There are celebrities, there are superstars, and then there was Dolly Parton.
In this special episode of Stuck in the ’80s, we pay tribute to one of the most beloved entertainers of our lifetime — a songwriter, singer, actress, businesswoman and pop culture icon whose career somehow seemed to get bigger with every decade.
And the ’80s were a particularly remarkable chapter.
Dolly Parton in the ’80s
Dolly entered the decade already a country music legend. She left it as something much bigger.
Her movie debut in 1980’s 9 to 5, alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, turned Dolly into a Hollywood star while its title song became her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. She followed that with movies including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Rhinestone, and ended the decade as part of the memorable ensemble cast of Steel Magnolias.
Meanwhile, there was the music.
“Islands in the Stream,” her 1983 duet with Kenny Rogers, became another No. 1 pop hit. The two reunited for “Real Love” in 1985, which topped the country chart. And in 1986, because apparently singing, songwriting and movie stardom weren’t keeping her busy enough, Dolly opened a little theme park in Tennessee called Dollywood.
Not a bad decade.
Annie Zaleski on the Stories Behind Dolly’s Songs
Joining us for this tribute is our friend Annie Zaleski, the award-winning music journalist and author of the new book Dolly Parton: The Stories Behind the Songs.
The book explores the stories and inspiration behind more than 150 songs from Dolly’s remarkable career, from classics such as “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You” to lesser-known songs that show just how deep her songwriting catalog really goes.
And that’s an important part of Dolly’s story. The wigs, rhinestones, movies and wonderfully self-deprecating one-liners sometimes made it easy to overlook the fact that underneath all of it was one hell of a songwriter.
We talk with Annie about Dolly’s music, her evolution during the ’80s and the songs that best tell her story.
Remembering Dolly Parton
For those of us who grew up in the ’80s, Dolly Parton seemed to be everywhere — on the radio, at the movies, on television and standing next to Kenny Rogers in enough photographs to make you wonder whether they were legally required to travel together.
But Dolly’s appeal went well beyond nostalgia.
She was funny without being cruel. Glamorous without taking herself too seriously. Proud of where she came from without ever seeming trapped by it. And she possessed that increasingly rare ability to be almost universally loved.
So this episode isn’t just about mourning what we’ve lost.
It’s about celebrating what Dolly gave us.
The songs. The movies. The laughs. The enormous hair.
And a body of work we’ll be talking about for a very long time.
Listen to our Dolly Parton tribute featuring Annie Zaleski on Stuck in the ’80s.