What Dolly Parton Meant to Us


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What Dolly Parton Meant to Us

Dolly Parton understood the absurdity of being Dolly Parton. She once entered a Dolly Parton look-alike contest and lost. I love that she was always in on the joke. That was part of her genius. But it isn’t why I’m writing about her. What strikes me is how completely Black people claimed her. She had a permanent invitation to the cookout because her connection to us never felt calculated.

Mocha Man Music Moment

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Before Whitney Houston made it a global phenomenon, Dolly Parton wrote and recorded “I Will Always Love You” as a tender farewell to Porter Wagoner. Her original version is quieter, more intimate and unmistakably country. Listen closely to the song that revealed the power, honesty and grace of Dolly’s songwriting.

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