I think I have just had one of those “I remember where I was when I heard the news” moments.
If you haven’t seen this, what are you waiting for?
Weird Al
I remember her from her Porter Wagoner days. The big hair (on both of them) and her huge presence were countered by her self deprecation and honest demeanor. I never cared for her songs much except when she was singing that gorgeous harmony with Emmy Lou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. But she did so much for so many people that I admired her.
I havent checked out her book Aint Nobodys Fool yet.
David Attenborough. “Weird” Al. Alan Alda.
This is one of my favorites
Do I Ever Cross Your Mind (live)
(I couldn’t figure out how to embed - kept getting an error)
RIP Dolly, you were one of the good ones.
To those saying “Not my kind of music” Did you know that Whitney Houston and Tina Turner both had hits with songs written by Dolly Parton?
The greatest loss in my mind though, is her ability to bring left and right together. Everybody pretty much agreed about Dolly. And she had a way of getting people to think about the children; our country needs that so deeply right now.
You lost me there.
lol. I don’t understand? Who? Why? lol.
I wonder how true this still is. In more recent years, she was a vocal advocate for Black Lives Matter and transgender rights. She funded and promoted COVID vaccines.
Does the typical MAGA person love her despite these? Do they even know? The Fox News obituary mentions her literacy work but says nothing about her more progressive causes.
What is this, a traffic signal? Green, yellow, red?
Count me among those who say that her music – while she apparently was amazing at what she did – wasn’t to my tastes, particularly.
But her humanity sure as hell was.
I don’t know if such things exist, but she must have had – or had pretty close to – a 100% approval rating across … well … people.
She was a phenomenal curator of her own brand and her own image, but you can’t really fake it that much or that well. The fundamental building blocks of Dolly … had to be tilted heavily toward The Good.
And her late-life philanthropy? Amazing.
Be with Carl, now, Dolly. RIP.
She finished in the top three in last year’s Greatest Living contest, so yeah.
RIP, Dolly. My list of true national treasures is a very short one, but you stood tallest among them. America is a little poorer today.
I have never cried over a celebrity death. But I couldn’t hold back shedding a tear when I heard this news.
Whether or not you dig Weird Al’s shtick, one thing you can say about him is that there are exactly zero skeletons in his closet. He’s been big for going on 50 years now, and there are no drug issues, no public bad behavior, no arrests, no messy relationships, no allegations of impropriety - nothing. By all accounts he is a kind and generous, vegetarian Christian(*) who actually lives his faith and doesn’t use it as a weapon.
*No, of course I’m not saying that being a Christian makes someone a better person. But Al certainly seems to live according to core Christian principles – viz, kindess, humility, etc.
She once lost a Dolly Parton Look-Alike contest to a drag queen, and took pictures together afterwards! Those are not the actions of someone who takes themselves too seriously!