'The soundtrack for our lives:' The world mourns Dolly Parton, plus Meta loses blockbuster

**Christy Strawser** (0:00)
The day's biggest stories, the people behind the headlines, the conversations you won't hear anywhere else.
I'm Christy Strawser, you're listening to Audacy's On Deadline. Dolly Parton, a legend, an icon, a gift to the world, and now she's gone. She was among the most beloved personalities in the world. As the Associated Press described her, she's the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography, and politics. Buckingham Palace honored her, and so did the people in the hardscrabble mountain town where she grew up. Most of all, though, she was entirely herself. Plastic surgery, curves, massive blonde wigs, and skin tight outfits, a self-deprecating wit, and one-liners that will outlive her. Here's more from WWJ in Detroit.

**Tony** (0:43)
Legendary local music writer, Gary Graff. And Gary, what stood out to you about Dolly Parton?

**Gary Graff** (0:48)
Just the sheer talent, Tony. I mean, you always, you heard in that quote, Dolly wanting people to know that there were brains in there, that there was a heart in there. So many people don't know she was a great songwriter, in addition to being the singer. I mean, she wrote Jolene, she wrote I Will Always Love You. And as a business woman, very smart, you know, took control of her career and really did some special things as an artist, as a philanthropist, as a business person. So it's just, I mean, you know, Legend doesn't even begin to tap what she was.
And she did so many things right and really led with a great example for what an artist could be. And also in country music, very importantly, what a female artist could be in that genre.

**Tony** (1:39)
And Gary, you mentioned she was well known for country music, but Dolly Parton was one of those rare artists that crossed all genres. I don't care if you were a fan of R&B, if you were a fan of pop, you knew who Dolly Parton was from her music.

**Gary Graff** (1:51)
Well, and that's where the songwriter part comes in, Tony. Her music could be interpreted by artists of any genre. She very famously did her own rock album a couple of years ago. The less said about that, the better, frankly.
But she went there, and I do remember speaking with her, this would have been 20 years ago, maybe about a bluegrass version of Stairway to Heaven that she recorded. So she was a musician, not just a country musician, country artist. Yeah, she was a total artist, and really everything she touched was potent and strong and remains vital decades later.

**Tony** (2:32)
Gary, she was also quite the showman or showwoman, as you would. Anything about her shows you remember the most?

**Gary Graff** (2:37)
The sequins.
Dolly Parton may single-handedly be the reason I need glasses. Not just her flash, but within that flash, her taste. Because no matter what she looked like, what the gown was like, the Dallas Cowboy Cheer Cleaner outfit once or whatever she was wearing, the voice got you and you hung on the voice and on the performance. And that's what stuck with you.

**Tony** (3:04)
And not only did she do that for singing, she also made the crossover into acting in 9 to 5 Everybody remembers what that movie is about and remembers Dolly Parton's role in that movie.

**Gary Graff** (3:13)
Absolutely, and that's one of our house in Texas, Rhinestone, Steel Magnolias, Joyful Noise. She has a nice legacy that really crosses all factors of the entertainment industry. Dollywood, the amusement park.
She made more than her mark. She made many marks.

**Tony** (3:36)
Gary, don't tell my wife this, but Steel Magnolias is one of my favorite movies of all time.

**Gary Graff** (3:39)
Boy, don't tell her that. I'm surprised you uttered that in public, but it's okay.

**Newell Norman** (3:45)
We can help with that.

**Tony** (3:46)
Thank you, Gary.

**Holly Hutton** (3:52)
Earlier this summer, I was at Dolly Parton's travel stop for her grand opening, and Dolly Parton was there to do the ribbon ceremony. But a couple of years ago, I got to interview her. But live and in person, and it was just as you might think a Dolly Parton interview would go. It was absolutely dreamy and insanely funny. The very first thing that she said to us after we arrived, she had to take a break and she walked by and we all stopped our conversation and just kind of like stared at her and awed at her.
She was like, well, y'all, even celebrities got to pee, I'll be back.

**SPEAKER_6** (4:35)
There's something so authentic about Dolly Parton.

**Holly Hutton** (4:39)
It's so funny because even after all the years of her being in the entertainment business, of her having the success that she has had, the level that she's had, she's still the same person that grew up in Tennessee. The same person that grew up poor. It didn't go to her head.