Latest / BOB DOLE : 1995 Clinton's Comeback / DOLLY PARTON Our National treasure 1946 - 2026 Special Edition (Part 3) The Conclusion

Transcript

DOLLY PARTON Our National treasure 1946 - 2026 Special Edition (Part 3) The Conclusion · BOB DOLE : 1995 Clinton's Comeback

0:26
SPEAKER_41: Well, you gotta try to be happy, just like some people work at being miserable.
0:31
SPEAKER_41: I mean, I was born with a happy heart.
0:33
SPEAKER_41: I want things to be good because it just kills me when things are not good.
0:37
SPEAKER_41: And if I wake up in the mornings and I find there's something going wrong, I try my best to see what I can do, make it better by the end of the day.
0:44
SPEAKER_41: Can't change everything, but you can change some things.
0:47
SPEAKER_41: And by changing some things, it might change it enough to where it's bearable, or you might, you know, can do something to lift somebody else's burden.
0:55
SPEAKER_41: Even when yours are too hard to carry, if you try to help somebody with theirs, yours don't seem as bad, I think.
1:00
SPEAKER_41: A little bit more acceptance, understanding, forgiveness, listening instead of just talking.
1:07
SPEAKER_41: I mean, we're not hard of hearing, we're just hard listening.
1:11
SPEAKER_41: So I think we need to try a little harder to get inside the hearts and minds of of other people.
1:18
SPEAKER_41: I love life.
1:19
SPEAKER_41: I know that we are a great people.
1:22
SPEAKER_41: I know that we are a great country.
1:25
SPEAKER_41: I know that we go through our things.
1:27
SPEAKER_41: I know that uh we'll rise above it.
1:30
SPEAKER_41: And we may have to get to heaven before we actually ever see peace in this world, but we could do a whole lot better by just kind of changing a lot of things within our own circle in the space that we work and live in.
1:45
SPEAKER_41: If we tried a little harder, if we had enough circles going on, it would be a circle of love, and you know, we could kind of put it all together and make it one great big thing.
1:53
SPEAKER_41: I love what I do that gives me energy.
1:56
SPEAKER_41: I love my fans, I love the love they give me back.
1:59
SPEAKER_41: That creates energy.
2:01
SPEAKER_41: Nothing to me is more special than when I'm out on stage and I look out there and I see all those fans that really, really seem to be touched by what I'm doing.
2:10
SPEAKER_41: They're laughing with me, they're talking with me, they're listening, they seem to be really interested in it.
2:15
SPEAKER_41: And I ask God all the time to let me say and do and be something to uplift people and to, you know, let let my work really, you know, let him shine through what I do.
2:27
SPEAKER_41: So I really love it, and I think it's a very energizing thing.
2:32
SPEAKER_41: I've never got tired of it, and I d I won't ever retire, and just to do whatever I can to make the fans happy and myself happy.
2:40
SPEAKER_41: I just think you really have to know who you are.
2:44
SPEAKER_41: And early on, I heard that in my early life.
2:48
SPEAKER_41: Just like through God, all things are possible, and divine all self be true, those have been two things that I have kept, and I work inside that and believe and create and strengthen my faith through both those things.
3:02
SPEAKER_41: So I think if you're comfortable with yourself and know yourself, you're gonna really, really good doing that.
3:10
SPEAKER_41: I think you can do a lot of people because you need a lot of help, because people want to do it.
5:06
SPEAKER_44: She's so in the peace, the love and make my coat of many colors that I was so proud of.
5:17
SPEAKER_44: So she told us tonight.
5:19
SPEAKER_24: The tribute's pouring in for Dolly Parton, Mick Jagger tonight saying, She brought so many people together.
5:25
SPEAKER_24: We will all miss her so much.
5:26
SPEAKER_24: Elton John remembering her as a giant of an artist, unique and irreplaceable, with the kindest heart.
5:33
SPEAKER_24: We agree.
5:38
SPEAKER_24: Good evening, and it's great to have you with us here on a Tuesday night.
5:40
SPEAKER_24: And we begin tonight with the sad news we learned this afternoon: the heartbreaking death of an American original, Dolly Parton.
5:46
SPEAKER_24: The legendary singer and songwriter, an actress, and entrepreneur, an inspiration to millions here in the U.S.
5:52
SPEAKER_24: and around the world.
5:53
SPEAKER_24: She brought people together, her voice, her talent, her kindness, and her deep attachment to her humble roots.
6:00
unknown: Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.
6:05
SPEAKER_24: A timeless collection of American classics, Jolene, I Will Always Love You, Here You Come Again, Nine to Five, so many other songs.
6:13
SPEAKER_24: Throughout her life, she gave to so many.
6:15
SPEAKER_24: Her literacy program for one, Dolly's Imagination Library, delivering more than 300 million free books to children here and around the world.
6:22
SPEAKER_24: But Dolly Parton's family is now saying tonight, what Dolly had just said about her health, and tonight the tributes pouring in for a true American treasure.
6:32
SPEAKER_43: Jolie, Jolly, Jolie, Jolly.
6:37
SPEAKER_24: Dolly Parton was an American original.
6:43
SPEAKER_24: A music legend, a storyteller, a businesswoman with remarkable instincts, a philanthropist whose quiet generosity changed lives far beyond the spotlight.
6:54
SPEAKER_24: And to millions, she felt like family.
7:03
SPEAKER_24: From the mountains of eastern Tennessee to the grandest stages in the world, her journey was unlikely and uniquely her own.
7:12
SPEAKER_24: Born on January 19, 1946, she grew up in a one-room cabin in the smoky mountains of Tennessee.
7:19
SPEAKER_24: One of 12 children, Dolly Parton would often draw on her childhood in Appalachia.
7:24
SPEAKER_24: Her father, Robert Lee Parton, a farmer, paid the doctor who delivered her with a bag of oatmeal.
7:30
SPEAKER_24: They had no electricity, no running water.
7:34
SPEAKER_24: She would say her childhood was rich in love.
7:37
SPEAKER_24: Her family sang together often in their one-room cabin.
7:40
SPEAKER_24: One of her most beloved songs, Coat of Many Colors.
7:44
SPEAKER_46: My coat of many colours that my mama made for me.
7:50
SPEAKER_46: Made only from rapes, but I wore it so proudly.
8:03
SPEAKER_46: And my coat of many colors, my mama made for me.
8:09
SPEAKER_24: And the day after she graduated high school, she left for Nashville.
8:13
SPEAKER_24: It's where she would meet her husband, Carl Dean, at the laundromat on her first day in Nashville.
8:18
SPEAKER_24: They were married 59 years.
8:35
SPEAKER_24: Dolly writing it in just minutes.
8:37
SPEAKER_24: Inspired, she often said, by a red-haired bank teller who had flirted with her husband.
8:43
unknown: We're Holene, Jolene.
8:50
SPEAKER_24: She would write a farewell song to her mentor and business partner, Porter Wagner, when she went out on her own.
8:56
SPEAKER_24: I will always love you.
9:08
SPEAKER_24: It was her message of gratitude.
9:14
SPEAKER_24: The song going to number one twice in 1974, and then again nearly 20 years later in 1992, when Whitney Houston recorded it for the movie The Bodyguard.
9:36
SPEAKER_24: In recent years, Dolly telling Howard Stern about the first time she heard Whitney Houston perform her song.
9:42
SPEAKER_24: She was in her car and she had to pull over.
9:45
SPEAKER_41: I almost wrecked, honest to God, had to pull over to the side at a Walgreens, uh, you know, there in Brentwood, where the Walgreens is now, and to listen to the rest of it, and it was the most overwhelming sensation because I couldn't believe my little country sad song, you know, could even be done like that.
10:06
SPEAKER_41: But to hear it like that, and it was just overwhelming.
10:09
SPEAKER_41: That was one of the greatest uh experiences I've ever had in my entire life.
10:15
SPEAKER_24: In 1980, she was convinced by Jane Fonda to join Jane and Lily Tomlin in 9 to 5.
10:21
SPEAKER_24: Dolly famously writing the song that defined the movie and the era.
10:34
SPEAKER_40: It just popped in my head one day.
10:36
SPEAKER_40: And it was when we did our first scene.
10:38
SPEAKER_40: I was writing the song.
10:39
SPEAKER_40: We were waiting in Xerox room.
10:41
SPEAKER_37: The first time we had were together on the thing, and I started uh clicking my nails.
10:45
SPEAKER_41: We got get rid of them if I can't get to an instrument.
10:48
SPEAKER_24: They got you where they want you, Jane Fonda through the years, remembering Dolly Parton showing up to that movie set, having memorized her own lines and everyone else's lines, too.
11:00
SPEAKER_06: When Dolly showed up the first day, she had learned the entire script.
11:04
SPEAKER_06: Everybody's lines, everything.
11:05
SPEAKER_06: She didn't know that she didn't have to learn everything.
11:09
SPEAKER_24: That song, Shooting to Number One, earning a Grammy Award and an Oscar nomination.
