Taylor Swift has described Dolly Parton as «true grace and true grit» after the American country music legend died at the age of 80. Her tribute also tells the story of inheritance: how Parton inspired younger women to write their songs, shape their image, and assert their worth.
Parton died in Nashville on 25 August, according to a statement published on her official website. Her family did not disclose the cause and said a small, private service would be held.
«A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right,» Swift acknowledged. «But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one.»
«Somehow she was true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person. She possessed the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others, and a backbone of steel to defend her own self worth as an artist,» reads Swift’s statement passed onto The Hollywood Reporter.
Swift also remembered the melodies and lyrics that reached beyond country music, the books Parton gave to children and the example she set for girls entering entertainment. She ended with a personal promise to remember Parton «each step of the way.»
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Dolly Parton: Songwriter behind the rhinestones
One of Parton’s final public messages was addressed to Swift and Travis Kelce. In July, she thanked the couple for donating $2m to her Imagination Library, joking warmly about their future family before singing a line from I Will Always Love You.
Founded in Tennessee in 1995 after Parton was inspired by her father’s inability to read, the initiative has now distributed more than 300 million free books across the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Ireland.
Born into a family of 12 children in rural Tennessee, Parton began writing songs as a child and moved to Nashville after finishing school. She later sold more than 100m records, won 11 Grammys and placed 25 songs at No 1 on the US country chart, according to Reuters.
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Her catalogue included Jolene, Coat of Many Colors and I Will Always Love You, which became an international phenomenon through Whitney Houston’s recording. Parton also crossed into cinema with 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias, built the Dollywood entertainment business and helped fund research connected to the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.
