I was saddened by the news of Dolly Parton's passing, not only because we have lost a great songwriter and singer but because we have lost a great philanthropist as well. Billboard has a timeline that is well worth visiting, particularly if you were unaware of her good deeds, which on the whole she performed with quiet grace and no more fanfare than was required to make them work.
She was unquestionably a great performer, appreciated even by those like me who aren't particularly fans of country music for which she is perhaps most famous. Some of the more than 3000 songs she wrote were intended for different musical styles, whether she wrote them for herself or for other performers. She has also done some great covers of songs from very diverse genres, including a bluegrass version of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and a famous duet with Kenny Rogers, doing Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight", one of my favorite songs.
She has probably attained a kind of immortality through her musical endeavors, and rightly so. I am even more impressed by the good she has done for the educationally and literacy challenged. Millions of books, and substantial scholarships and other inducements to continue and expand education and literacy provided by the generosity of a woman whose father could not read.
I've spent much of my career as an educator, a writer, and an editor. I believe that the power and freedom inherent in being able to learn and to communicate smoothly and swiftly are incomparably valuable. Dolly Parton contributed generously and continually to spreading that value among those who needed it most. There are many, many people--including children then and now--who echo the sentiment in the title of one of Dolly Parton's most famous songs, "I Will Always Love you".
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