly Parton Scholarships offered $15,000 scholarships to five of the county’s most worthy high school seniors. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library mailed free age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five. She donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help develop the first COVID-19 vaccine, and millions more over the years to a number of local hospitals. These and other activities earned her the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2022.
Dolly Parton kept active in both music and philanthropy to the very end. She passed away on August 25, 2026, after a brief period of health issues. She was 80 years old.
