Dolly, we need you

I’m going to give you some time. Think of this as your official first assignment as an adult in North America since post-secondary. Your objective is to find me a musician, scratch that, icon, scratch that, modern-day goddess among us that has made it to 78 years-old with a big ol’ bag of every bit of respect gained along the way – none lost. One who has managed to create a following that is neither red, nor blue, but somewhere in between, who has not only bridged the ever-challenging musical genre gap, but established an entirely new, genuinely creative bar that will be upheld for centuries for all men and women to follow. Those of us that love her have thousands of reasons for doing so – be it her music, her manners, her puns that would upend the cheekiest of dads, her savviness in a business that generally eats people alive – especially during times where female artists had to take 2 steps to every male artist’s 1 – she triumphed as a female vocalist and personality and skipped proudly into the history books. She’s uncancellable, timeless, transcendental in virtually every regard, and unabashedly – Dolly.

There isn’t an American in this country that hasn’t sung along to one of her songs, smiled when her name has entered the chat, laughed at one of her jokes, purchased a TV guide with her on the cover, traveled to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on our last dime to ride every ride at Dollywood for the last 17 years in a row – okay, maybe not that last one, that got a bit personal. But, who the hell else has a theme-park named after them? And don’t you dare say Walt Disney. Has Walt had 42 career top 10 Country albums and 110 charted singles? More like a host of family members coming out of the woodwork to call out his antisemitic, racist agenda – but, that’s a story for another article. Ahem. Back to Dolly.

As a country, we are – divided to say the least. This has happened a few times before. Each of these times, it’s often been easier to rely on the bits of our culture that are meant to be taken a little less seriously than the politicians we see on our screens every single day. These are the bits we need to carry with us at times like this that will connect us and piece back together the puzzle that is us as a connected community of humans who really have no idea what we’re doing here. We still have Dolly with us. I feel it is my duty to call attention to important people like this, because we lose them left and right, every day. Read about her philanthropic efforts. Work your way through her VAST discography. Pickup a copy of her books. Visit Dollywood – it’s worth it, trust me. Take a deep breath, we’re all going to be okay – because after all – “If you see someone without a smile today, givem’ yours!” - Dolly Parton