Bay Area remembers Dolly Parton, ‘the person everyone could agree on’

The crowd rose to greet a legend, some 13,000 fans cheering at the mere sight of a woman who had given them so much over the years.

“What a nice welcome,” Dolly Parton told the fans, who kept right on applauding at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. “Aww, listen to you. I ain’t all that.”

That scene unfolded nearly 10 years ago, on Sept. 24, 2016, but a similar one could have taken place at practically any point during Parton’s six-decade career.

Parton, the country music superstar, actor, songwriter and philanthropist whose appeal crossed generations, genres and political divides, died Tuesday at 80, her family announced. Her publicist said she died peacefully in Nashville. No cause was disclosed.

News of Parton’s death brought an outpouring of grief across the Bay Area, where fans remembered her landmark performances, disarming humor and rare ability to make millions of admirers feel personally connected to her.

Despite all the avenues she explored in music, movies and business over the decades, one thing remained remarkably consistent:

Everybody loves Dolly.

That statement is purposefully made in the present tense. Without a doubt, the public’s deep love and admiration for Parton will live on long after her death.

“I feel like I’ve lost a dear family member,” said Chad Jones, a lifelong fan from San Francisco. “But I know millions of people feel the same right now.”

Parton touched countless hearts over the years, first entering the country charts in the late ’60s and soon finding herself invited into living rooms across America each week through “The Porter Wagoner Show.”

She began cranking out hit singles in the ’70s, with “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and, of course, “I Will Always Love You” becoming country and pop standards. Whitney Houston would later turn “I Will Always Love You” into an even bigger smash.

In the ’80s, Parton added the big screen to the mix, starring in such box-office favorites as “9 to 5,” “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and “Steel Magnolias.”

Along the way, her audience kept right on growing, to the point where it became hard to find anyone who wasn’t a Dolly fan.

“I found Dolly via her music and songwriting and loved her for that,” says Greg Trevizo of Castro Valley. “I came to learn she was there for everyone and all of us. Regardless if you were poor, rich, a drag queen, a cowboy or just a ‘9 to 5’ working stiff, she represented you in her songs and actions.”

Jones echoed that sentiment, calling Parton “the person everyone could agree on.”

“First, there was her talent and her shine,” Jones said. “She was a pure, rhinestone-studded entertainer and was better than just about anyone at appealing to the widest possible audience. At the heart of it all were her songs: pure, honest, accessible and with just enough poetry and heart to let you know the kind of once-in-a-lifetime artist she was.

“Then there was her sense of humor, her kindness toward all, her philanthropy, her work ethic, her ability to channel joy and her deep sense of faith and family that seemed to ground her and connect her with the countless souls who adored her around the world.”

Her philanthropic efforts included Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a free program that delivers monthly books to children from birth through age 5. Founded in 1995, the program made its Santa Clara County Library District debut in 2025.

Parton was equally well known for her sense of humor. She had a seemingly innate sense of comic timing that was frequently on display during her Bay Area performances.

She could summon just the right mix of wit, self-effacing humor and insight on a dime, including when she discussed growing up in a family with little money.

“We had running water — if we’d run and get it,” Parton joked during that 2016 Shoreline show.

That self-effacing streak proved particularly helpful on the rare occasions when Parton swung and missed, such as when she made the iffy decision to cover Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” on her 2002 album “Halos and Horns.”

“‘Stairway to Heaven’ happens to be my husband’s favorite song,” Parton explained during a 2011 concert at Toyota Pavilion, then known as Sleep Train Pavilion, in Concord.

She then recalled her husband’s reaction after hearing her version for the first time: “He said, ‘It sounds more like “Stairway to Hell.”’”

Yet Parton’s willingness to move among musical genres and other realms of entertainment, and to try just about anything, was part of her genius. It also helped her stay relevant and find new generations of fans.

She voiced a character in the 2011 children’s animated film “Gnomeo & Juliet,” recorded the 2019 duet “There Was Jesus” with Christian recording star Zach Williams and released her debut rock album, “Rockstar,” in 2023.

The more Parton changed, however, the more she seemed to stay the same. It wasn’t so much that Parton conformed to a new genre, set of rules or circumstance. Instead, those things simply got Dolly-ized.

“She was so genuine,” said Gregg Perloff, CEO of Berkeley’s Another Planet Entertainment. “I think that’s the word that really sticks out — genuine. She was the real deal.”

Despite her excursions into other genres — and her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 — Parton will always be associated most closely with country music.

Bay Area fans still talk about the chance to see her perform at the free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park in 2005.

“Just hearing the news that Dolly Parton has passed is hard to fathom,” Hardly Strictly Bluegrass organizers posted on Facebook. “When she came to HSB in 2005, we initiated a new stage to accommodate her production. Legend has it that the entire Castro Street Fair turned direction and headed to Golden Gate Park that afternoon.

“It was a landmark day for Hardly Strictly and her boundless energy was on display for all. Legendary does not begin to describe the enormous talent of Dolly Parton. Her songwriting reached people from every walk of life; she was a philanthropist, entertainer and icon for all music lovers. Rest in peace, Dolly.”