SYSK Tribute: Why does everyone love Dolly Parton?

**Chuck** (0:02)
Hey, everybody, Chuck here on a Wednesday for an intro for a very special release. Because yesterday we learned that music icon and country music legend and philanthropist and just all-around amazing person Dolly Parton passed away after a short battle with cancer. And a few years ago in April of 2023, we recorded this episode. Why Does Everyone Love Dolly Parton? And I think that title, Josh came up with that title and it really hits it on the head. She was a beloved person that seems to have crossed different musical genres of course, and political boundaries, and she was just one of those people that kind of everyone seemed to be united in agreement that Dolly Parton is and was an amazing human being.
That's the kind of thing we detail in this episode, and we try to get to the heart of why she's so beloved. And I think for me, Dolly was just someone who seemed like her guiding principles were kindness, and love, and joy. And that seems to be what led her to do just about everything in her career, and every decision she made, and people who she worked with, and non-profits she decided to get involved with, and certainly her philanthropic efforts, and everything that she gave to the world, it seems like she led with her heart first.
And that's just kind of a rare trait these days. So Dolly was certainly a rare breed, and just an amazing woman, somebody who I think we can all agree is should be revered and looked up to. And the world is a little dimmer today without her light shining. So here we are today, the day after she passed, releasing this special episode, hoping everyone can give it a listen as we pay tribute to the great Dolly Parton with our episode from 2023, Why Does Everyone Love Dolly Parton?

**SPEAKER_2** (2:20)
Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeartRadio.

**Josh** (2:30)
Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck and Jerry's here too. And today we're going to make some joyful noise together here on Stuff You Should Know.

**Chuck** (2:40)
That's right. I just poured myself a cup of ambition.

**Josh** (2:43)
Uh-huh. I had a few of those this morning.

**Chuck** (2:46)
Before we dive into Dolly Parton land, we should talk about our tour really quick, because we're looking to sell some more tickets, specifically, well, everywhere, but specifically DC and Toronto, right?

**Josh** (2:57)
Yeah. For the whole shebang, we're going to be in DC, Boston, and then Toronto, May 4th, 5th, and 6th, right?

**Chuck** (3:07)
That's right. And there are plenty of great seats available.
This is a really good show. I think one of the best ones we've done in a long time. And if you're in the Northeast, like this is it. We're not doing New York this year. Very sorry, New York. But if you live in the Northeast, this is your chance because we're doing the Southeast in the fall, and this is your opportunity.

**Josh** (3:27)
I think that's a great angle for this marketing campaign here, Chuck.

**Chuck** (3:30)
Yeah. Northeast or bust.

**Josh** (3:32)
Okay. So that's enough about us, everybody. We're here to really talk about Dolly.

**Chuck** (3:36)
Yeah. So Livia helped us with this one, and we've remarked about how Livia is getting great at titling the articles even though she doesn't even have to.

**Josh** (3:45)
Right.

**Chuck** (3:46)
She does it because she's creative and talented. And her title for this is, Why Does Everyone Love Dolly Parton?
And we're going to explain that. But I think the easiest thing to say is, since the 1970s, this is a woman who has basically just put goodness into the world at every turn.

**Josh** (4:09)
Yeah, for sure. I was reading an interview with her in Rolling Stone from 1980, like nine to five had just come out.
And you might as well have told me it was from 2023 Yeah.
She's been the same way this whole time. It's great. She doesn't get into any political stuff. She said, I'm not political. I won't talk about politics. She leaves hot button issues alone, but if it means something to her, it's really meaningful. She'll come out in favor of it, endorsing it. She doesn't put anything down. She might support something, but she's not going to put anything down publicly.

**Chuck** (4:43)
Yeah. So the other kind of funny thing about this one from Livia is she always includes her sources, and she may have broken her own source record.

**Josh** (4:53)
Yeah, there's a lot.

**Chuck** (4:54)
Oh boy. There were probably 100 sources, but we did want to mention one in particular.