11:14
SPEAKER_24: Dolly Parton telling the New York Times in 2002, I've created this and played it up to make up this whole persona.
11:21
SPEAKER_24: But this isn't all I am.
11:23
SPEAKER_24: It's not even most of what I am.
11:24
SPEAKER_24: Hopefully, people can see beneath.
11:27
SPEAKER_24: And of course, millions around the world did.
11:30
SPEAKER_24: Drawn to her lyrics, her love for all, for humanity, her roots, her family were the foundation for all that she did.
11:42
SPEAKER_46: And the day that you live are the heavyest guys.
11:47
SPEAKER_24: Her mom, dad, and brother in 1976.
11:51
SPEAKER_24: The family still singing.
11:53
SPEAKER_42: In the pines, in the pines when the sun never shines.
11:59
SPEAKER_24: The late 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer once showing Dolly an early video of her singing and dancing with her family.
12:06
SPEAKER_24: She was moved to tears during the interview.
12:09
SPEAKER_41: That's very touching to me because mom and daddy are both gone now.
12:13
SPEAKER_41: I haven't seen that in so long.
12:14
SPEAKER_41: We just pulled at my heart there.
12:16
SPEAKER_24: Would you like to drink?
12:17
SPEAKER_37: No, that's okay.
12:19
SPEAKER_37: Yeah, whiskey?
12:21
SPEAKER_37: Yeah, so wouldn't you be nice about now?
12:24
SPEAKER_24: Her reach far beyond her music.
12:26
SPEAKER_24: Along the way, she built a business empire, Dollywood, a tribute to her hometown, bringing jobs and pride to the Smoky Mountains.
12:34
SPEAKER_37: I have a big dream of being involved in a place in East Tennessee, my hometown up in Gatlinburg, which is one of the most wonderful places in the world, called Dollywood USA.
12:43
SPEAKER_24: Through the decades, Dolly collaborating with so many artists.
12:46
SPEAKER_24: Her duet with Kenny Rogers, iconic.
12:48
SPEAKER_24: Islands in the street, that is what we are.
12:52
SPEAKER_24: Islands in the Stream in 1982.
12:55
SPEAKER_24: How can we be wrong?
12:57
SPEAKER_24: There would be firsts at New Heights her entire career, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in recent years inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
13:06
SPEAKER_41: I figure if I'm gonna be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I'm gonna have to earn it.
13:18
SPEAKER_24: Dolly on stage with a generation of performers inspired by Dolly Parton.
13:29
SPEAKER_24: There were several movies beyond nine to five.
13:32
SPEAKER_24: Steel Magnolias with Shirley McLean and Julia Roberts.
13:35
SPEAKER_36: Why don't we just focus on the joy of the situation?
13:38
SPEAKER_24: Dolly Parton receiving an honorary Oscar at 79.
13:42
SPEAKER_41: To receive this?
13:43
SPEAKER_41: I mean, that's a blessing of a lifetime.
13:46
SPEAKER_24: Over the years, Dolly Parton would give hundreds of millions of dollars to causes near to her.
13:51
SPEAKER_32: I think I can, she said.
13:53
SPEAKER_32: Won't you help me?
13:53
SPEAKER_32: All of you help me.
13:55
SPEAKER_32: I think I can.
13:56
SPEAKER_32: I think I can.
13:58
SPEAKER_32: I think I can.
14:00
SPEAKER_24: In 1995, starting the Imagination Library, mailing free books to children, more than 300 million books delivered.
14:08
SPEAKER_24: The Library of Congress honoring her.
14:11
SPEAKER_41: My dad couldn't read and write, so I wanted to do something to make him feel part of something special.
14:15
SPEAKER_24: During the pandemic, donating one million dollars to Vanderbilt University's COVID-19 research.
14:21
SPEAKER_41: Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine.
14:25
SPEAKER_24: Research that helped develop the Moderna vaccine.
14:27
SPEAKER_24: When Hurricane Helene hit in 2024, Dolly was at a Walmart parking lot with a donation.
14:33
SPEAKER_41: I'm donating a million dollars today.
14:36
SPEAKER_24: Hoping to help them heal.
14:38
SPEAKER_24: In recent months, Dolly sharing her health struggles, postponing a Las Vegas residency, and just last week saying she could not travel for an opening, suggesting the doctor had sort of clipped her wings.
14:50
SPEAKER_41: And so my national doctor has kind of clipped my wings saying you ain't traveling this week.
14:56
SPEAKER_41: So I guess if your doctor tells you you ain't traveling this week, you ain't traveling this week.
15:02
SPEAKER_24: And late today, her nephew with a message saying his Aunt Dolly had asked him to do this.
15:09
SPEAKER_16: Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy.
15:12
SPEAKER_16: He farmed the soil, she farmed songs and happiness.
15:15
SPEAKER_16: Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.
15:26
SPEAKER_16: Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly.
15:28
SPEAKER_16: Aunt Granny, GG.
15:30
SPEAKER_16: May God bless Dolly Parton and may God bless you all.
15:33
SPEAKER_16: She will always love you.
15:35
SPEAKER_24: The song she wrote all those years ago, now a gift to us.
15:39
SPEAKER_24: Her lyrics, her own words, reflecting how millions of Americans will always feel about her.
16:23
SPEAKER_08: She was known as the Queen of Country, who sang every song with heart.
16:27
SPEAKER_08: And hers was a heart that touched the world.
16:31
SPEAKER_08: Tributes are now pouring in for the remarkable woman who has died at the tender age of just 80.
16:38
SPEAKER_08: Not only was Dolly Parton one of the most successful musicians ever, it's what she did offstage that made her so universally loved.
16:47
SPEAKER_08: Our entertainment editor Angela Bishop begins our coverage.
16:52
SPEAKER_40: So here we go with the pitiful story of Jolly.
16:56
SPEAKER_35: It's the news nobody wanted to hear.
17:13
SPEAKER_35: Her nephew Brian Seaver wrote the news.
17:21
SPEAKER_35: Dolly Parton is the best-selling country music artist of all time, having sold more than 160 million albums.
17:29
SPEAKER_35: Her music told her story.
17:31
SPEAKER_35: From her impoverished childhood in a mountain cabin in Tennessee with 11 brothers and sisters came coat of many colours.
18:02
SPEAKER_35: And I Will Always Love You was written for TV host Porter Wagner as a way of thanking him for all he'd done for her for letting him know she had to go out and make it on her own.
18:34
SPEAKER_41: People say, well, that's Whitney's song.
18:36
SPEAKER_41: I said, That's fine.
18:37
SPEAKER_41: You can give her the credit.
18:39
SPEAKER_41: I just want the cash.
18:40
SPEAKER_35: She's shone on screen in the best little whorehouse in Texas.
18:47
SPEAKER_35: Nothing loves to see.
18:49
SPEAKER_35: In 9-5, her theme song becoming another smash hit.
18:53
SPEAKER_35: Look at nine to five.
18:58
SPEAKER_35: And as hairdresser Truvie Jones in Steel Magnolias.
19:22
SPEAKER_41: He was the smartest man I've ever known.
19:24
SPEAKER_41: But I knew in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from seeing all his dreams come true.
19:30
SPEAKER_41: She joked about her love of plastic surgery.
19:33
SPEAKER_41: If I make jokes, I'm gonna say, I am comfortable in my own skin no matter how far I've stretched it at times.
19:39
SPEAKER_35: But her passion for life was much more than skin deep.
19:43
SPEAKER_35: There was her theme park, Dollywood.
19:46
SPEAKER_33: Your trip to the Smokies really isn't complete.
19:48
SPEAKER_33: Unless you visit Dollywood and share a family treat.
19:52
SPEAKER_35: Spending quality time with her goddaughter, Miley Silas.
20:02
SPEAKER_35: And her upcoming Broadway musical, which opens in January and tells the story of her life.
20:08
SPEAKER_35: It shows the good, the not so good, and all the in-between.
20:13
SPEAKER_35: There's even a secret song.
20:16
SPEAKER_12: You have a secret song locked away in Dollywood that will be released in 2045.
20:21
SPEAKER_41: That's the truth.
20:22
SPEAKER_35: If any of you are around when they open that box, well, I hope you enjoyed my song.
20:27
SPEAKER_12: There you go.
20:28
SPEAKER_35: She once said she had so many irons in the fire, she was burning her own butt.
20:32
SPEAKER_16: Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.
20:42
SPEAKER_41: Every dream I ever had, and all the dreams that I've been able to see come true in life, well, they all started with a song.
20:51
SPEAKER_41: Here you come again.
20:54
SPEAKER_35: Dolly Parton was eighty.
20:56
SPEAKER_35: Angela Bishop, 10 years.
21:00
SPEAKER_08: Well, Dolly Parton's brand of country music might have been deeply rooted in the hills of Tennessee, but something about it made her a favorite right around the world.
21:10
SPEAKER_08: In Australia, from the Prime Minister to fellow performers, the memories were flowing.
21:16
SPEAKER_18: There are Dolly fans, and then there's the Red Wiggle, who was just a girl when she saw her in the best little whorehouse in Texas.
