Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Dead at 80

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0:46All from my desk? All from your desk. Join the 4 million businesses using Stamps.com right now with code podcast and get your free welcome gift. Stamps.com code podcast. Taxes and fees supply. Our coverage continues as America mourns country music legend Dolly Parton, who died today at 80 years old. The singer-songwriter launched herself to an extraordinary career defining women in country music. She was the top female country singer on the radio for a quarter century, while also transcending any single genre through her musical range, which racked up a remarkable 25 number one singles on the charts.

1:23Because of her breadth and evolution, Parton broke other barriers and labels as an actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Tonight, we can report the cultural fact is that Dolly Parton rose from deep poverty to not only fulfill a dream, but ever the songwriter, she rewrote her American dream, narrating life from a new point of view with her perspective on adversity, work, love, sex, heartbreak, and having a lot of fun. Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living. If you ever say another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I'm gonna get that gun of mine, and I'm gonna change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot.

2:08Don't think I can do it! Barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving. They just use your mind, and they never give you credit. It's enough to drive you crazy and you're living. Dolly Parton's music, her art, her work, expanded public understanding of so many experiences, from being poor to being a woman. And today, tributes have been rolling in from so many walks of life. I told her, too, that she never met a stranger. And she said, oh, that's how you look at me. I said, I'm all glad, too. Tennessee has lost her favorite daughter today, and we all feel it deeply here. She spread her love by caring deeply for young children.

3:03Let's keep her family in our prayers and be thankful for her life. She's authentic. She's impressive. She's smart. She's generous. She's formidable. She's tough. She knocked my socks off. Just a few of the words from so many people's lives that she touched, people who knew her. After Parton established herself as a country star with collaborations and cosigns from the royalty in that field, she went on to inspire artists across so many genres. We know the people who collaborated with her or covered her work spanned from Tina Turner to the White Stripes band, to Queen Latifah, and recently, Beyonce.

3:49And then, well, she made herself a movie star, too. Films many remember, like Steel Magnolia, is a nine to five. And when you think about her work tonight, when we try to understand why so many people are reacting so deeply, you know, there are hits in music that just remain etched, usually in their original era. They kind of smack of a certain moment. and over time they become wrapped up with nostalgia. They're played to reference history. We see them especially in movies and documentaries to take you back. And Parton surely has some songs like that. But many of her hits have become timeless classics because of her artistry.

4:32They are current. They sound fresh when played either by her or also new artists who see them as so relevant today. That includes, of course, Parton's Jolene, covered by dozens of artists, including her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.

5:09Take him just because you can.

5:16And with Dolly Parton, there's more. Because as we reflect on her life and passing tonight, let's recall that back in the pre-internet, pre-social media era, there were artists who shied away from talking up their work or sharing much personality, to say nothing of the expectations for women artists coming up in her youth. But Dolly Parton was as ready for the world to come as Andy Warhol was or any other futurist. She crafted and created this personality to inhabit on stages that stretched from concert halls to late night. She had that sharp sense of humor as well, which stemmed from something so many have remarked upon today, her well-known wit and intelligence.

6:01It's been real good for me ever since I started on your show. And you said one time, once I got to be real famous, I probably wouldn't come back on the show, but I always will. I'm here about as much as you are.

6:18So you could go from a moment like that to then reminding everyone exactly why she was there in the first place. She played a song she'd written for Carson in that same appearance. I have come a long way from the hills of Tennessee, and I've worked hard to make the folks back home real proud of me. Now everybody knows my name no matter where I go, but I never really made it until the Johnny Carson show.

6:52How about that? You know, Pardon grew up in a household that was a little short on attention for her. She had 11 siblings. And it was short on resources. The New York Times obituary notes that her family was so poor that when Dolly Pardon was born, they had to pay the doctor with a sack of cornmeal. And those experiences informed her art, her feel for working people and class hardship, and her values, which knew both what a dollar can get you and the limits of what a dollar's worth. Those are themes she wove into one of her most beloved songs, which can be taught as kind of classic songwriting, recounting growing up in a poor home where her mom used rags to painstakingly stitch her a coat for school.

7:44And in her spare, clear writing, It echoed both a Bible parable and its ancient teaching about the nature of true riches.

