{"id":7748,"date":"2026-08-26T04:13:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T04:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7748"},"modified":"2026-08-26T04:13:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T04:13:40","slug":"bay-area-remembers-dolly-parton-the-person-everyone-could-agree-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7748","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area remembers Dolly Parton, \u2018the person everyone could agree on\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/p>\n

Read more Near-total lunar eclipse will turn the moon orangish-red Thursday. Here\u2019s how to watch from the Bay Area<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a nice welcome,\u201d Dolly Parton told the fans, who kept right on applauding at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. \u201cAww, listen to you. I ain\u2019t all that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s six-decade career.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

News of Parton\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Despite all the avenues she explored in music, movies and business over the decades, one thing remained remarkably consistent:<\/p>\n

Everybody loves Dolly.<\/p>\n

That statement is purposefully made in the present tense. Without a doubt, the public\u2019s deep love and admiration for Parton will live on long after her death.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve lost a dear family member,\u201d said Chad Jones, a lifelong fan from San Francisco. \u201cBut I know millions of people feel the same right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parton touched countless hearts over the years, first entering the country charts in the late \u201960s and soon finding herself invited into living rooms across America each week through \u201cThe Porter Wagoner Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

She began cranking out hit singles in the \u201970s, with \u201cJolene,\u201d \u201cCoat of Many Colors\u201d and, of course, \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d becoming country and pop standards. Whitney Houston would later turn \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d into an even bigger smash.<\/p>\n

In the \u201980s, Parton added the big screen to the mix, starring in such box-office favorites as \u201c9 to 5,\u201d \u201cThe Best Little Whorehouse in Texas\u201d and \u201cSteel Magnolias.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Along the way, her audience kept right on growing, to the point where it became hard to find anyone who wasn\u2019t a Dolly fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found Dolly via her music and songwriting and loved her for that,\u201d says Greg Trevizo of Castro Valley. \u201cI 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 \u20189 to 5\u2019 working stiff, she represented you in her songs and actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones echoed that sentiment, calling Parton \u201cthe person everyone could agree on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, there was her talent and her shine,\u201d Jones said. \u201cShe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Study\u2019s alarming finding: At least 1 in 4 NFL players gets brain disease<\/a><\/p>\n

Her philanthropic efforts included Dolly Parton\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had running water \u2014 if we\u2019d run and get it,\u201d Parton joked during that 2016 Shoreline show.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u201cStairway to Heaven\u201d on her 2002 album \u201cHalos and Horns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Stairway to Heaven\u2019 happens to be my husband\u2019s favorite song,\u201d Parton explained during a 2011 concert at Toyota Pavilion, then known as Sleep Train Pavilion, in Concord.<\/p>\n

She then recalled her husband\u2019s reaction after hearing her version for the first time: \u201cHe said, \u2018It sounds more like \u201cStairway to Hell.\u201d\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet Parton\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

She voiced a character in the 2011 children\u2019s animated film \u201cGnomeo & Juliet,\u201d recorded the 2019 duet \u201cThere Was Jesus\u201d with Christian recording star Zach Williams and released her debut rock album, \u201cRockstar,\u201d in 2023.<\/p>\n

The more Parton changed, however, the more she seemed to stay the same. It wasn\u2019t so much that Parton conformed to a new genre, set of rules or circumstance. Instead, those things simply got Dolly-ized.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was so genuine,\u201d said Gregg Perloff, CEO of Berkeley\u2019s Another Planet Entertainment. \u201cI think that\u2019s the word that really sticks out \u2014 genuine. She was the real deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite her excursions into other genres \u2014 and her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 \u2014 Parton will always be associated most closely with country music.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust hearing the news that Dolly Parton has passed is hard to fathom,\u201d Hardly Strictly Bluegrass organizers posted on Facebook. \u201cWhen 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Alameda girl, 5, who beat cancer runs a lemonade stand to raise funds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dolly Parton dead at 80: Here’s our obituary and appreciation piece for the country music legend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nBay Area remembers Dolly Parton, \u2018the person everyone could agree on\u2019 - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7748\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bay Area remembers Dolly Parton, \u2018the person everyone could agree on\u2019 - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dolly Parton dead at 80: Here's our obituary and appreciation piece for the country music legend.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7748\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-26T04:13:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7748#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7748\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Bay Area remembers Dolly Parton, \u2018the person everyone could agree on\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-26T04:13:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7748\"},\"wordCount\":1085,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7748#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/7b18becb3c8a72095b9b064e80634b60.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7748#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7748\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7748\",\"name\":\"Bay Area remembers Dolly Parton, \u2018the person everyone could agree on\u2019 - 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