By Luke Paglia · Managing Editor
For many years, she reigned over the country music industry with her soulful lyrics and twangy tunes and took the screen by storm in many movies and TV shows across the decades.
Dolly Parton sadly died at the age of 80 on Aug. 25. However, the legacy she left in the music and media industries will certainly not be forgotten.
Parton’s career started at 10 years old when she began performing music on Knoxville radio stations. She was instantly a hit, and even the world’s biggest country music stars recognized her. One of these was Johnny Cash, who invited her to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, the most prestigious of stages in the country music world.
A couple of years later, Parton moved to Nashville to pursue her career in country music and released her first album “Hello, I’m Dolly.” In just a few short years, she achieved her first solo No. 1 single with the song “Joshua.” In this time, she also released some of her all-time popular songs including “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You” and “9 to 5.”
Parton’s career did not end here, though. In 1980, she made her film debut in “9 to 5,” which earned an Oscar nomination for the title track. She was also featured in various other quite popular projects across the 1980s and 1990s and earned a couple of award nominations.
Later, Parton received numerous awards, including the Living Legend Medal from the Library of Congress, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recognized her for selling over 100 million units worldwide. One of the last things Parton did in her career was release a collaborative rock album, “Rockstar,” for which she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Parton impacted the country and even the world in a much larger way than just through the entertainment industry. She supported many charities and foundations throughout her career and ultimately was a huge part of paving the path in country music for future female country music stars to walk down.
“It’s hard for me to imagine the world without Dolly. Dolly’s heart was as big as her talent. She was not only a great singer/song writer/actress/TV star. Dolly also lived her art,” artist Cyndi Lauper said. “She used her art, her fame and her money to help so many people. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve thought to myself, ‘What would Dolly do?’ She was a great role model for all of us.”