21:24
SPEAKER_26: I thought she was just a queen and was so in fell in love with everything about her.
21:31
SPEAKER_18: They met in Nashville.
21:32
SPEAKER_18: Caterina Matty showing off not only her Dolly Parton tattoo, but her daughter called Dolly!
21:41
SPEAKER_26: The only Dolly ever born in the hospital.
21:43
SPEAKER_18: They warn you, never meet your idols, but no disappointment here.
21:47
SPEAKER_26: You just felt all the love that she gave, and she was so genuine and kind to every single person.
21:53
SPEAKER_18: Even as she was dying, Dolly Parton still filled every hall.
21:57
SPEAKER_18: The news broke just before the curtain rose for the British season of the 9-5 musical she wrote.
22:04
SPEAKER_55: We would like to take a moment to remember the remarkable Dolly Parton who was sadly passed away today.
22:11
SPEAKER_18: It's a long way from that to this.
22:14
SPEAKER_18: You do not deserve to be the alternative prime minister on the house.
22:25
SPEAKER_18: Wish to bring in her American tour bus, technically a breach of Australian regulations.
22:30
SPEAKER_41: I want to also especially thank Anthony Albanese.
22:35
SPEAKER_41: Is that how you say his name?
22:36
SPEAKER_41: If he'll come up here, I'll spear lip gloss all over him.
22:39
SPEAKER_18: Meeting her, he later said, was magical.
22:41
SPEAKER_18: There'll be a lot of broken hearts in Australia today.
22:45
SPEAKER_18: The daughter of an illiterate farmer, Dolly Parton, learned how to write and never stopped 3,000 songs, musicals, films, Broadway shows.
22:55
SPEAKER_18: She made stars of others, and she enhanced the luster of many who'd already made it.
23:04
SPEAKER_18: Her imagination library provided free books to preschoolers.
23:08
SPEAKER_18: 300 million have been distributed, reaching even Australia.
23:12
SPEAKER_07: In Australia, there's 50,000 children and families who benefit.
23:16
SPEAKER_07: So they get a beautiful book delivered straight into their homes.
23:19
SPEAKER_18: So it's just an incredible program.
23:21
SPEAKER_18: But about Christian, she wasn't afraid to take on her own base.
23:25
SPEAKER_41: If you're gay, you're gay.
23:27
SPEAKER_41: If you're straight, you're straight.
23:28
SPEAKER_41: And you should be allowed to be well, you know, how uh how you are.
23:33
SPEAKER_13: Any of the faith-based communities that deeply believe the other way take Umbridge with you.
23:39
SPEAKER_41: Oh, absolutely.
23:40
SPEAKER_41: They do.
23:40
SPEAKER_41: Oh, yes, I get it all the time.
23:42
SPEAKER_18: The tributes today are too many to count.
23:44
SPEAKER_18: From the gay community to the U.S.
23:46
SPEAKER_18: Marines.
23:47
SPEAKER_18: Keith Urban posted, honestly, I have no words.
23:51
SPEAKER_18: But others had plenty to share.
23:52
SPEAKER_18: From Elton John, unique and irreplaceable.
23:55
SPEAKER_18: Taylor Swift called her the gift that kept on giving.
23:59
SPEAKER_18: Sabrina Carpenter called her an angel.
24:02
SPEAKER_18: From Oprah Winfrey, there is no one like her.
24:04
SPEAKER_18: And in the words of Russell Crowe, what a soul she carried.
24:09
SPEAKER_26: I feel like the world world has lost its sparkle today.
24:13
SPEAKER_26: Hugh Rimington, 10 News.
24:16
SPEAKER_08: Well, Dolly Parton just loved Australia, and Australians loved her right back.
24:21
SPEAKER_08: She played several sold-out shows in the Harbour City over the years.
24:25
SPEAKER_08: Here she is, arriving in the city on the 11th of July, 1979.
24:30
SPEAKER_08: Dolly would return on holiday in 1982, before coming back again in 87, this time with Kenny Rogers playing shows at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.
24:40
SPEAKER_08: The pair seen here at a press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel.
24:45
SPEAKER_08: Dolly then returned in 2011 for the Better Day World Tour, with a sold-out show this time at Sydney Olympic Park, before making several stops in the Emerald City for her Blue Smoke Tour, including a performance in Tamworth in 2014, her final ever shows down under.
25:05
SPEAKER_08: As news of her death reverberated across the United States, major landmarks began lighting up in her honor.
25:12
SPEAKER_08: And attention is now turning to how she will be fair willed.
25:17
SPEAKER_08: Correspondent Catherine Firkell reports on a detailed set of instructions left to Dolly's family to ensure that she is sent off in the star.
25:26
SPEAKER_45: Well, it's fair to say the death of Dolly Parton is sending shockwaves across the United States.
25:32
SPEAKER_45: From her home state of Tennessee to Hollywood to Washington, D.C.
25:36
SPEAKER_45: The effects of her passing is certainly rippling right across the entire country.
25:40
SPEAKER_45: Flags are being flown at half-staff at all federal government buildings.
25:44
SPEAKER_45: That is a direct order from President Trump.
25:59
SPEAKER_45: And increasingly it is becoming clear that it's not just music fans who are grieving her passing, but also those who admired her incredible charity work.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: She came from nothing and um was able to overcome so many trials, and I think that she's able to show that with her presence and continue to give such love to everyone in the world.
26:31
SPEAKER_45: Now, already tonight we are getting new details about Dolly's funeral.
26:34
SPEAKER_45: For someone who lived such a big, glamorous and public life, it does appear that her final farewell will be the complete opposite of that.
26:42
SPEAKER_45: Just an intimate ceremony is planned with only her closest family members invited.
26:47
SPEAKER_45: After that, she will be buried alongside her late husband, Carl Dean.
26:52
SPEAKER_45: She's also requested, according to her family, that she be laid to rest on a bed of plush cotton while wearing her signature high heels.
26:59
SPEAKER_45: It may not be the final farewell that fans wanted or hoped for, but it certainly does feel very appropriate for Dolly, unmistakably on her own terms.
27:16
SPEAKER_25: A lot of people sure love Dolly Parton.
27:20
SPEAKER_25: Hers is a story of timeless songs, shining bright on stages and on screen, and shining brighter as a humanitarian.
27:28
SPEAKER_41: Well, I give everything I am to God.
27:33
SPEAKER_25: Her story is legendary.
27:35
SPEAKER_25: Dolly grew up in the great smoky mountains, one of twelve children living in a log cabin.
27:40
SPEAKER_41: Of course, we growing up in the mountains.
27:42
SPEAKER_41: I'm sure everybody knows my story about being brought up in a poor family.
27:46
SPEAKER_41: Even when I was a child, I wanted to do great things.
27:49
SPEAKER_41: I wanted to see the world be in the world, and I just have always asked God to guide me and lead me where he wanted me to go.
27:56
SPEAKER_25: Well, Dolly was led to Nashville, the country music industry and the Nashville Sound, which has made the city one of the leading recording centers of the nation.
28:05
SPEAKER_25: By the late 1960s, Dolly began appearing on the Porter Wagner Show and on the Grand Ole Opry in its years at the Ryman Auditorium.
28:13
SPEAKER_41: The old Ryman didn't even have air conditioner.
28:15
SPEAKER_41: There was one dressing room for the boys, one dressing room for the girls.
28:18
SPEAKER_41: We'd almost get in fist fights, you know, trying to get a little spot in the mirror.
28:21
SPEAKER_41: But I just love this place.
28:23
SPEAKER_41: It is the mother church of country music.
28:26
SPEAKER_25: And then Dolly began writing and recording some of the world's most famous songs.
28:31
SPEAKER_25: Code of many colors, Jolene, I will always love you.
28:35
SPEAKER_25: By this moment in 1982, Dolly had become a powerhouse on the country charts, a pop crossover, and a movie star.
28:44
SPEAKER_40: Yeah, there's a talk of the movie.
28:46
SPEAKER_40: They're doing a continuation of the uh Superman series they call it Supergirl.
28:50
SPEAKER_40: I remember the uh, and there's a chance I might play the Weech in that.
28:55
SPEAKER_25: She didn't end up in that film, but she did star in all-time classics like Nine to Five and Steel Magnolias.
29:02
SPEAKER_25: But even without a script, people came to know Dolly is funny.
29:07
SPEAKER_39: Most people put their feet prints and their handprints, and they asked me if I was gonna leave the prints of something else in there.
29:14
SPEAKER_39: And I said, Heavens no.
29:16
SPEAKER_39: I'm afraid some little kid might fall in it and get killed.
29:20
SPEAKER_25: In 1992, one of Dolly's film co-stars, Burt Reynolds, filmed an interview special at the Ryman.
29:27
SPEAKER_28: Wait, wait, wait, wait.
29:29
SPEAKER_25: This behind-the-scenes footage catches a small interaction that says a lot.
29:34
SPEAKER_17: You know, I get asked about you so much.
