Posted on by CG

A Belated Happy Birthday to Dolly Parton

Well golly y’all, I sure am happy to have just celebrated the birthday of one of my sheroes, the indominable Dolly Parton.

I have to tell you that this has been a challenging post for me to write.  Because there is SO MUCH that I have to say about Dolly Parton. Many of you may already be aware of my fascination with her.  You’ve already heard me go on and on about what a role model and wonderful person she is, and you’re rolling your eyes – oh brother, she’s got more material. And boy howdy, I sure do. But I can’t fit all of the things that I find fascinating about Dolly in this one post, so I’ll just focus on one thing that might pique your interest today.  We can get into The Imagination Library, Dollywood, and her discography later.

I recently discovered a great podcast called Dolly Parton’s America (seriously, check it out). It’s about Dolly, but it isn’t from Dolly; it was created by NPR’s Radiolab producer Jad Abumrad. I was recommending it to a friend but having a hard time describing it.  I finally settled on, it’s deep and thought-provoking. The gist of the series is that Dolly Parton is both a creator of culture and a cultural object.

One of my favorite things about the podcast is that they discuss and examine a lot of things that Dolly won’t engage about. Things like gender and objectification and how she is wily enough to navigate these hazards without letting on to the fact that she is on to the game.  And then she wins.

One of my stand-out takeaways from the podcast was how important it is to Dolly to try to not hurt anyone’s feelings. And that is the bottom line that she is coming from in so many of the things that she does. She is not going to apologize for being herself or try to be something that she isn’t, and she doesn’t expect anyone else to either. It’s ok with Dolly that you are just the way you are; she isn’t going to judge anyone, even if they won’t do her the same courtesy.

Is it because she was picked on when she was little?  Coat of Many Colors and all that. She knows what it feels like when someone makes a point of making you feel like you’re not a part of something. She never outright says that, but her wanting to not ever hurt anyone’s feelings goes way beyond being a savvy businesswoman who wants to make sure that her market share is as large as possible.

I feel like I have an endless number of lessons to learn from Dolly Parton. About how to create meaningful art; how to be open, approachable and outgoing but still own your right to be a private person; and about how to stand up for yourself, your best interests, what you believe in, and be generous and help other people at the same time.

It’s like she says, “Find out who you are and do it on purpose!” I’m trying Dolly!  It’s not that easy.

Thank you Dolly.  Happy birthday!

7 Replies to “A Belated Happy Birthday to Dolly Parton”

  1. I remember her being such a joke when we were kids; ya know, big hair + big “hoops” = dumb blonde . I remember when Whitney Houston made “I Will Always Love You” such a huge hit and hearing that it was written by Dolly Parton. AND that Elvis had tried to record the song back in the 70’s but if Elvis recorded it, he got the rights to the song and Dolly got a one time payout. But Dolly said “no” and that she keeps the right to all her own music. That was when she stopped being a joke to me and become someone that I look up to.

  2. I, too, am an admiring fan of a Dolly Parton. Dolly is and always has been authentic from the beginning of her rise to stardom and always. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on one of Country Music’s Sheroes!

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