If there’s one part of Dolly Parton’s legacy to hone in on, musicologist Cameron Bennett says it was that she was universally loved.
“It seems like everybody is disagreeing on everything. [But] it seems like Dolly Parton was the one thing that everyone agreed on. There’s a quote from an article that I had read where [it said], ‘It seems like a Dolly Parton concert is the only place where you would see Bible thumpers and drag queens dancing arm in arm,â Bennett told CBC News from Halifax.
“I think that will play a huge part in her legacy, just the reach that she was able to achieve.”
Tributes have continued to pour in for the country music icon, who died on Tuesday at the age of 80.
Bennett, who is originally from St. John’s, is a lifelong fan who wrote his university thesis about Parton, titled I’d Be a Drag Queen: Dolly Parton, Queer Reception and the Performance of Gender.
Bennett said what started as a love for her music grew into a connection to her philanthropy, desire to advocate for public health and children’s literacy, as well as her love for people from all walks of life that was grounded in respect and empathy.
“I hope it doesn’t seem like an over-exaggeration when I say it feels like I’ve lost someone that was close to me, despite the fact that I’ve never met her and I didn’t even see her live. I think it’s just kind of the impact that she has had on so many people around the world,” Bennett said.
Part of Parton’s legacy includes Dolly Partonâs Imagination Library, which offers free, age appropriate books for children aged five and under. The program operates in five countries and runs in 19 different locations across Newfoundland and Labrador.
Dolly Parton entered a Dolly Parton look-alike contest. And lost.
Dolly Parton, one of country music’s greatest legends, dead at 80
Laurie Lynn Danks, a Dolly Parton tribute singer from Corner Brook who performs as Laurie Lynn, said she was devastated by the news of Parton’s death.
“She was more than an entertainer to me, more than a country music artist. Dolly, we can all look up [to] Dolly. She was a good example of how we should be as humans,” she said.
Danks began performing a Parton tribute in 2019. She had a brief interaction with Parton as a fan a few years back, she said, and added her connection with Parton has changed her for the better.
âIt’s going to change me more as a human being. Just to be kinder, be a better person all the way around,” Danks said.
“There will never be another Dolly Parton, that’s for sure.”
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