The world said goodbye to one of music’s most recognisable, beloved and enduring figures yesterday, with the passing of Dolly Parton at the age of 80. She was a songwriter, actress, businesswoman, entertainer and, perhaps most importantly, a woman who understood the power that came with her success and chose to use it to make a difference.
Songs such as Jolene, I Will Always Love You, 9 to 5, Love Is Like a Butterfly and Joshua became some of the defining songs of her remarkable career. Over a career spanning decades, Dolly Parton sold more than 100 million records, earned 11 Grammy Awards and became one of the most successful female artists in country music.
In 1995, she founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, inspired in part by her father, who was unable to read or write, and the programme grew into an international early-childhood literacy initiative, providing free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to the age of five, regardless of their family’s income. By June 2026, the Imagination Library had gifted more than 325 million books to children across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland, with more than 3.5 million books being distributed every month.
Her charitable work extended into education, disaster relief, healthcare and scientific research, among many other philanthropic efforts.
She once expressed a hope that says perhaps everything about the legacy she wanted to leave behind: “If I'm remembered 100 years from now, I hope it will not be for my music, but for helping children to read.” It is difficult to imagine a more fitting wish for a woman whose music touched millions.
May her soul rest in eternal peace.
And may the world give us more people willing to use their gifts, talents and success not only for themselves, but for the greater good of humanity and for generations still to come.