Elsie Collins (286)
Dolly Parton, one of the most influential female singer-songwriters in American history, passed away on August 25th, 2026, at the age of 80. Dolly Parton was an American icon who insisted on writing all of her own music, starred in many Hollywood films, and built her own theme park, Dollywood.
Mr. Satlow, a World History and Psychology teacher here at Central, expressed his love for all types of music, as he shared his thoughts on what made Dolly Parton special and influential in his mind. He said, “‘Jolene’ is my favorite Dolly Parton song and one of my favorite songs of all time.” He admires how she took criticism and leaned into it, and it gave her power. Even when many wanted her to tone it down, Dolly Parton committed to her hyper-feminine look of lots of makeup and big hair, which she is iconically known for today.
Mr. Satlow also admires how Parton came from poverty, as she was one of twelve siblings with a father who was a sharecropper and illiterate, but never forgot her roots and maintained a very philanthropic mindset. For example, she started an organization called Imagination Library, which delivers free books to children. Parton started it to honor her father, and it has successfully supplied hundreds of millions of books to children all over the U.S.
Mr. Satlow also mentioned how Parton made everyone feel welcome, and most importantly, without taking a political stance. He said, “Everybody loved her and could agree on it. People who hate country music for political reasons still love Dolly Parton.” In a world that is becoming increasingly polarized with pressure to have an opinion that is completely on one side or another, Dolly Parton was an example of someone who brought people together and supported everybody.
Dolly Parton was a female country singer at a time when country music was a male-dominated field, and women often only appeared as counterparts to male singers. She wrote all of her songs, including her two most famous ones, “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You”, which were written on the same day. Elvis Presley tried to buy “I Will Always Love You” from Parton, but she refused, preferring to own her music, and it went on to make her millions of dollars. She later allowed Whitney Houston to perform it, whom Parton admitted could sing it better than her. It is because of Dolly Parton’s success that it is a huge deal nowadays for pop stars such as Taylor Swift to own their own music – Parton was the first huge female icon to do this.
Ultimately, Dolly Parton’s life is something that can set an example for everybody about the importance of being yourself and not letting others’ criticism shape you. We should all strive to be a bit more like her.