29:37
SPEAKER_17: And and uh and I always say she's exactly what you see.
29:42
SPEAKER_17: What you see is what you can't get.
29:45
SPEAKER_25: And Dolly was always thinking about her roots.
29:49
SPEAKER_41: My father couldn't read and write.
29:50
SPEAKER_41: Well, I wanted to do something to honor my dad because he was a wonderful human being.
29:55
SPEAKER_25: Dolly Purton's Imagination Library nonprofit was created to mail free books to children up to five years old.
30:02
SPEAKER_41: I'm just so happy that I can help put books in the hands of children.
30:06
SPEAKER_25: And her caring heart extended to so many causes.
30:10
SPEAKER_41: It was really uh devastating what's happened to so many of these people that are like famous family.
30:15
SPEAKER_25: She held a telethon to help the people of the Great Smoky Mountains after a devastating wildfire in 2016.
30:23
SPEAKER_25: Then 2024 brought the devastation to so many areas hit by Hurricane Helene.
30:29
SPEAKER_25: Dolly gave a$2 million donation to relief efforts.
30:33
SPEAKER_25: Witnessing all these accomplishments was Dolly's husband of 58 years, Carl Dean.
30:39
SPEAKER_25: Carl died in 2025.
30:42
SPEAKER_25: At News Channel 5, we've often had the joy of talking to Dolly.
30:47
SPEAKER_34: So let's just say, welcome, Dolly.
30:48
SPEAKER_34: How are you today?
30:49
SPEAKER_25: Sometimes the chat would be about music, sometimes it'd be about her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge.
30:56
SPEAKER_25: Sometimes it'd be about one of her favorite places to help, like the Monroe Carroll Jr.
31:01
SPEAKER_25: Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
31:03
SPEAKER_25: And every once in a while, Dolly would give us a little reflection on her life and an amazing career.
31:13
SPEAKER_41: And then I remember how old I am, and I think, well, I guess you could do a lot in that amount of time if you work hard enough.
31:19
SPEAKER_41: And you have enough grit and gut to get out and try to make it work.
31:23
SPEAKER_41: It's okay to dream, and that it's okay to get out and work hard to make them come true.
31:26
SPEAKER_41: It's a long way from the top of the smoky mountains to the top of the world.
31:30
SPEAKER_41: And thanks to you and all the fans and the people that have helped me along the way, I've made it.
31:37
SPEAKER_25: I'm Boris Sanders, I produce Channel 5.
31:40
SPEAKER_02: Hearts are aching worldwide over the loss of Dolly Parton, but I have to tell you that pain is being felt particularly deeply here in Nashville, Tennessee, where Dolly planted her roots after leaving East Tennessee in search of her music career.
31:53
SPEAKER_02: She loved Music City, and clearly this place loved her back fiercely.
31:58
SPEAKER_02: This is a city in mourning, as you can see from the growing pile of flowers here on the Country Music Walk of Fame where Dolly was awarded a star back in 2009.
32:07
SPEAKER_02: Overnight, vigils have surfaced all around Nashville.
32:10
SPEAKER_02: Emotional fans flocking here to pay tribute to the Queen of Country, bringing flowers, notes, mementos, and heartfelt stories.
32:18
SPEAKER_02: And at her home in Brentwood, Tennessee, just a few miles away, a similar scene with neighbors paying their respects.
32:24
SPEAKER_02: There was even a special tribute at the Grand Old Opry last night where Dolly began to find fame more than 50 years ago.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: And while she may have been a wealthy, global superstar, that's not the woman people here are talking about today.
32:37
SPEAKER_02: They are cherishing that humble, caring, thoughtful gal from the mountains, they say, who never forgot where she came from.
32:45
SPEAKER_02: Sharing her riches, changing lives.
32:47
SPEAKER_02: Dolly's image is plastered all over this city, and so are the stories about her generosity.
32:52
SPEAKER_02: She not only built that successful theme park Dollywood, but she created thousands of jobs in struggling communities.
32:58
SPEAKER_02: She offered scholarships to college students and had for them to head off to college.
33:03
SPEAKER_02: Millions of dollars to hospitals around here and offered financial support to her neighbors who were in need after natural disasters.
33:11
SPEAKER_02: Everybody seems to have a story about Dolly Parton and how she touched lives, even in the smallest of ways, guys, from wait staff to drivers.
33:21
SPEAKER_02: The driver who picked me up at the airport last night talking about how he had gotten to know Dolly, how she had done kind things for the drivers he had known in this community.
33:29
SPEAKER_02: Dolly Parton clearly is going to long be remembered here as the hometown girl who made good, but also left her goodness here.
33:39
SPEAKER_02: And they are going to be talking about her, of course, as you all know, for many, many, many, many years to come.
33:55
SPEAKER_07: She has definitely been um somebody that I look to when I think about like is can I do this?
34:02
SPEAKER_07: Can I not?
34:03
SPEAKER_07: Should I do this?
34:03
SPEAKER_07: Should I not?
34:04
SPEAKER_07: Should I say this?
34:05
SPEAKER_07: Should I not?
34:06
SPEAKER_07: And she somehow always does it with grace and everything.
34:09
SPEAKER_07: So she's been like a huge pillar for me, but I got to spend time with her in the studio and just having her like coach me up and um just the manner that me and her have been able to like have with each other.
34:22
SPEAKER_07: I feel like I've known her from another lifetime.
34:25
SPEAKER_07: Um I got to spend some time with her.
34:27
SPEAKER_07: It was just like it was just a really special day, and I do not take it for granted that I even had to just spend a few hours with that woman.
34:37
SPEAKER_07: Everything that she says, I put it in my pocket.
34:39
SPEAKER_07: I think she has been able to like be gentle and loving and kind.
34:46
SPEAKER_07: But also when she walks into the room, there's a like powerful um thing that like you feel whenever she comes in there.
34:53
SPEAKER_07: And um I think it's all about how she holds herself and like who she calls herself, like the identity that she knows who she is, and who he says that she is, and not not even who the world says she is.
35:05
SPEAKER_07: She knows who she is, and um, she has really done a great job at showing the world what it means to uh be who you are, love people, treat people rightly.
35:15
SPEAKER_19: Miss Stapleton.
35:30
SPEAKER_41: Actually, more than anything, I'm just I just have a very spiritual base, and I'm very confident with in who I am, and I remember things, you know, like through God and all things are possible, and those old sayings like to die and all myself be true.
35:42
SPEAKER_41: I try to stay inside myself and let that be when that God might kind of radiate.
35:47
SPEAKER_41: And every day I I just ask God to lead me and to direct me and to, you know, to bring all the right things and people into my life, take all the wrong things out.
35:56
SPEAKER_41: And I just go with confidence, and I just every day I just say, go, you know, it's up to you now.
36:00
SPEAKER_41: I'm out you just use me and let me do whatever.
36:03
SPEAKER_41: And I'm no angel, I'm no saint, I'm I'm just a seeker like everybody else.
36:08
SPEAKER_41: But I just try to do my best and I just try to love people, I try to find the God in everybody, and not look at all the stuff that's going on.
36:16
SPEAKER_41: I just try to find the goodness in people and try to put as much of whatever is good in me out there for people to play off such.
36:25
SPEAKER_19: The band's stole your brand.
36:27
SPEAKER_20: So, right after Star Search, we get a call from King Riders.
36:35
SPEAKER_20: He asked us if we would like to come out on the Island in the Street Tour with me and Dolly Parker.
36:47
SPEAKER_20: And I gotta I gotta add something here.
36:49
SPEAKER_20: Um we got the news this afternoon about Dolly.
36:54
SPEAKER_20: We we have known Dolly since 1985.
36:58
SPEAKER_20: We were on that tour with Dolly for over a year, and we've been friends with her ever since.
37:05
SPEAKER_20: But when you're when you're out on tour with someone that wrong, you really get to see everything about her.
37:12
SPEAKER_20: And everything that you ever thought about Dolly Parton, it was good, was true.
37:25
SPEAKER_20: She was kind of it was incredible.
37:30
SPEAKER_20: She was so funny, and every time our folks would come out to see us, she would flirt with all of her dads.
37:41
SPEAKER_20: I thought my dad was gonna try to follow her home.
37:45
SPEAKER_20: She was absolutely incredible.
37:49
SPEAKER_20: And uh I just wanted to tell this whole story.
37:54
SPEAKER_20: So we every we played in the round, and you'll spend all these races.
38:00
SPEAKER_20: And every guy's security would walk to the walk us to the stage.
38:09
SPEAKER_20: She was waiting.
38:10
SPEAKER_20: She would give us to the speech.
38:14
SPEAKER_20: She would go to both.
38:16
SPEAKER_20: You can let him break.
38:19
SPEAKER_20: You can let him break the kitchen.
38:21
SPEAKER_20: But don't you let us think?
38:30
SPEAKER_20: Her and Kitty.
38:32
SPEAKER_20: And we didn't show what both of them stayed.
38:36
SPEAKER_20: And this is what nobody knew.
