Imagination Library
Dolly Parton was a cultural icon, and her list of accomplishments and accolades is truly astonishing. Describing her as a “singer-songwriter, actress, and businesswoman” represents a profound level of understatement, but I guess we need to start somewhere.
Referring to her as 'Queen of Country' is a bit closer, with over 50 albums of her own, over 200 compilation albums, 25 Number One songs, 41 Top 10 country albums, over 100 million record sales, and over 3 billion global streams.
As an actress, she appeared in about a dozen films and hundreds of TV spots, so that tracks, I suppose, but none of that even begins to cover her cultural impact.
To my utter astonishment, I was unable to find evidence that Dolly Parton was a guest on the Muppet Show, though I did find an ‘uncredited’ writing credit. I found a number of appearances of Dolly Parton with such figures as Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, but these appear to have been Muppet appearances on Dolly Parton’s TV series Dolly.
In spite of this apparent oversight – the list of Muppet Show guests included most of the top stars of the 1970s - Dolly Parton was a member of an even more select group. She had a Muppet based on her.
There really aren’t many people with that distinction, especially when you consider that Sesame Street has been around since 1969. Personally, I am convinced that Animal is based on Keith Moon, though Wikipedia also lists comparisons with John Bonham and Ginger Baker. I think the pictures speak for themselves. In addition, there are such characters as Alistair Cookie (played by Cookie Monster), Placido Flamingo, Meryl Sheep, and even Donald Grump (even on Sesame Street he’s an awful person, but that’s another topic...)
There’s also the song-writing, stage musicals, assorted business ventures, and production work, any of which would be impressive on its own...
But wait!
There’s more!
On top of all her other work, Dolly Parton founded the Dollywood Foundation, a non-profit organization which was originally established to support educational opportunities for children in Sevier County, Tennessee - Parton’s home county. Its current mission is to “share the life and legacy of Dolly Parton as an inspiration for children to Dream More, Learn More, Care More and Be More”
The flagship program of the Dollywood Foundation is Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has been operating since 1995, and was created “in honor of her father, who could not read or write but she considered the smartest man she knew”. The program sends a free book each month to children from birth to age five, including audiobooks and Braille books. Since the program’s inception, the Imagination Library has sent over 300 million books to over 3 million children across Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Did I mention that she also worked to raise money for healthcare and medical research? Or breast cancer research? Or COVID-19 and other infectious disease research? Or disaster relief?
And what about her LGBTQ+ advocacy? That’s a whole story on its own, and brings me to her religious views. Her work includes frequent religious references, but the most consistent message through her life was about acceptance. In her own words, “I don’t condemn nor condone anything. I just love and accept people where they are for who they are.”
Seems like a wonderful sentiment. And it seems as if it would be consistent with the Christian ideals of ‘love thy neighbour’, right?
Based on that, you’d expect a great outpouring from the Christian community, wouldn’t you? In that, you’d be partly correct. Many Christians (and non-Christians as well) have been inspired by Dolly Parton’s message of love and acceptance.
But the ‘religious right’ in the US appears to be losing its collective mind over her death. On the one hand, they want to ‘claim’ her as Christian because of her enormous popularity... but she supported the LGBTQ+ community.... But she’s so popular... But she accepts everyone... But she sings about god... But she refuses to hate the ones we hate...
It’s actually fun to watch some Christian Nationalists trying to thread this needle – usually though out-of-context quotes and vaguely-worded comments about her positions – when many of them have been clear in claiming that people who support (for example) the trans community are demons, or going straight to hell. Their little heads are exploding!
For most others, Dolly Parton’s message of love and acceptance is a wonderful thing. One comment in particular really struck me: “Listen, I’m fairly well atheist and have been for decades, but Dolly Parton is in heaven with Jesus now. That’s simply a fact, and I’ll hear no arguments, no matter how vast the cosmos...”
We need more like her, and her example shows us a way.
Cheers!
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