Dolly Parton (1946-2026)

Dolly Parton said she wrote over three thousand songs, so we can barely begin to honour her extraordinary songwriting in just one hour.

From her early country duets with Porter Wagoner, to the extraordinary purple patch that brought us Jolene and I Will Always Love You (allegedly written on the same day), to lending her voice and country music bona fides to Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter record, her impact on the musical landscape is hard to overstate.

Her image was genuinely iconic, modelled after sex workers in her Tennessee hometown, and her impact on literacy, public health, and human rights will be felt far beyond Appalachia for generations to come.

She inspired working class people, women, and the LGBTQIA+ community, and did it all by being herself, on purpose.

Singer songwriter Fanny Lumsden, and musician and broadcaster (and sometimes host of The Music Show) Alice Keath are Andy’s guests to unpack Dolly Parton’s musical and cultural impact.

Music heard in the show:

Dumb Blonde from Hello, I’m Dolly (1969)

Coat of Many Colours from Coat of Many Colours (1971)

Just Someone I Used to Know from Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca (with Porter Wagoner, 1970)

Jolene from Jolene (1974)

I Will Always Love You from Jolene (1974)

9 to 5 from 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs (1980)