Start Your Weekend Right by Remembering Dolly Parton

Last week we saw the passing of one of the great ladies of country music.

I’ve never been much of a one for celebrity worship. I like certain musicians and actors because of their talent and their body of work; most of them, I don’t give a hoot about their personal lives or anything outside of their art.

Dolly Parton was the exception. She was a person you had to admire, a loving and lovable woman who walked the walk and never, ever forgot where she came from. She spent a considerable amount of her fortune buying books for kids and helping grow the small Appalachian community where she grew up. Unlike a lot of show business types, she was married to the same man, Carl Dean, from 1966 until his passing in 2025.

Her career encompassed both acting and music, but it was in music that she really shone. And if there’s a performer in America today who is more universally loved, respected, and admired than Dolly Parton, I’m not sure who it might be. Now she’s gone – but her music will always be with us, and remembering her beaming, all-encompassing smile still warms the heart.

There are too few just genuinely good people around. But Dolly was. Here, among her songs, are my favorites.

Coat of Many Colors (1971): While this song has religious undertones, it’s actually autobiographical. It’s a testament to Dolly’s creative mother and how she dealt with poverty by doing what she could with what she had. Her classmates reportedly taunted the young Dolly over her coat, but she was proud of it, and kept the coat, which ended up as an exhibit in her Dollywood museum.

Jolene (1973): In a 2008 interview with NPR, Dolly said that a 10-year-old fan inspired this song. She said:

She had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding [out] for an autograph. I said, “Well, you're the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?” And she said, “Jolene.” And I said, “Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. Jolene. That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I'm going to write a song about that.”

I Will Always Love You (1974): Surprisingly, this isn’t a love song, at least not as most people think of them. She wrote this song for Porter Wagoner after deciding to leave his television show, where she had been the co-host. Dolly wrote the song for him to show her love and appreciation, and Wagoner described it as “the prettiest song I ever heard.” And, yes, I know about the Whitney Houston cover. Dolly did it better, and it’s not even close.

Here You Come Again (1977): Interestingly, this late ‘70s tune made the top 10 in both the country and pop charts. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who had written the song, originally offered it to Brenda Lee, who decided not to record it. B.J. Thomas did record it in 1977, after which Dolly did her cover. Dolly’s foray into a sort of country/pop blend didn’t last long, but it did produce at least one good tune.

Mule Skinner feat. Bill Monroe (1978): This song, originally called “Blue Yodel no., 8, Mule Skinner Blues,” actually features something you didn’t see Dolly do often: Yodeling. She did it pretty well, and yeah, Bill Monroe, the godfather of bluegrass. Great combination.

Nine to Five (1980): Dolly wrote and recorded this for the 1980 movie of the same name, in which she starred alongside Dabney Coleman, Lily Tomlin, and (ugh) Jane Fonda. (Yes, I know.) She wrote the song while the film was actually recording. Dolly later said about the song that it was partly inspired by the typewriter-like sound of her acrylic fingernails tapping together. (Acrylic fingernails are a thing? Who knew?) The more you know…

Islands In The Stream feat. Kenny Rogers (1983): Amazingly, this one was written by the Bee Gees, but recorded by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, being released on Kenny’s 15^th studio album, Eyes That See in the Dark. The Bee Gees recorded and released a studio version in 2001, but, while I have wide-ranging tastes in music, you can keep every Bee Gees song ever recorded.

Seven Bridges Road (2001): Written by Steve Young, who recorded the song in 1969 for his album Rock Salt & Nails. The Eagles did what is probably the best-known cover of the song in 1980, releasing it on their live concert album, Eagles Live. I like that song, but I like Dolly’s cover of it, as well. True story: When I first heard the Eagles cover, I wondered briefly if any of them had ever been to the Seven Bridges Wildlife Area near Readlyn, Iowa, not far from where I grew up. I have some fond memories of that place – but that’s a story for another time.