38:38
SPEAKER_20: That kitty was very.
38:49
SPEAKER_20: So it drove Kitty crazy.
38:52
SPEAKER_20: So he was like writers out against written for Dolly.
38:58
SPEAKER_20: And there was never a single night that Dolly would find his life.
39:04
SPEAKER_20: And it was absolutely awesome.
39:06
SPEAKER_20: Finally Kate just gave me.
39:08
SPEAKER_20: Because at that point, he was the biggest star in the world.
39:12
SPEAKER_20: But it became the Dolly Parker show.
39:14
SPEAKER_20: You are Miley Cyrus's godmother.
39:16
SPEAKER_47: She doesn't really let me call her a godmother.
39:18
SPEAKER_47: She likes fairy godmother much better.
39:20
SPEAKER_47: How often does she come to you for Dolly Mama advice?
39:22
SPEAKER_41: Oh, she doesn't come to me for advice.
39:24
SPEAKER_41: We just talk.
39:24
SPEAKER_41: But if she does come to me, I tell her what I think and give her my opinion about things.
39:29
SPEAKER_41: But we're very close.
39:30
SPEAKER_41: I love her.
39:31
SPEAKER_41: It's like family that you don't see often during your heart always, and you're always wishing the best for them.
39:36
SPEAKER_41: Is this the same girl who came to me and said, I want to be a singer?
39:41
SPEAKER_41: And I said, Sweet Pete, the chances of that happening are warning me.
39:46
SPEAKER_41: And she said, I want to be that one.
39:49
SPEAKER_41: Reminds me of a song by my favorite teen pop star.
39:53
SPEAKER_32: Who said, who said you can't be Superman?
39:57
SPEAKER_32: I say, I say that I know you can.
40:01
SPEAKER_50: And I wish you joy and lots and lots of happiness.
40:08
unknown: But of course, all there is a wish you.
40:15
SPEAKER_41: Molly's a great gal.
40:16
SPEAKER_41: I've known her since she's little.
40:18
SPEAKER_41: And uh I think she's got lots of wonderful qualities, and I don't try to tell her what to do.
40:24
SPEAKER_41: She's uh she's growing up now, she's a woman of her own, and I just pray for her and wish her the very best.
40:29
SPEAKER_41: I have faith in her that she's gonna turn out to be all right.
40:32
SPEAKER_41: From the bottom of my heart, I'm really proud of you.
40:36
SPEAKER_41: I've always been proud of you, and I'm proud to be your fair godmother.
40:41
SPEAKER_41: We know how much I've loved her since she's a little old bitty thing.
40:44
SPEAKER_41: Now she's a big old thing, and I still love her.
40:47
SPEAKER_41: I will always love you.
40:49
SPEAKER_28: That's how I feel about you, and gone.
40:52
SPEAKER_53: Stumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen.
40:55
SPEAKER_53: She grabs everyone's attention with her whole situation and she keeps it with the substance.
41:00
SPEAKER_53: Here you come.
41:02
SPEAKER_53: And I just think that forever she's gonna sparkle, and she's back with Carl.
41:06
SPEAKER_41: There's that part of me that will miss him forever.
41:10
SPEAKER_50: What a person who came from nothing and built herself.
41:15
SPEAKER_50: Everything she did was extraordinary.
41:18
SPEAKER_50: She lived a life of joy and gratitude.
41:22
SPEAKER_50: I don't think people realize what we had, and now that she's no longer with us in body, hopefully we will start living by her example.
41:30
SPEAKER_52: I think she's made an imprint on everyone.
41:33
SPEAKER_52: Even people that like don't even know her music, the preschoolers that are reading because of her.
41:38
SPEAKER_40: It's always important to help the kids.
41:41
SPEAKER_40: The beauty of great art is that she will be with us forever.
41:47
SPEAKER_59: Harry Stiles stopped his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden as the crowd listened to Dolly sing, I will always love you.
41:56
SPEAKER_59: This morning, Dolly's younger sister, Stella, broke her silence.
41:59
SPEAKER_59: She's always been loved.
42:01
SPEAKER_59: Writing, Dolly got her wings this past Tuesday.
42:04
SPEAKER_30: Everything was a you know an adventure.
42:07
SPEAKER_30: You were a great kid, though.
42:08
SPEAKER_30: You weren't, you know, she was very positive and very excited all the time, very optimistic.
42:13
SPEAKER_59: Stella shared this striking detail about just how far Dolly's generosity went, even as she battled cancer.
42:19
SPEAKER_59: Quote, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.
42:30
SPEAKER_41: I do hope that we can do a little better trying to be better neighbors.
42:34
SPEAKER_59: Yes, even in her final days, Dolly was still trying to pay it forward.
42:39
SPEAKER_59: Her team just released this behind-the-scenes video revealing she was working right up to the end with a hotel, a museum, and a Broadway show all in the works.
42:49
SPEAKER_59: This is where memories get made.
42:51
SPEAKER_59: And Dolly built quite an empire.
42:53
SPEAKER_59: Her fortune was estimated to be worth about$650 million.
42:58
SPEAKER_59: E.T.
42:58
SPEAKER_59: was there early on as she broke ground on Dollywood in 1985.
43:03
SPEAKER_24: Are you gonna end up like Walt Disney, you know, with parks all over the world?
43:06
SPEAKER_41: I might if I do well enough.
43:09
SPEAKER_59: I'd like to.
43:10
SPEAKER_59: That big idea alone has brought in an estimated$1.8 billion annually to the local economy.
43:17
SPEAKER_40: I think it's important that I stay as involved as I can, and that's gonna involve a lot of work on my part, but I'm gonna enjoy every minute of it.
43:25
SPEAKER_40: Well, hello.
43:26
SPEAKER_29: Hi, I think that's one good.
43:29
SPEAKER_29: The first time I interviewed Dolly, I walked in with toilet paper stuck to my shoe.
43:35
SPEAKER_29: But somehow this superstar made me feel like we were just two East Tennessee girls chatting.
43:40
unknown: Hi Lorena!
43:43
SPEAKER_29: Oh, look at all of you! And that never really changed.
43:47
SPEAKER_29: Over the years, I interviewed Dolly more times than I can count.
43:51
SPEAKER_29: But some of my favorite memories happened in between.
43:55
SPEAKER_41: Look who it is.
43:56
SPEAKER_41: I was smiling.
43:57
SPEAKER_41: I thought that was a camera.
43:57
SPEAKER_41: I was gonna have a musical.
44:02
SPEAKER_41: Did you say Carl Dean?
44:06
SPEAKER_31: I wish we had something to talk about.
44:08
SPEAKER_31: I think we'll think of something.
44:20
SPEAKER_44: See all these dreams come from?
44:22
SPEAKER_44: Happy Floyd.
44:23
SPEAKER_28: Thank you.
44:25
SPEAKER_29: Nearly 30 years after that first interview, I had the honor of sitting beside Dolly again as Dolly Wood celebrated 40 years, and all those years later, she was still Dolly, and I still felt incredibly lucky to be there.
44:41
SPEAKER_27: You know that famous guitar on Dolly Parton's nine to five?
44:44
SPEAKER_27: Well, let me introduce you to the man who played it and got to know Dolly offstage.
44:49
SPEAKER_17: She was just the most down-to-earth star I ever met in my life.
44:53
SPEAKER_27: And Marty Walsh had a front row seat to that authenticity with a guitar in his hands.
44:58
SPEAKER_27: The former Berkeley professor spent years as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, and in 1980 got a call that put him in a room with Dolly Parton.
45:08
SPEAKER_17: I'm going, this is Dolly Parton's session?
45:10
SPEAKER_17: Like I had no idea.
45:16
SPEAKER_17: This is gonna be number one.
45:18
SPEAKER_17: I mean, you just knew.
45:22
SPEAKER_17: I mean, you know.
45:23
SPEAKER_17: Dolly Parton singing nine to singing that song was just an absolute no-brainer.
45:30
SPEAKER_27: Walsh can still picture that nine to five session today.
45:34
SPEAKER_17: And it's like the whole room is just grooving and she's singing just like an angel, you know, and it was just listen to the record.
45:42
SPEAKER_27: And he remembers hearing the hit on the radio for the first time.
45:45
SPEAKER_17: I started it off.
45:47
SPEAKER_17: I had a student one time that said, You're my ringtone.
45:52
SPEAKER_17: Because her ringtone was da da da.
45:55
SPEAKER_27: Years later, Walsh would work with Dolly again, playing guitar on her album Burlap and Satin.
46:01
SPEAKER_27: During their breaks, he recalls a star who didn't take herself too seriously.
46:06
SPEAKER_17: I can still see the break room, and we're I'm sitting here, other people are there, and Dolly's here.
46:13
SPEAKER_17: And she's just holding court.
46:15
SPEAKER_17: Like she's just, it's like almost like a Dolly Parton comedy show.
46:19
SPEAKER_27: Walsh has played alongside some of the biggest names in music.
