Farewell Dolly - An Icon For Rural Communities, Feminists, Rednecks, Gays, The Poor And The Glitzy

CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT

Dolly Parton, the American country music singer who rose from rural poverty in post-war Tennessee to sell 100 million records and win 11 Grammy awards with hits like "Jolene" and "Islands In The Stream" has died at 80, her family has announced today.

An official cause of death has not been revealed but the American songstress has been quite public about her various health battles in recent years. Her husband Carl Dean died last year.

President Donald Trump has ordered the lowering of American flags to half staff across the United States for a week for Parton, calling her passing a "true loss for millions of people."

This may be the first universally agreed upon statement to ever come out of the Trump White House.

In an increasingly polarised American society, Dolly Parton was one of the last public figures who was a hero to both ends of the political spectrum.

Not one for limiting herself to one fanbase, Dolly Parton became an icon for suburban American housewives with her haunting 1973 ballad ‘Jolene’ that tells the story of a young mother who lives in fear of her husband straying for a prettier red-headed woman.

Parton then became the country music messiah for a global cohort of inner-city corporate women with her hit 1980 theme song ‘9-5’ - and the accompanying movie, which she also starred in.

In a career spanning over six decades, during which she penned some 3,000 songs and released over 100 albums, Dolly Parton became an icon for a whole range of communities - many of whom had very little to do with each other.

From the rednecks who could see was one of them, to the gays who became obsessed with her heavy use of rhinestones and songs about underdogs - Dolly Parton played a huge role in positioning her hometown of Nashville the global country music capital.

She is also remembered for her influence on a range of difference artists, from her goddaughter Miley Cyrus - to Whitney Houston, who shot to international success with a cover of Dolly’s own song, "I Will Always Love You,"

Right around the world today, and certainly along every back road of Tennessee - millions of teary fans farewell the Queen of country music.