Admittedly the US music industry was among the few where this phenomenon happened, although definitionally very few reach pop stardom.
In contrast, much of the world exports only its "elite culture", not the culture of common people.
I also think a lot of the difference is that a much smaller percentage of the population grows up as poor as she did. A person from a similar wealth/income percentile today mightn’t seem to have had such a difficult start.
Obviously lots of other things are different today – it’s easier than ever to access a wide variety of music but that’s not what people tend to do (iirc); there’s less money to be made selling music; there’s perhaps less interest in more ‘rural’ genres of music.
I don't really like country music, but Dolly always seemed somewhat down-to-earth and pretty decent.
Of course, she also proves the very point of there being no ethical billionaire, being "only" worth some 450 million instead. Likely because she gave so much of her wealth back to her communities instead. RIP Dolly, indeed.
Amazing contributions to many aspects of life
>> That year, Parton explained that as well as improving child literacy, “it’s the fact they get recognised. They get this little book with their little name on it in the mail, and they feel special. They start taking pride in themselves, and they know that somebody out there is thinking of [them].”
Thank you, Dolly. That meant a lot to us, and millions upon millions of other people too.
[1] https://imaginationlibrary.com/ [2] https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/01/589912466/dolly-p...
“Dolly Parton makes an impromptu appearance at Páidí Ó Sé’s pub in Dún Chaoin, Co. Kerry and takes to the stage to entertain the locals.
While on holiday in Kerry, singer Dolly Parton paid a visit to former Kerry footballer Páidí Ó Sé’s pub, where she performs her song ‘Coat of Many Colours’ accompanied by musicians Steve Cooney and Seamus Begley.
Dolly signs off at the end of her performance,
Thank you very much and welcome to Dinglewood
This episode of Cursaí was broadcast on 1 October 1990.”
Does a great job interviewing Dolly and discussing with her (and those two are around her) who she is, her life events, her thoughts on life. I knew people loved Dolly Parton before I listened but didn't really know why and the podcast helped me understand a bit more of it. It features a LOT of one-on-one time with Dolly in a way that I don't often find docu-series do. It's fantastic!
Kind of like how it sometimes pushes people into drug addictions. That's a stereotype that we've all heard about since kids, but it wasn't until relatively recently that I thought about it seriously that it occurred to me that a touring celebrity musician's life can be stressful and the drugs can be (or start out as) a pressure valve release. I think that part of it clicked to me when I heard a musician being interviewed about it, I forget which. Maybe it was a Beatle talking about their early amphetamine days.
1. divorce rates have been rising for decades.
2. 60 years is a very long time, and that means Dolly would have had to marry around 18-20. Marrying that young these days for my generation very much is an anomaly, and people are putting off marriage more and more these days.
3. Celebrity culture in particular has a much more tumultuous relationship. In a number of cases, marriage may simply be another influential tool to manage fame and wealth rather than an act of love and caring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcfyzJW-BA4
I don't think I've ever seen the interwebs talking about one thing as much as right now.
I'll be interested to see if the mitigations hold today.
A humorous response to whenever someone says "country music" is: "Which country?"
The public will not mourn any EA the way that Dolly is being mourned.
It is your silly assertion that is what is entirely fucked up about techbros and politics today.
Way bigger. Dolly was beloved by millions, if not billions of people worldwide.
You'd need an area the size of Tennessee itself for the memorial service.
"Dolly is derived from a mammary gland cell and we couldn't think of a more impressive pair of glands than Dolly Parton's."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_(sheep)
In the end I think her generosity outshone her other famous attributes.
She did. She is one of our species' great poets.
[0] https://www.ft.com/content/c57569fb-c1ee-476a-aa31-d402e2f3b...
Here's my favorite track of hers, Todd Terje mix of "Jolene": https://youtu.be/Xkl36pu8aLY
My coat of many colors
That my mama made for me
Made only from rags
But I wore it so proudly
Although we had no money
Well, I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My mama made for me
Emmylou Harris does a great one also.
If you've never heard the 45 of Jolene played at 33, give it a listen.
Rhinestone was hilarious and great to watch just because Stallone and Parton were having _so much fun_ together. No sense of sexual attraction, just having a damn great time having fun. Could not help but enjoy that, separate from it genuinely being a fun movie.
I wish other celebrities did as much as her. Her Imagination Library (https://imaginationlibrary.com) is just one example of her giving back to the community.
I will always remember her appearance on the Late Show with Steven Colbert where she moved him to tears with an a cappella song: https://youtu.be/R91VssUiGiY
She started a charity called Imagination Library [1] that sends free monthly books to children under six in the US, Canada and even expanded to the UK, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland. I will always be grateful for this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_(film...
Simple, direct philanthropy that helps any/all kids:
I was at Dollywood a few weeks ago. I highly recommend a visit if you ever get the chance. She has a fantastic legacy in more ways than one.
That's an amazing contribution to literacy
Long As I Can See The Light: https://youtu.be/tMgyIUvz9ak?si=zZq0yHRHmGl7LsFB
This.-
Of all her songs I think Jolene is by far the most interesting. Several copied the song, such as Miley Cyrus, and while not bad, it seems to not quite capture the underlying idea of the song. I have a hard time Miley being as plausible in the "please don't steal my man just because you can" compared to Dolly. It's like a whole generation in between and the lyrics just don't really fit much at all to Miley, even if one reasons that it is the melody that is more important - but even then, Miley's voice seems to fit to other songs better than happy-go-lucky country songs.
We're worse off.
Here is her families statement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9govup-IG3c
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/0...
Let's just say that she's a wonderful person and an excellent example and leave it at that.