8:16And then she said, I hope this coat will bring you good luck and happiness. Although we had no money, I was rich as I could be. In my coat of many colors, mama made for me. That beautiful song invokes the old parable of Joseph's colorful coat and what you might call the classist discrimination of its time, which thousands of years later persists, even as Pardin's protagonist urges us to be better than judging poverty. Why do that? But also to be kind enough to ourselves to focus on what matters, which usually isn't money. Parton worked on those issues beyond her singing and art. Her foundation, we should note, has given away a whopping 300 million books to needy kids over the years.

9:18And while she clearly, carefully avoided all partisan politics as an artist, she advocated equality, she was against discrimination in many ways. And here we are tonight in our polarized times. So many of the tributes today, which of course reflect Parton's work, how many lives she touched, how she made people feel. I can tell you, I can report for you tonight, now that we've had a few hours of them rolling in, they represent basically every corner of our even divided nation. And as we were looking over things today, the New York Times noticed that Parton unity years ago, long before her death.

9:55In this headline, is there anything we can all agree on? Yes, Dolly Parton. Well, America has long agreed on Pardon. Her music, her example, her zest for life, and a spirit that maybe we could all use more of right now as so many mourn her, her work, her art, the way she lived a great life. We've invited our special guest panel here on this. Diane Warren is a Grammy-winning hit songwriter who's worked with Dolly, Martha Ackman, author of the book Ain't Nobody's Full, The Life and Times of Dolly Parton, and Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, which is why I'll note right here as we welcome Harvey into the conversation that Ms.

10:42Parton won 10 Grammys. She was nominated a whopping 55 times, also honored with a lifetime achievement by the Academy in 2011. Thanks to each of you for joining me. Diane, what's on your mind as you remember Dolly Parton tonight? first of all what a beautiful tribute Ari that you just gave I'm just so sad I think everybody oh it's almost making me cry right now just just a giant light has gone out you know our our our it's a devastating loss for not only the the um the music business but for the world you know not just the world of music but for the world she was such a light um on every level um a brilliant songwriter, like a genius songwriter, a great human being, as you said in your tribute.

11:33I'm just feeling sad. I think literally the world is sad right now. Martha, I want to read from the New York Times obituary, which mentions how assertive women populated Ms. Barton's songs. They write that whether it was the proto-feminist rewrite of of Moleskiner Blues, Jimmy Rogers, or by advocating parody in the bedroom, Touch Your Woman, or in the workplace, 9 to 5. Your thoughts on that, Martha, and how pathbreaking it was at the time? Well, I think she continued to break barriers her entire life. You know, from the Code of Many Colors, where she's talking about standing up for your rights and what you believe to be true.

12:25You know, I think the best example of that is what happened when she wrote, I Will Always Love You. She wrote it as a farewell to Porter Wagoner. He had the biggest country music show in the nation on television. And she stayed there seven years, two years longer than she said that she would originally stay. And she didn't know how to convey to him that she thanked Porter for what he had done. But also it was time for her to go. So she wrote a code of many colors. I'm sorry, she wrote, I will always love you. And a couple of years later, Elvis comes along and says, I would like to record that.

13:06Dolly did not have that much money at the time. A record by Elvis of one of the songs that she had written would have been enormous. But she said, no, she said, I can't do that because she knew that Elvis always required the publishing on any song that he recorded. so she knew that she had to hold on to her what we would call now intellectual property uh she was proud of what she had written and she didn't allow him to record it and then some some years later along comes uh Whitney Houston and and makes the the big big record um of that song. So I think a lot of women see that she stood by her own work.

