News announced Tuesday, August 25, of country singer Dolly Parton’s passing at the age of 80, sent the country into collective mourning. From one corner of this nation to the other, every man, woman, and child has a Dolly memory. For little girls, growing up in the south especially, it has become a right of passage to at some point during their childhood, fall in love with the music, movies, and person that was Dolly Parton.
A Nashville-born Tennessean, my love for the Queen of Country started early and bleeds through many memories in my life. She is my first favorite singer [still is!] and is the first celebrity I ever saw in person— at a concert when I was an elementary school student. And believe you me, I had to work my butt off doing chores around the house for six months to earn the right to see the legendary Dolly Parton perform in person.
Like many across the globe, I was saddened, but not surprised, to hear of Dolly’s passing. I really think we have all known for some time the end of an era was rapidly approaching— collectively we heard its sad knocking when Parton announced she was cancelling her tour dates under doctor’s orders in recent weeks.
In the hours following the announcement of her passing at 80 years of age, the world learned Parton has been battling cancer for an unspecified length of time. Four days before her passing, Parton addressed her health, saying she was now dealing with issues she let slide while caring for her husband, Carl Dean, who passed on March 3, 2025. The couple were wed for 59 years.
Over her career, Parton developed a larger-than-life persona known for being a singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist and businesswoman. Her professional success began by writing songs for others, but Parton was never one to sit on the sidelines. Soon, she made her way to the front, releasing her own debut album in 1967, titled “Hello, I’m Dolly,” after inking her first record deal with Monument Records. Next, Parton backed up her success by immediately signing with Combine Music also, this time for a songwriting deal.
That same year, Parton was given her first big break when she was hired as a regular on the Porter Wagoner Show. The American viewing public quickly became enamored with the quick witted, vivacious blonde from Tennessee.
Parton was never meant to be a sidekick, and like the butterfly she loved, eventually spread her wings and left the show after seven years. The contentious separation in 1974 spawned Parton’s hit song “I Will Always Love You.”
While Parton is also known for her other talents, it has truly always been about the music for her, and she leaves us with 50 albums of hits that spans over six decades, and earned her numerous accolades like 11 Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards.
When it comes to Dolly songs, we can all point to classics like “Jolene,” or “9 to 5,” but deep down we know we have a favorite. My “favorite” can change based on the day and my given mood, however, when push comes to shove, there is one Dolly song that I will always love: “Eagle When She Flies.”
I know it could sound strange to some, but it is the song I most loved when I voluntarily agreed to sing in my school’s talent show in the fifth grade. I am still not sure how this event ever happened, but I can assure you that it did, embarrassingly, occur. And it occurred to the tune of my tone-deaf rendition of “Eagle When She Flies.”
In recognition of Parton, President Donald Trump ordered the nation’s flags, at the federal level, to be flown at half-mast for the next week in honor of her passing.
Perhaps the President may have summed up the nation’s collective feelings of grief best when he explained his reasoning for lowering the flags, an honor generally reserved for the passing of world leaders, in a Truth Social post that reads “This is a true loss for millions of people— There has never been anyone like her and never will.” He added, “Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you.”