46:23
SPEAKER_27: While his guitar helped build a small piece of Dolly's sound, it's the person behind the music he'll remember most.
46:30
SPEAKER_17: Didn't present like she was anything bigger than the rest of us playing music together.
50:05
SPEAKER_20: She is the patron saying of East Tennessee.
50:07
SPEAKER_34: She cared about everybody.
50:09
SPEAKER_34: She means so much to this community.
50:11
SPEAKER_15: The whole world mourns Dolly Parter, but nowhere more than here in Tennessee, where her story began.
50:22
SPEAKER_15: They paid tribute in song, what else?
50:25
SPEAKER_15: For the Queen of Country Music, the girl born dirt poor in the foothills of the great smoky mountains, who grew up to be an American icon.
50:35
SPEAKER_15: They knew Dolly Parton here when she was a child, and stardom was a distant dream.
50:40
SPEAKER_56: She was so adorable, you just couldn't take your eyes off her.
50:44
SPEAKER_56: You know, that charisma where she just glowed, no matter she loved it so much.
50:50
SPEAKER_15: Everybody loved Dolly Parton, movie star, philanthropist, feminist champion, and musician, most of all.
50:58
SPEAKER_15: Her lyrics were laced through their lives here in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the Dolly Parton mural.
51:05
SPEAKER_15: They found work for her.
51:07
SPEAKER_49: She was a very beautiful person.
51:10
SPEAKER_49: A very giving person, loving person to everyone.
51:13
SPEAKER_14: She means a lot to me.
51:15
SPEAKER_14: She's kind of our hero.
51:17
SPEAKER_51: She's our patron saying, and she does so much good in the community.
51:21
SPEAKER_51: So yeah, that's as her music playing out of our window right now.
51:26
SPEAKER_51: She's gonna be deeply mad as an inspiration.
51:29
SPEAKER_49: She represents what it means to be a woman and what it means to never leave your hometown and to really build up the people that you love.
51:41
SPEAKER_15: She said her songs, what about love?
51:44
SPEAKER_15: Acceptance and lifting people up.
51:47
SPEAKER_15: She practiced what she preached.
51:49
SPEAKER_15: The Dolly Parton imagination library with a scheme to teaching children around the world to read and write.
51:57
SPEAKER_58: What is the best book Ms.
51:58
SPEAKER_58: Dolly ever sent to you?
52:03
SPEAKER_58: She really believed in inequality and justice and the things that I think we would like to raise our kids on nowadays is incredibly important.
52:11
SPEAKER_58: So for me to be able to bring her here and say goodbye in the right way was just important.
52:17
SPEAKER_15: She was a unifying figure, revered worldwide, certainly here where she started.
52:26
SPEAKER_57: The bells of Yale into the hearts of millions across the world.
52:47
SPEAKER_57: So together we now say thank you, Dolly, for the best song that says it best.
53:16
SPEAKER_04: If you can get every single radio station in one state to do something at the same time, you know that it's a powerful message.
53:25
SPEAKER_04: And she just uh deserved every bit of it.
53:30
SPEAKER_04: Not a dry eye in the house, not from these eyes, anyway.
53:34
SPEAKER_22: Finally, tonight, the tributes to Dolly Parton and the push for a new special honor.
53:43
SPEAKER_22: Tonight, the legacy and generosity of Dolly Parton living on.
53:49
SPEAKER_22: Radio stations across her home state of Tennessee, all playing her music at the same time in tribute.
53:55
SPEAKER_22: Niagara Falls, illuminated in pink overnight in celebration of Dolly.
53:59
SPEAKER_22: The Nashville International Airport lighting up in pink, too.
54:03
SPEAKER_22: Tonight, a push by fans to rename the airport after Dolly is getting support from the airport, state lawmakers, and Tennessee's governor.
54:10
SPEAKER_22: And this weekend, Regal Movie Theaters in Tennessee will play her movies.
54:14
SPEAKER_36: Why don't we just focus on the joy of the situation?
54:17
SPEAKER_22: The proceeds going to Dolly's nonprofit, the Imagination Library.
54:21
SPEAKER_22: Over the years, Dolly Parton giving hundreds of millions of dollars to causes near to her.
54:26
SPEAKER_22: When Hurricane Helene hit in 2024, she was there in a Walmart parking lot with a big donation.
54:33
SPEAKER_41: I'm donating a million dollars today.
54:35
SPEAKER_22: Hoping to help heal.
54:46
SPEAKER_41: Helene, Helene, Helene, Hilly.
54:50
SPEAKER_41: But we're all here to mend these broken hearts.
54:53
SPEAKER_41: And that's what I'm doing here, so.
54:56
SPEAKER_22: Tonight, Dolly's nonprofit reporting an increase in both enrollments and donations since Dolly's passing.
55:02
SPEAKER_32: I think I can, she said.
55:06
SPEAKER_32: I think I can.
55:08
SPEAKER_32: I think I can.
55:09
SPEAKER_22: Dolly starting her Imagination Library in 1995, mailing children.
55:14
SPEAKER_22: More than 330 million books delivered.
55:17
SPEAKER_22: The Library of Congress honoring her.
55:55
SPEAKER_14: Except for my own personal experiences, you know, and which is that just like you, she's been a fixture in my life since I was a kid.
56:04
SPEAKER_14: I've never known a life without Dolly Parton in it.
56:09
SPEAKER_14: And uh my household is heartbroken just like yours.
56:14
SPEAKER_14: But we're gonna do a song off a record that I thought was one of Dolly's uh best record she ever made.
56:23
SPEAKER_14: It's called My Tennessee Mountain Home.
56:26
SPEAKER_13: In my Tennessee Mountain Home.
56:32
SPEAKER_13: Life is as peaceful as a baby sun.
56:39
SPEAKER_13: In my Tennessee Mountain Home.
56:51
SPEAKER_55: I want to sing this one for Dolly Knight.
56:58
SPEAKER_55: There's nothing you can say about that.
57:15
SPEAKER_55: I think the easy thing about this is not anybody mentioning the green place or any of that.
57:23
SPEAKER_55: It's what a humanitarian.
57:28
SPEAKER_55: Someone always looking out for someone else.
57:31
SPEAKER_55: Looking out for the other thing.
57:33
SPEAKER_55: Even when it probably wasn't easy, even when it didn't benefit her career.
57:41
SPEAKER_55: We can all learn a lot from something like that, you know.
57:46
SPEAKER_55: It feels weird to bring a celebrity, right?
57:49
SPEAKER_55: But she's woven into the fabric of who we've always been.
57:54
SPEAKER_55: And so it just feels extra sad.
57:57
SPEAKER_55: But let's all sing this together for her memory, okay?
58:08
SPEAKER_43: When she changed, it should be old too.
58:51
SPEAKER_42: But there's always a death.
58:54
SPEAKER_48: Oh no, I know.
58:55
SPEAKER_48: Everyone feels that extra.
58:57
SPEAKER_48: I feel like we all feel like there was a death in the family.
58:59
SPEAKER_48: That does feel that way.
59:01
SPEAKER_48: It does.
59:02
SPEAKER_48: You worked with her and then obviously knew her well.
59:04
SPEAKER_48: What do you want everybody to remember about her?
59:07
SPEAKER_47: Um, you know, I think she was just an incredible example for all of us.
59:11
SPEAKER_47: In fact, I think all of us are feeling that um that urgency to be better.
59:19
SPEAKER_47: You know, you read about the things that she did.
59:22
SPEAKER_47: I'm hearing about things that she did that aren't even public.
59:25
SPEAKER_47: She just went around and tried to find places that she could help people.
59:30
SPEAKER_47: And we don't, you know, we don't see enough of that.
59:33
SPEAKER_47: And I think it's really, especially right now, it's making all of us think about what am I leaving behind?
59:39
SPEAKER_47: Am I leaving the campground nicer than I found it?
59:43
SPEAKER_47: Um, and I think that truly was her.
59:46
SPEAKER_47: You know, she could be wicked funny.
59:48
SPEAKER_47: She was very, very smart, but she was never derogatory.
59:52
SPEAKER_47: She never um, you know, never put anyone down.
59:56
SPEAKER_47: And I think in this day and age, it's really inspiring to see someone like that, you know.
1:00:01
SPEAKER_47: We're all in reflection period right now and learning so much more about her, and I think it's making all of us feel like I want to do better.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_48: Yeah.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_48: And it's been such an amazing part to learn really more about that legacy of hers now and how much she did.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_48: And everyone's getting another chance to re-listen to so many of her classic songs.
1:00:18
SPEAKER_47: Do you have a favorite?
1:00:19
SPEAKER_47: I have to.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_47: I mean, uh this the the ones that everyone knows are are my favorite.
1:00:23
SPEAKER_47: I mean, I love Code of Many Colors, and I love I Will Always I Will Always Love You is like the most incredible song.
1:00:29
SPEAKER_47: I still am just trying to figure out how she played, like she played with her fingernails.
1:00:36
SPEAKER_19: That was Cheryl Crow.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_19: And here is news from Great Britain.
