When we lose an artist like Dolly Parton, our first instinct is to return to the music.
As the world learned of Parton’s death today at the age of 80, we remember the almost hypnotic plea of “Jolene.” We remember the tenderness and dignity of “Coat of Many Colors.” We remember “9 to 5,” a song that somehow managed to be catchy, funny and pointed at the same time. And, of course, we remember “I Will Always Love You,” a composition so extraordinary that it became an enormous success for Parton and then, nearly two decades later, reached another level of global recognition through Whitney Houston.
Those songs alone would constitute an extraordinary contribution to American culture. Parton, who died Tuesday at age 80, wrote an estimated 3,000 songs and sold more than 100 million records during a career spanning seven decades.
Read more about What Dolly Parton Taught Us About the Entrepreneurial Power of Creativity.