13:57She used the word proud a lot. And that struck me. You don't hear women using the word I am proud of what I have done. You don't hear it that often. But I think Dolly told women that you should be proud of what you create. Of what is yours. And people from Taylor Swift, uh to miley cyrus and all other artists and women uh in general i think take note of that so interesting to hear you give us more insight into the the long gestation of that hit uh harvey i want to play a little bit of patty labelle with whitney houston go ahead diana she kept her publishing and then she was bummed out with with elvis but when whitney houston did it it's like That was a good decision Yeah Well you know what we have that as well Let's take a listen

14:55And I

15:00Will always Love you

15:06Harvey Hey Ari Your thoughts it's an emotional time for sure but i'm really kind of thankful i'm happy i'm happy with what she was able to accomplish i mean what she represented the love the kindness just the generosity it was bigger than music it was her legacy and it was her talent her kindness her resilience these are all things that she possessed of course the songs were incredible the delivery of her vocals spectacular and her influence across music of many genres not just one genre uh goes without saying but uh i'm choosing to of course i'm emotional but when i hear her sing when i hear those songs i hear her little quips to johnny carson i remember back to the things that she said to me personally i've been very fortunate to spend some time with her she was so sharp so witty but also so kind i'm i'm really appreciative today that she was on our planet Hmm.

16:12Diane, I want to play what I was going to mention was her with Patti LaBelle. Let's just listen to this little moment. Get up close to your microphone. We're mic'd right down in here. Get up close to her. Okay. That's cute. Can you hear that? See, we did plan this, but we didn't know how it was going to sound. Well, we were planning to see if we could do something like, Mama's little children love short and short and Mama's little children love short and bread. Mama's little children love short and short and Mama's little children love short and bread.

16:44Diane, I wonder if you could talk about her creativity mixed with. That's pretty cool. I don't have any nails, but that was pretty cool. Well, that's what I want to ask you. The femininity, the way that she was herself, but also a constructed self because she was so talented and smart and a writer, but feminine and sexy. and then also taking on the workplace. What did that feel like at the time and your thoughts? I mean, there's nothing Dolly Parton couldn't do. I don't think being a woman held her back. I don't think she ever got the memo that I can't do that because I'm a woman because she succeeded basically in everything she did or she chose to do.

17:24And I wanted to say one thing. It all started with the songs. Those songs are timeless. They're great. And it started with that. But Dolly could do anything. You know, nothing would hold her back. And like I heard she was working right up until, you know, this happened because like nothing stopped her. So, Diane, let me ask you a tough question. And you and I have talked about music before, but can you tell us, especially for those listening tonight who, of course, heard some of her songs, but what made her such a good songwriter? Can you can you teach us that? You know, her songs were like herself.

18:05They were authentic. They were beautifully written. I Will Always Love You is a perfect song. There's not a better song ever written. And she had so many of them. You know, but what was the question again? I just totally spaced out. That's okay. What made her such a great songwriter? Um, just the, she, the, the craft, the authenticity, um, you know, you're, you're born with a gift and then it's what you, what you do with it. And her gift was enormous and her gift was a gift to the world. Also, Ari, I think she was tapped in. She was tapped into people's emotions. She knew how to portray or convey what people were feeling in their hearts and their soul, their pain and joy.

18:51she knew how to deliver that in a song and that's such a special talent yeah in an authentic way that that's it too you know harvey let's look at her with kenny rogers uh and and discuss again this what she could do which not everyone these days is even invited and trained to do the way the music industry has evolved um let's look at her with kenny

19:44rv her as a performer incredible, engaging, magnetic. She was thrilling. You can't help but smile when you watch her perform. You see the joy. You see the passion she has for it. It didn't matter what song she was singing, who she was singing with, watching her stand there with the guitar, whether she's on a mic, on a piano. I mean, it was just pure joy. And what a talent. And maybe our historian can verify this, but I think she wrote Jolene and I Will Always Love You on the same day. Think about that. She won, as you said, 10 Grammy Awards, 55 nominations. Just last year, the U.S. State Department and the Recording Academy gave her the 2024 Peace Through Music Award.

20:26I mean, she was doing so many great things beyond just singing and writing songs. Special, special. Go ahead. I think Ali said that she recorded Jolene, and I Will Always Love You, pretty close together, but not exactly on the same day. She recorded, when she had a song in her head, she would record it onto a cassette tape. You know, she wasn't the most proficient when it came to technology. She always would fax. She would use a text to send communication. As we try to close this, because there's no way to end it, I'll give everyone a sentence of how you're remembering her in a single sentence.

