Remembering Dolly Parton: We will Always Love You

Jason takes a moment to help us remember Dolly and remind us, “Goodbye, Please Don’t Cry”

Growing up as I did, that being a child of the 80’s, I was subject to whatever the adult I was with wanted to listen to for the most part, which at the time prevented me from listening to whatever my favorite song of the moment was 300 plus times a day (which is one of my daughters favorite activities), but also expanded my musical tastes into the wide reaching, genre spanning appreciation that I treasure today. With my mom, it was the softer side of rock. My uncle was the introduction to the harder edged rock. MTV helped fill the gaps on both of those and started my love of Hip-Hop.

But what we are here to talk about is one of the greatest gifts that my Gramma bestowed upon me, which is a deep love of classic country music, and in particular with the events of earlier today, one Mrs. Dolly Parton, Patron Saint of Being the Best of Us.

Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean broke into the music industry in 1967 with the release of “Hello, I’m Dolly” which generated a few hits and got her name out there, driven by not only her voice and songwriting quality, but her sparkling yet mischievous personality which, even on her early albums, shone through her lyrics and delivery. Writing over 3,000 songs during the length of her career, and releasing a massive 49 albums, her last one featuring her first full length breaking into the world of Rock and Roll, dueting with such luminaries as Rob Halford, Steve Perry and Joan Jett, she sold over one hundred million albums, with 44 of those entering the top 10 and 110 charted singles. During that career, she spanned multiple styles of country, starting traditional, but also dabbling in Bluegrass (her rendition of Stairway to Heaven is brilliant) and being a massive force in the blending of pop and country, helping the genre get noticed by those that would have avoided the genre otherwise. She truly lived up to her nickname given to her by the world, being ‘The Queen of Country”.

Aside from being a brilliant musician, she was also a magnificent actress, starring in such films as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, Straight Talk and my personal favorite, 9 to 5, whose theme also became a major hit for her, and remains to this day what the kids would call a bop. If her personality shone through in her music, it positively radiated off of the screen. Her five-foot frame crowned with her signature blonde locksand her…ahem…other attributes. Her self-effacing comments and sarcasm showcasing her humbleness and quick wit. She managed to not only be an absolute bombshell but came across as someone that had never actually realized that she was one, like a princess that came from a faraway land that spawned only gorgeous people, but this one just wants to go to baseball games and eat hot dogs with you. Despite being blessed with a massive amount of talent and beauty, she never felt like anything other than Dolly, who seemed like her fans were a part of her family, the autograph and picture would always be free, and the hug was guaranteed. 

While most people would be happy to have achieved even one of those levels of stardom, Dolly still has one more aspect of her that absolutely must be talked about. The massive amount of charity work over her lifetime, not only donating millions of her own money and participating in multiple fundraisers for a variety of causes, but also starting her own foundation, The Dollywood Foundation, and her own literacy program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination library, in honor of her own father who never learned to read, which mails a book a month to children until the age of five, and provides these books to an estimated 850,000 children each month. To list the individual charities that she has helped over her lifetime would take an entirely different article, but just to touch upon more recent years, she donated a million dollars towards covid research during the pandemic and stood in vocal support of the rights of the trans community after her home state of Tennessee passed a series of anti-trans laws. She was never afraid to go against the beliefs of her peers or community to stand up for what she believed in, and I cannot think of a single time when she ever fell on the wrong side of history. The thing that truly separates her though is that she never did it for fame or clout, but simply because it was the right thing to do.

Today, her story ended, with just 80 years on this earth, and it’s a death that no one ever wanted to see coming. Even now, with official reports coming in, I’m still hoping that any moment now it’s confirmed as a hoax, and she’s still among us, laughing that unmistakable laugh. She not only filled the world with music and beauty, but made it a better place, a place of hope and charity, a place that no matter what bad was happening, we felt that it was going to be okay because Dolly was still here making it so. She would probably argue with me, but she really was as close to a Goddess as humanity can get, and now there is a giant hole in everything that despite only being five foot tall, millions of us combined would never be able to fill. She was a rainbow of a human being, a whole sunbeam helping to brighten and warm this world that is now less due to her absence. 

In one of her most famous songs, she sings “Goodbye, Please Don’t Cry” and I think that she would stand by that today, as difficult as it is to ignore the sadness of her passing. In place of sorrow, I ask you all, including myself, to find a way to make the world a better place in her honor. Donate to a good cause, find a way to help someone smile, rescue a puppy from the shelter and name her Dolly. Help to continue her mission to fill this space with love, warmth and goodwill to all. 

Goodbye, Dolly. We will also always love you.

Jason Kuykendall has been a horror fan since the age of two, when his mother sat him down in front of When a Stranger Calls, so she began using horror movies as a babysitter. His favorite job was a mom and pop video store that he worked at when he was sixteen. He runs Creepy Bat Book Review but is thinking about firing and replacing himself due to how slack he’s become in his work. He’s made of 85% tattoos, 35% compassion, and 69% spite, and he also doesn’t understand math. He won’t pet your service dog, but he really, really wants to.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.