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The Second Disc joins the myriad voices of musical enthusiasts stunned by the news of Dolly Parton’s passing on August 25, 2026. Mike remembers an enduring icon who may have been the most universally beloved person on the planet. Joe’s tribute will run later this week.

Ten years removed from a year when it felt like a shocking amount of musical luminaries passed away – and knowing full well that time only moves forward to make us bid others farewell – Dolly Parton’s passing at the age of 80 still stuns. In ways it felt like no one could fully predict, the country singer/songwriter from Tennessee emanated a sense of ethereal immortality. Put more simply, in an America that feels more divided than ever, Parton seemed like the one constant we could all agree on.

Her legend is there any way you want to slice it. There’s the 25 No. 1 hits on Billboard‘s country charts. Standards like “Jolene” (one of the archetypal woman-scorned Southern ballads) and the tender “I Will Always Love You,” both (according to legend) written on the same day. Parton would have dalliances with mainstream pop success – the bouncy “Here You Come Again,” the delirious “9 to 5” – but perhaps none more notable than when Whitney Houston covered “Always Love You” for her 1992 film The Bodyguard and took it to the top of the Hot 100 in a soaring rendition that reigned for 14 straight weeks. There were the collaborations: formative duet partner Porter Wagoner and the almighty trio of Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. Her musical skills were not solely limited to that lilting, twanging, one-of-a-kind voice, as anyone who’d ever seen her pick sharp guitar lines or blow to Boots Randolph’s “Yakety Sax” can attest to. You can pick apart what genres belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but if you believe in its titular form’s broadest definition – using the accepted forms of popular music to transform society and culture for the better – then her 2022 induction into the museum was well-earned. (She certainly made up for any discrepancy a year after initially demurring and then acquiesing to an induction, reaching the Top 5 with her collaboration-heavy Rockstar.) Even her contribution to our area of interest is notable: released shortly before The Second Disc started publishing, Legacy Recordings’ Dolly box set may be one of the last great examples of the much-missed “4CD career overview” form. (And that doesn’t even cover the acting! She starred in favorites like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias, and Joyful Noise.)

Even if she was merely “good” as an artist and performer, the societal impact of Dolly Parton would make the mind reel. The hair. The body. The wit. The theme park. The charity. The honest-to-God infusion of a state economy. The commitment to LGBTQ+ issues long before much of the music industry felt it was in fashion. The legitimate financial contribution that got a reeling world away from pandemic status. The nearly 60-year union to her husband, Carl Dean. My wife and I once saw an airport advertisement for the Foundation for a Better Life emblazoned with Dolly’s visage and the simple words: “Find the good in everybody.” We spent 20 delightful minutes trying to imitate her voice saying that line, and laughed at how off the mark we were.

Icons are rare; the person that influences a genre or style is harder to come by than it seems. Those who use their celebrity and financial influence for an unending tidal wave of good are rarer than we’d like to admit. Those who do all of those so consistently are like a comet streaking through the night sky, visible for only too long before the brilliance only lingers in your memories. Dolly Parton’s life may have come to a close, but that light is going to keep shining for a long, long time. And those who let that light into their lives are going to be much, much better for it.

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