21:13And I'll join in on this one. I don't always answer our own questions here. I'll say her work reflected her being completely connected to herself and then able to connect with everyone. In a sentence, how are you remembering her, Harvey, then Martha, then Diane? Flamboyant, over-the-top, spectacular, but always real and relatable, surprisingly. I think I would say that Dolly changed the temperature of the room. And not only the room, but the world around her. She made everything warmer. She made everything kinder. she made everything more decent. I love everything you guys said. A beautiful, bright, light, joy, joyful, positivity.

22:10A brilliant, brilliant songwriter whose songs will, you know, live for hundreds of years. These songs will be around forever, even though, sadly, she's gone, but the songs will remain and we need, we need that light more than ever in the times we live in. And I agree. The only thing we could agree on is Dolly Parton, you know, like with the divided world, you know, who didn't love Dolly Parton and we will always love her. We will always love her. There it is. Diane Warren, Martha Ackman, Harvey Mason Jr. Thanks to each of you. We'll be right back. Thank you.

22:57We are now 78s out from the midterms. As we turn from our pardon memorial there, we heard a lot of really touching thoughts from people who knew her. On to the rest of the news, because I can tell you the news doesn't stop. Three states have voters hitting the polls today. That includes Republican primaries that will test Trump's waning power. Reuters has approval at that second term low of 33. One Republican candidate in Kentucky is actually removing Trump's name from his website. And here's what's so striking. That's in a district where Trump once won by 15 points. Well, he clearly isn't up 15 now, according to the political strategy of that Republican.

23:36So the midterms are still looming. People are still going out to the polls. And Democrats think that their path to potentially winning back the Senate has expanded. And one key part of that is whether they can finally rest the Senate seat back from Susan Collins, which is largely blue turf. There have been a lot of twists in that race, but we have the new Democratic Senate nominee from Maine, Troy Jackson, with us next.

24:04Democrats say if they're going to take back the Senate, they need Maine. Troy Jackson is the new Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine. He is in a now dead heat with longtime Republican incumbent Susan Collins. She is right now the only Republican running this cycle in a state where Trump lost. That's what political folks call a pickup opportunity. Jackson's a logger, former Maine state senator. He comes in after Graham Plattner exited the race after those scandals. Welcome to the show. Well, thank you very much. Appreciate being here. You, of course, are running on your own, too. But a big part of this race is sort of the interest and the controversy around Susan Collins.

24:48She's voted for these judges who ended up overturning Roe. She says she might disagree with Republicans and Trump sometimes. I don't know if you've ever heard her talk like that. And then, as we've documented, she doesn't. How much is that what you're running on versus other issues, if you want to tell us what they are? Well, sure, I appreciate it. I mean, you know, Senator Collins has been my senator since I was 28 years old. When I was 29, a group of us in the logging industry was trying to push back against unfair working conditions. We went to her. She didn't want to have anything to do with us because there were billionaires on the other side of the issue even back then.

25:26So I've watched this a long time in my life. I'm 58 now, and I've seen how power and influence seems to be what she's really concerned about, not everyday working class Mainers. She voted for the big, beautiful bill. You know, she's trying to walk away from that, but she did. She's chair of appropriation. She could have stopped that. And what we have now because of that is we have a crisis here in Maine of our health care system. Hospitals closing, birthing centers closing, nursing homes, people losing their health insurance. And it's only going to get worse because of the way they designed it.

26:01We have tariffs that are crippling the state. We have a war in Iran that the fuel prices are going out of reach. And then, like you said, you talk about putting judges like Kavanaugh on there where she says that she doesn't regret that vote. Well, we all show as hell do. And that's the problem is that she completely forgot who she's representing. And so I feel like this is not so much about Troy Jackson. It's about people in Maine that are upset. They're mad. They know the government's not working for them and they want to change. Yeah, I hear you on that. And the Supreme Court's been a big issue because she says she's pro-choice, but her votes are for the judges who overturned Roe and ended the right to choice.

26:49So, you know, how do you square that? You mentioned how long it's been. We again documented this, and I want to show this is from a report we did. She said many terms ago that she would do a two-term limit. So she's broken that vow repeatedly. Take a look. I have pledged that if I'm elected, I will only serve two terms, regardless of whether term limits law, a constitutional amendment passes or not. Twelve years is long enough to be in public service, make a contribution and then come home and let someone else take your place. Is that broken vow an issue in this race or do you find voters are more focused on gas prices, etc.?