1:00:40
SPEAKER_05: I also think we were talking earlier about how you were saying about how the the Americans are uh are a little bit obsessed with calling people King of rock and queen of country, whatever.
1:00:51
SPEAKER_05: When you look at the philanthropic work of Dolly Parton, it is actually akin to the kind of work that we have from our British monarchy.
1:01:00
SPEAKER_05: She gave away, as part of her Imagination Library, over 330 million books.
1:01:07
SPEAKER_05: Any child, any parent of any child between uh birth and five years of age can sign on to the Imagination Library.
1:01:14
SPEAKER_05: They can still do it now.
1:01:15
SPEAKER_05: My neighbours, two doors up in South London, get this, and have a book sent to their child every single month for the first five years of their life.
1:01:26
SPEAKER_05: That is funded by Dollywood and the Dollywood Foundation, another endeavour that she did in Tennessee, where she grew up, which was a very poor area of the United States.
1:01:36
SPEAKER_05: She she put Dollywood there because she wanted everyone there to have an income and have a job.
1:01:40
SPEAKER_05: She finances the Imagination Library.
1:01:42
SPEAKER_05: She has made a real difference to literacy worldwide, all because she's never forgot that her father couldn't read or write.
1:01:50
SPEAKER_05: So that is beyond being a brilliant pop star.
1:01:53
SPEAKER_05: That is making an actual, real-world difference.
1:01:56
SPEAKER_05: So many celebrities talk about all their philanthropy and their all their stuff.
1:01:59
SPEAKER_05: She was actually just out there doing it.
1:02:01
SPEAKER_03: Hi everyone.
1:02:02
SPEAKER_03: I'm Jeff Conyers, Vice Chair and President of the Dollywood Foundation and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
1:02:10
SPEAKER_03: For many years, I've had the extraordinary privilege of working alongside Dolly on her philanthropy and helping her carry forward something that was so very close to her heart, her Imagination Library.
1:02:23
SPEAKER_03: These last few days have been incredibly difficult for all of us who loved Dolly.
1:02:29
SPEAKER_03: And as we've heard from people around the world sharing their memories and their love for her, we've also heard from parents, partners, and communities asking an important question.
1:02:40
SPEAKER_03: What happens to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library now?
1:02:44
SPEAKER_03: And I want to answer that question very clearly.
1:02:47
SPEAKER_03: The Imagination Library will continue, and the books will keep coming.
1:02:52
SPEAKER_03: We will continue enrolling children.
1:02:55
SPEAKER_03: We will continue working alongside our wonderful local partners and communities.
1:03:00
SPEAKER_03: And we will continue to ensure this gift is available for even more children in the years ahead.
1:03:07
SPEAKER_03: What began as a simple idea of putting books into the hands of children to honor her father grew into something extraordinary.
1:03:16
SPEAKER_03: But to Dolly, it was never just about the books.
1:03:19
SPEAKER_03: It was about inspiring children to dream.
1:03:23
SPEAKER_03: Every book that arrives in a child's mailbox carries a little piece of that message from Dolly.
1:03:29
SPEAKER_03: I believe in you.
1:03:31
SPEAKER_03: You are special, and your dreams matter.
1:03:35
SPEAKER_03: Dolly cared deeply about making sure this work would continue for generations to come.
1:03:40
SPEAKER_03: And because that mattered to her so much, she made sure we thought carefully about the future.
1:03:47
SPEAKER_03: Together, we have spent years thoughtfully preparing the foundation and the imagination library for this moment.
1:03:55
SPEAKER_03: Today, our board of directors and trustees and teams who worked alongside Dolly, and all of us who have been entrusted with carrying forward this work are united in our commitment and ready for the future.
1:04:11
SPEAKER_03: As we move forward, we will do it the way Dolly taught us.
1:04:15
SPEAKER_03: With love, with kindness, with humility, and always putting children and families first.
1:04:22
SPEAKER_03: We will cherish what Dolly built.
1:04:25
SPEAKER_03: We will remain true to the values and the culture she gave us.
1:04:29
SPEAKER_03: And we will keep growing her dream.
1:04:33
SPEAKER_03: So to every parent wondering whether a child's next book is still coming, it is.
1:04:38
SPEAKER_03: To every partner and community wondering whether we are going to keep going, we are.
1:04:44
SPEAKER_03: And to everyone wondering how you can help carry Dolly's legacy forward.
1:04:49
SPEAKER_03: I think she'd tell us to keep dreaming.
1:04:52
SPEAKER_03: Keep believing in our children, and keep helping them dream more, learn more, care more, and be more.
1:05:02
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for loving Dolly.
1:05:04
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for believing in this work.
1:05:07
SPEAKER_03: And thank you for helping us make sure that her love of children and her belief in their dreams lives on for generations to come.
1:05:16
SPEAKER_03: We will always love you.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_09: At the Grand Old Opry in Nashville last night, they paid tribute to the great Dolly Parton.
1:06:40
SPEAKER_09: It's been a week of tribute to the woman who truly was an American original.
1:06:45
SPEAKER_09: For hours, we turn once again to Lee Cowan.
1:06:54
SPEAKER_21: Perhaps only Dolly Parton could dress like a flag and still be taken seriously by a ship full of sailors.
1:07:01
SPEAKER_39: My name is on the flag, only in a code of some kind.
1:07:05
SPEAKER_41: They just told me that to make me feel good, and it is.
1:07:27
SPEAKER_21: Taylor Swift said she was true grace and true grit all in one dazzling person.
1:07:38
SPEAKER_21: Everyone has a dolly story, and her story was everyone's in return.
1:07:46
SPEAKER_41: I got to be pretty famous pretty quick, and I was very excited about that.
1:07:50
SPEAKER_41: Before I got that job, though, I had no car, no phone, no nothing.
1:07:54
SPEAKER_41: I mean, I've known the pain of that, the joy of that.
1:08:00
SPEAKER_21: In her nearly 70 years of entertaining, she managed to bridge just about every gap.
1:08:05
SPEAKER_21: A poll taken five months before her death revealed 70% of Americans had a favorable view of Dolly Parton.
1:08:14
SPEAKER_21: That was the highest approval rating for any other luminary on the list.
1:08:19
SPEAKER_21: By far.
1:08:21
SPEAKER_21: Her warmth and wit, her unshakable honesty, and a Tennessee tamper that flowed like whiskey about heartache and faith and fear, made Dolly Parton a once-in-a-generation talent.
1:08:37
SPEAKER_21: She was fan, whether you liked country music or not.
1:08:47
SPEAKER_10: Would deserve a better promotion, Walton.
1:08:50
SPEAKER_21: Nine to five was one of some 3,000 songs she composed over her lifetime.
1:08:55
SPEAKER_21: Jolie, Jolene, Jolie, from country to gospel to bluegrass.
1:09:01
SPEAKER_21: Please don't take him just because you can.
1:09:04
SPEAKER_21: Legend has it, she wrote Jolene and I will always love you.
1:09:09
SPEAKER_21: Back to back.
1:09:26
SPEAKER_21: It's a sweet member.
1:09:30
SPEAKER_41: As she once told Dan Ratch, people like me, especially songwriters, people that live, in order to be a writer, you're extremely sensitive.
1:09:39
SPEAKER_41: You have to leave yourself wide open, you know, to every feeling.
1:09:43
SPEAKER_41: But by doing that, you leave yourself very vulnerable to everything.
1:09:47
SPEAKER_41: And everything I do, I feel to the nth degree.
1:09:50
SPEAKER_41: I can't eat just a little.
1:09:51
SPEAKER_41: I have to eat the whole thing.
1:09:52
SPEAKER_41: I can't feel just a little.
1:09:53
SPEAKER_41: I have to love all the way.
1:09:54
SPEAKER_41: I have to.
1:09:55
SPEAKER_41: Everything I do, I throw myself completely into it.
1:09:58
SPEAKER_21: Born in a one-room cabin in the hills of Tennessee, Dolly Rebecca Parton, was the fourth of twelve children.
1:10:07
SPEAKER_21: She says they were dirt poor and lived a country life you'd only understand if you lived it yourself.
1:10:14
SPEAKER_46: Just because I'm gonna go, they don't dumb, go.
1:10:28
SPEAKER_41: You know how they say somebody's street smart?
1:10:30
SPEAKER_41: I feel like I'm, you know, if I've got intelligence, it's just a country smart.
1:10:33
SPEAKER_41: If she made my coat of many colors.
1:10:37
SPEAKER_21: Music, she says, was always around, especially at church, where she started singing at the age of six.
1:10:43
SPEAKER_46: She told a story from the Bible that she'd read about a coat of many colors.
1:10:50
SPEAKER_46: Joseph Warren, she said.
1:10:53
SPEAKER_41: My mom's people were all musical.
1:10:55
SPEAKER_41: And so we played and sang at every funeral, every wedding, every shindig going on in town, every place.
1:11:02
SPEAKER_41: Ever my family was, you know, in that.
1:11:05
SPEAKER_21: For older fame, she kept her private life extremely private.
