76 Reasons to Love Dolly

 

The Queen of Country.  One of the greatest songwriters of all time.  Philanthropist.  Living Legend.  Icon. National Treasure.  These are just some of the titles one associates with Dolly Parton.  The superstar just turned 76 on 19 January and shows no signs of slowing down - in fact, it feels as though she has been working harder than ever.  In honour of her 76th birthday I have put together a list of 76 times she has made the world a better place through her music, her movies, her words and her philanthropy (and 76 reasons why she should have been Time Magazine's person of the year in 2021 - instead of Elon Musk).

1. "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow you gotta put up with the rain."
2. 9 to 5, released in 1980
3. As Doralee Rhodes in the movie 9 to 5, co-starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin
4. The 9 to 5 musical, which opened on Broadway in 2009 and went on to do a run in London's West End 2019
5. Jolene, the song about the red-haired bank teller who had her eye on Dolly's husband, released in 1974
6. I Will Always Love You, released in 1974
7. Islands In The Stream with Kenny Rogers, released in 1982
8. As country star Jake Farris in Rhinestone, co-starring Sylvester Stallone
9. As Mona Stangley in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, co-starring Burt Reynolds
10. Once Upon a Christmas - her timeless Christmas album with Kenny Rogers
11. "If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one."
12. Her Better Day Tour (which I was fortunate enough to see live in Wallingford, Connecticut)
13. As Truvy Jones in Steel Magnolias, co-starring Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and Daryl Hannah
14. Old Flames Can't Hold A Candle To You, released in 1980
15. Love Is Like A Butterfly, released in 1974
16. Just Because I'm A Woman, released in 1968
17. As G.G. Sparrow in Joyful Noise, co-starring Queen Latifah (especially the scene with the hilarious cat fight between the two of them)
18. The Dumplin' Soundtrack
19. Silver Threads And Golden Needles - with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, released in 1993
20. Travelin' Thru, featured in the groundbreaking film Transamerica, released in 2006
21. The opening of Dollywood in 1986 (again, I was thrilled to visit the amusement park back in 2011)
22. The Netflix film Christmas On The Square, in which she plays a kindhearted angel (of course!)
23. Her cameo in the film The Beverly Hillbillies
24. The Netflix series Heartstrings which was inspired by several of her songs
25. GLAAD Media Award for Best Individual Television Episode for Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: Two Doors Down
26. "I have a lot of gay and lesbian friends.  Gay people have always liked me because I have been myself.  I think all pepole have a right to be who they are."
27. The Grass Is Blue, released in 1999
28. Better Get To Livin', released in 2008
29. Backwoods Barbie, released in 2008
30. Her Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails free books to children with a goal of inspiring a love of reading (at the time of writing this 172 752 307 books had been gifted)
31. Receiving the Living Legend medal from The US Library of Congress 
32. Dolly's Dixie Fixins cookbook
33. The beautifully illustrated book with stories about her songs, Songteller: My Life In Lyrics
34. "I always just thought if you see somebody without a smile, give 'em yours!"
35. The graduation speech she gave at the University of Tennessee
36. Faith - her collaboration with Galantis, released in 2020
37. 11 Grammy wins, including a Lifetime Achievement Award which she received in 2012
38. The all-star tribute to her at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards (she performed for the first time in 18 years along with Miley Cyrus, Little Big Town and Katy Perry among others)
39. Straight Talk, released in 1992
40. As the reluctant popular radio figure Shirlee Kenyon in Straight Talk, co-starring James Woods
41. White Limozeen, released in 1989
42. Her children's book, Coat Of Many Colors 
43. Home, released in 2014
44. Blue Smoke, released in 2014
45. Her autobiography titled Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business
46. A Holly Dolly Christmas - the cozy Christmas album with new and old songs and duets with Jimmy Fallon, Miley Cyrus and Willie Nelson among others
47. "Get down off the cross, honey.  Somebody needs the wood."
48. Coat Of Many Colors, released in 1968
49. Together You And I, released in 2011
50. Her cover of Brandi Carlile's The Story
51. Dagger Through The Heart, released in 2002
52. To Know Him Is To Love Him - with Emmylou Harris and Linda Rondstadt, released in 1987
53. Sent From Above, released in 2021
54. Her signature fragrance, Scent From Above
55. Providing the voice of Dolly Gnome in the hilarious animated take on a Shakespearean classic, Gnomeo & Juliet
56. Playing herself in a 1999 episode of The Simpsons
57. Hosting SNL in 1989
58. Her version of The Star Spangled Banner
59. As Aunt Dolly in Hannah Montana
60. I Believe In You, her album of inspiring songs for children
61. Baby I'm Burning, released in 1978
62. The Peace Train remixes, released in 1997
63. Shine Like The Sun, released in 2009
64. Nashville Mayor David Briley declaring 5 August Dolly Parton Day
65. Romeo - with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Pam Tillis, Billy Ray Cyrus, Kathy Mattea, and Tanya Tucker, released in 1993
66. Those Were The Days, her album of covers including Me And Bobby McGee, Crimson And Clover, Both Sides Now and Imagine
67. The 2019 Christmas special Christmas At Dollywood
68. “I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don’t work for money. Never did.”
69. Her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999
70. Her induction into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969
71. Dolly Parton: 50 Years at the Opry, a two-hour special celebrating her milestone as a member of the Opry
72. Two Doors Down, released in 1977
73. Her collaboration with Jeni's ice-cream to benefit her Imagination Library ("layers of salty pretzel streusel, subtly sweet and effortlessly tangy cream cheese ice cream, and lipstick red strawberry sauce")
74. As Ruby Diamond in Unlikely Angel
75. When Life Is Good Again, her hopeful song written during the worst of the pandemic, released in 2020
76. Her $1 million contribution to Vanderbilt University’s Covid-19 Research Fund - her assistance partially funded the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine