[In Memoriam] Dolly Parton, the Queen of Country, sadly passes away

I was watching the news on French TV earlier last week and between the dreaded Jean Luc Melonchon rattling on about whatever popular subject he'd decided to make key to this week's rant in an attempt to persuade the oppressed and gullible to vote for him in next year's election and the hurricane that had devastated parts of the Aude region came a short announcement. Dolly Parton had passed away. And that was it. No chat show clips, no music video extracts, no tributes. Nothing, nada or as they say in France que dalle.

So it falls to me, the humble writer in France to redress the balance and try and write a few words about the lady many referred to as the "Queen of Country"

I'm not going to give you a full run down of her life story - there are plenty of other articles already published (do some journals write these in advance to publish them so quickly?) that do that better than I can. Rather than that I'm going to talk about the music she made and what she meant to people.

First and foremost she was a phenomenal singer. I was playing her recent Rock covers album only yesterday - and in particular her version of I Can't Get No Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. I really hope Pink and Brandi Carlisle (who duet with Dolly on this track) got paid a good few consolation dollars for their vocal parts as they aren't in the same ballpark nay league as Ms Parton when it comes to range and emotion. Often in the hifi world we look for emotion to be transmitted by our systems and by crikey Dolly had it in spades/bucket loads (depending on your favourite unmeasurable superlative). And she was 77 when she recorded this! Some say it was to legitimize her entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which she'd previously refused for not being rock enough. I think this qualified her amply!

But it wasn't just on power tracks where she could shine. Take her earlier work and there was the simple beautiful naivety of "A coat of many colors" or the outright fun of 9 to 5. Looking at the first performance of the former on live TV on the Porter Wagoner show shows she could also keep a guitar line going. Quite how she did that on stage in later life with the acrylic nails has got me baffled - she'd probably got a technique that even the great Steve Vai couldn't match but I digress.

I suppose I can't write this without mentioning THAT song. I will always Love you. It's not my favourite - there I said it - but it sure as hell became well known through both the original and later Bodyguard soundtrack cover by the much missed Whitney Houston. Whether you like it or not it shows that a great song transcends styles and eras and if you've got 10 minutes while waiting for a train have a look on Youtube and you'll certainly find versions which will bring a smile to your face. A testament if ever there was one to her songwriting abilities and please readers, if any of your friend still think Whitney Houston wrote it you are duty bound to correct them.

Dolly could also hold her own on stage and even on some of the world's biggest stages. Take the famous Glastonbury performance from 2014 from the Pyramid stage - available on t'internet if you look - in front of what must be over 100000 people she's note perfect, has a stage presence most artists never approach and has the audience in the palm of her hand within the first minute. To be honest I reckon she could have done HellFest and 100000 metal fans would have flocked to see her. What a sight that would have been. Maybe in a parallel universe.

Asking around my friends and colleagues and it's interesting to see just how many Dolly fans there are. From 90s hip hop obsessives to Frank Zappa fans through to those who just love a good tune there's a lot of people who simply loved not only what she did in a studio and on stage but also what she did outside of that world. No I haven't been to Dollywood but I'm sure it's more fun than Disneyland. Which brings us to her foundations and charity work. Her Imagination Library alone founded over 30 years ago has in that time donated over 300 million(!) books to children ages 0-5. Not to mention the million dollars to Covid vaccine research.

The most interesting people tend to make really good talk show guests - Billy Connolly would be an example here. Watch some of Dolly's participations and there is a presence, sparkle and evident intelligence that just drew everyone in. Couple that with some fabulous self depreciation including the famous "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap" line and she'd have the audience somewhere between transfixed and in stitches. We used to have a personnel interview at work and the only interesting question was who would you like to sit next to on a plane? Well as my wife doesn't like sitting next to me as I tend to fall asleep I would have answered Dolly Parton to sit between us and I'm sure it would have been a more than memorable flight!

I could go on but I'm going to leave you with a video clip from 2025 when Dolly added her vocal talents to a re-recording of Mötley Crüe's Home Sweet Home. The only time other people in the video had more outrageous hair than she did. Enjoy and I think I'm right in saying we could all do with bringing some Dolly into our Homes.

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Goodbye to the Queen of Country

Dolly Parton passes away at 80

We're gonna miss you Ms. Parton...