1:11:09
SPEAKER_21: She was married only once to Carl Dean, who ran a road and driveway paving business.
1:11:15
SPEAKER_21: He passed away in 2025 at the age of 82.
1:11:18
SPEAKER_21: As she told Tony to Copel, they never did have any children together.
1:11:23
SPEAKER_21: Is that a regret?
1:11:24
SPEAKER_41: No, absolutely not.
1:11:25
SPEAKER_21: Is it at some point?
1:11:26
SPEAKER_41: I it wasn't meant to be.
1:11:28
SPEAKER_41: And I don't regret it.
1:11:30
SPEAKER_41: I never regretted it.
1:11:31
SPEAKER_41: I mean, that was a choice.
1:11:33
SPEAKER_41: So you make your choices.
1:11:35
SPEAKER_41: You make your sacrifices.
1:11:37
SPEAKER_21: Fame was indeed a sacrifice.
1:11:40
SPEAKER_46: Because I can't stay inside this lonely room and cry forever.
1:11:45
SPEAKER_21: The dangerous one, she once revealed.
1:11:53
SPEAKER_41: I was so depressed over my weight and a lot of other things until I just finally thought, you know, either get off your fat ass and get on with your life.
1:12:00
SPEAKER_41: But out of that, I just had to sit down, take inventory, ask God to help me, lead me out of that.
1:12:06
SPEAKER_41: And I thought, you know, this is the best thing in a few months.
1:12:11
SPEAKER_41: I really made a comeback and I got my weight in order, I got my stuff in order, and I really put the rest of my life together.
1:12:18
SPEAKER_21: That life was also full of charity.
1:12:21
SPEAKER_21: She quietly supported disaster relief efforts, medical research, and youth literacy programs.
1:12:26
SPEAKER_41: Designed to help children dream more.
1:12:29
SPEAKER_21: Her imagination library has delivered one book a month to pre-K kids since 1995, amounting to millions and millions of free books to children all across the country.
1:12:39
SPEAKER_41: We didn't have books in the house.
1:12:41
SPEAKER_41: Mama had the Bible, and I love books at school, and I would read everything I get my hands on.
1:12:46
SPEAKER_21: She was as self-aware as they come, genuine to a fault.
1:12:52
SPEAKER_21: God made you pretty.
1:12:53
SPEAKER_41: Yeah, he did.
1:12:54
SPEAKER_41: But I helped himself.
1:12:56
SPEAKER_41: God's willing to help them, is willing to help themselves.
1:12:58
SPEAKER_18: Well, you want to talk about the help.
1:13:00
SPEAKER_41: Sure, I've had lots of work done.
1:13:01
SPEAKER_41: I'll have some more done when I need it.
1:13:03
SPEAKER_41: I always say if I see something sagging, drag in a bagging, I'm gonna nip it, tuck it, and suck it.
1:13:08
SPEAKER_41: Whatever it needs to be done.
1:13:10
SPEAKER_21: Beauty, she said, is a hillbilly version of it.
1:13:14
SPEAKER_38: You got tiny little hairs and fuzzies all over me.
1:13:17
SPEAKER_38: There's so much static electricity in this room.
1:13:19
SPEAKER_38: I pick up everything with boys and money.
1:13:23
SPEAKER_21: But it translated into an on-screen character that made acting so attractive.
1:13:28
SPEAKER_41: As much as I'd love for it to work, I know deep down in my heart it ain't never gonna be.
1:13:34
SPEAKER_21: She could have fled her Tennessee roots for Hollywood, but she didn't.
1:13:38
SPEAKER_21: So much so she created a theme park around her upbringing.
1:13:42
SPEAKER_21: It wasn't vanity, it was a testament to how far she'd come.
1:13:46
SPEAKER_21: An inspiration for those back in the Hollers, dreaming of something big.
1:13:56
SPEAKER_44: And looking better than a body has a right to, and shaking.
1:14:01
SPEAKER_21: Out of all the songs she recorded, she left one behind.
1:14:05
SPEAKER_21: Called My Place in History.
1:14:08
SPEAKER_21: It's locked in a time capsule that she asked not to be opened until her 100th birthday.
1:14:14
SPEAKER_21: My name is Brian C.
1:14:16
SPEAKER_21: Her nephew said she wanted to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton.
1:14:20
SPEAKER_21: Because, after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.
1:14:29
SPEAKER_21: Rest indeed.
1:14:32
SPEAKER_21: How do you want people to remember you 100 years from now?
1:14:35
SPEAKER_41: I want them to say, God, don't she look good for her age.
1:14:47
SPEAKER_41: You are enough.
1:14:48
SPEAKER_41: And anyone who tells you otherwise isn't worth your time.
1:14:52
SPEAKER_41: You got this.
1:14:53
SPEAKER_41: Yes, I'm talking to you.
1:14:54
SPEAKER_41: Other people didn't always believe in me.
1:14:56
SPEAKER_41: And in those times, I had to believe in myself.
1:14:59
SPEAKER_41: Plus, nothing's better than proving people wrong.
1:15:03
SPEAKER_41: Make a list of the things you love about yourself.
1:15:06
SPEAKER_41: They can be big or small, like I cook a mean chicken pot pie, or I'm a great mom.
1:15:13
SPEAKER_41: And if you tell yourself enough nice things, eventually, you'll believe them too.
1:15:19
SPEAKER_41: Go in with confidence.
1:15:20
SPEAKER_41: You got in the door because you deserve to be there.
1:15:23
SPEAKER_41: Don't forget that, and don't let it hit you on the way in.
1:15:28
SPEAKER_19: Dolly Carton.
1:15:30
SPEAKER_19: I hope you didn't mind that I didn't talk a lot in this episode because I really probably couldn't have.
1:15:35
SPEAKER_19: I have loved Dolly Parton since I was a little boy.
1:15:38
SPEAKER_19: And uh this has been a very sad um couple of days.
1:15:48
SPEAKER_19: She is one of those icons that has just always been there.
1:15:51
SPEAKER_19: She's always been fine.
1:15:54
SPEAKER_19: And uh and then when you know all the other things that she's done, she's just made an enormous impact on the life of America.
1:16:02
SPEAKER_19: And uh she's gonna be missed.
1:16:06
SPEAKER_19: Really, really, genuinely missed.
1:16:10
SPEAKER_19: Dolly Cardin was 80 years old.
1:16:14
SPEAKER_41: Well, honey, nobody knows what's around the corner, but I know one thing.
1:16:17
SPEAKER_41: If you keep yourself out of the game for fear of losing, there is no way on this earth you're gonna win.
1:16:24
SPEAKER_19: Morgan Miles.
1:16:26
SPEAKER_11: We lost our lighthouse.
1:16:29
SPEAKER_11: And as a woman in country music, it doesn't get much better.
1:16:34
SPEAKER_11: And um, I was supposed to sing another song tonight.
1:16:39
SPEAKER_11: At about two o'clock, I found out what happened, and I texted Aubrey and said, can we can I play I Will Always Love You?
1:16:47
unknown: Woo!
1:16:49
SPEAKER_11: I don't know if I'm gonna do it justice.
1:16:53
SPEAKER_11: But I can't even tell you that I don't think there's another artist out there that has her heart, her authenticity, her genuine kindness.
1:17:04
SPEAKER_11: And the world needs more people like that.
1:17:06
SPEAKER_11: They need more artists like that.
1:17:12
SPEAKER_11: And I will tell you this, even that last that last song I played for you, it's Dolly all over it.
1:17:19
SPEAKER_11: Because every good God-bearing woman deserves an unhanded moment.
1:17:25
SPEAKER_11: And Dolly every day rings in my mind.
1:17:29
SPEAKER_11: And um, I wasn't even supposed to be here this week.
1:17:32
SPEAKER_11: It happened last week, and I thought I'm I'm a fill-in this week.
1:17:37
SPEAKER_11: And um, I just there's something tonight that feels like a godlink.
1:17:43
SPEAKER_11: And um, anyways, I know you know this song.
1:17:47
SPEAKER_11: I know you love Dolly, because you wouldn't love country music if you don't love Dolly Parton.
1:17:53
SPEAKER_11: Amen.
1:17:54
SPEAKER_11: So um this is my favorite song ever written on the planet.
1:17:59
SPEAKER_11: And um, if you want to sing with me, if you want to pray, do whatever.
1:18:05
SPEAKER_11: But uh I feel very honored tonight to sing the song, so I hope I get through it.
1:19:09
SPEAKER_41: It's just a crazy time in the world right now.
1:19:11
SPEAKER_41: I think everywhere.
1:19:12
SPEAKER_41: I think we watch all the news, you hear all the news about all the troubles that you're having and all the stuff that we're having.
1:19:19
SPEAKER_41: It's just a crazy time.
1:19:20
SPEAKER_41: If everybody tried a little harder, you know, to care about each other a little more and stop just bickering and pissing and moaning about everything that don't mean anything, and just get to work and try to, you know, to try to work a little more together on things around the world, it would be so much easier.