On Tuesday, Dolly Parton died. The world lost a fantastic voice and a great example of the right way to handle success and wealth.
Tuesday night, The New York Post posted an article about the accomplishments and generosity of Dolly Parton.
The article reports:
God bless the superb Dolly Parton, who passed away Tuesday in Nashville, the Music City.
To call her the Queen of Country is both true and not.
The genius who wrote “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day was certainly a country music icon.
But Parton transcended genre, and a one-room cabin in Tennessee, to become an icon for all Americans.
In 1980, she starred in the hit comedy “9 to 5,” while her theme song for the film hit No. 1 simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100, adult contemporary and country charts.
We dare you to find anyone who didn’t like Dolly.
She never had a bad word to say about anyone, and her sly wit mostly took aim at her own flashy persona.
“It takes a lot of money to look this cheap,” she quipped, and later said that quote would likely go on her tombstone.
Parton’s genius as a self-created icon paved the way for generations of female artists.
Madonna, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus (her goddaughter) all plainly owe some performative debt to Dolly.
…Dolly grew up dirt poor, and never forgot where she came from: Her Dollywood Foundation may be the model for making a difference in a community — and through it, in the world, as the Imagination Library, inspired by her father’s illiteracy, has mailed out over 300 million books to children (one a month from birth until they start school) and also gone global via partnerships.
On Tuesday, The Yorkshire Post posted a few Dolly Parton quotes:
“You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.”
“If I see something saggin’, baggin’ or draggin’, I’m gonna have it nipped, tucked or sucked!”
“I was the first woman to burn my bra – it took the fire department four days to put it out.”
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
“You gotta keep trying to find your niche and trying to fit into whatever slot that’s left for you or to make one of your own.”
“Leave something good in every day.”
She will be missed.