In April, a poll released by the University of Massachusetts Lowell named Dolly Parton as America’s favorite public figure. The United States is in mourning today. Monument of country music and American icon, the singer, musician, songwriter with more than 1,000 songs, including international hits like Jolene And I Will Always Love Youalso an actress and businesswoman, died of cancer in Nashville (Tennessee) on Tuesday, August 25, at the age of 80.
After announcing that she was suffering from kidney problems, the singer was forced to cancel a series of concerts in Las Vegas in May. Tributes have been pouring in ever since, from Jane Fonda (“She was the voluptuous embodiment of empathy”) to Paul McCartney (“His writing, his singing, his philanthropy were without rival in the world of country”).
In a fractured America, the singer with platinum blonde wigs and a rhinestone-laden wardrobe appeared as one of the only personalities who unified all backgrounds and all generations. In June 2020, in the climate of extreme tension caused by the death of George Floyd, a proposal managed to garner consensual support: a petition launched by a resident of Tennessee proposing to replace the statues of Confederate officers with a statue of… Dolly Parton. Despite the support of Republican and Democratic elected officials in Tennessee, Dolly Parton declined: “I’m honored and humbled…but given the state of the world, I don’t think it’s appropriate to put myself on a pedestal at this time. »
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