How America celebrated and mourned Dolly Parton, in Nashville and beyond

Dolly Parton performs onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Dolly Parton at Los Angeles Convention Center on February 8, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Rich Fury/Getty Images hide caption

The great Dolly Parton died earlier this week and tributes have poured in from across the country.

Only on NPR How Dolly Parton wrote the story of a changing America There are murals dedicated in her honor and the Empire State Building lit up in pink in remembrance of Parton. Fans are mourning the loss of a country music icon who not only changed the musical landscape but gave back to communities with her Imagination Library program and donations to develop the Moderna COVID vaccine.

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Nashville's airport to become Dolly Parton International with Gov. Lee support

Nashville-bound passengers could soon fly into Dolly Parton International Airport. Gov. Bill Lee has taken up a growing push to rename the airport for the late singer .

The name change technically goes against airport policy , which only allows a rededication to someone who's made contributions to the airport or the field of aviation. The Metro Nashville Airport Authority Board is pushing forward with the change anyway.

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Flags at half-staff for Dolly Parton mourners across the political spectrum

Nashville Public Radio reported that flags will fly at half-staff for the next week to honor the death of Dolly Parton , who passed away at age 80. President Donald Trump announced that flags would be lowered at the White House and across the nation on Truth Social Tuesday, calling Parton "one of the greatest Country singers… EVER."

In pictures: After Dolly's passing, Nashville mourns its queen

Nashville Public Radio's news team has been out listening to grieving fans and gathering photographs. Flowers, handwritten remembrances and other tributes have been piling up at de facto Dolly Parton memorial sites around the Nashville area.

Why Dolly Parton decided to give Austin drag queen Brigitte Bandit a rhinestoned guitar

Dolly also showed up in other ways for people. In Texas, she sent an acoustic guitar covered in rhinestones to an Austin drag queen — and signed it.

In a story from KUT , Brigitte Bandit was having an exhausting year. It was the end of 2023. She had testified at the Texas Capitol against bills that would ban certain drag performances and story hours, and joined a lawsuit to stop the legislation.

Music Dolly Parton lived her motto: 'More is more' After she performed as Dolly Parton at Oilcan Harry's that December, one of the hosts made her sit on stage while a five-minute-long video played of people thanking her for her work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.

Then the host presented her with an oddly shaped box wrapped in pink

"At first I was, like, is this like a … Dolly costume?" Bandit told KUT. "Then I opened it, and I saw the signature."

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Dolly devotees pay tribute at Dollywood in the wake of the country star's death

WUOT in Knoxville, Tenn. reported Dollywood opened the park the day after Dolly Parton's death to carry on the country music icon's legacy and honor her spirit saying "the show must go on."

Angie Henson was dressed in all pink with platform tennis shoes, rhinestone pants and a sparkly shirt in honor of Dolly Parton.

"She loved to outshine and outsparkle everybody," she said to WUOT. "That's why I wear what I wear a lot because I like to bring happiness to people that see me sparkle."

Nashville Public Radio Senior Music Writer Jewly Hight made a beautiful 100-song playlist for listeners.

"I made this list to reflect the depth and breadth of the musical mark she made, from her own iconic, enduring and underrated songs to her wide-ranging collaborations and contributions to film and covers, samples, interpolations and other testaments to her unbounded influence, across generational and genre boundaries, " Hight writes in her story this week.

In honor of Dolly Parton, Tennessee could celebrate '9 to 5 Day' on 9/25

Nashville Public Radio reported Tennessee lawmakers are considering dedicating another day to Dolly Parton. The iconic singer and philanthropist passed away Tuesday at the age of 80. Earlier this year, Jan. 19 became "Dolly Parton Day" in celebration of her 80 th birthday.

Now, lawmakers are considering Sept. 25, or 9/25, as "9 to 5 Day."

Dolly Parton leaves legacy of millions of free books for North Carolina children

Dolly's contribution to society went beyond music.

Since 2017, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has provided more than 24.6 million free books to young children across the state through North Carolina's Smart Start network. More than 241,000 children are currently enrolled in the program statewide, WFAE reported this week.

NPR Music Dolly Parton in her own words Dolly Parton performs at Glastonbury music festival, June 29, 2014. Jonathan Short/AP hide caption

Flowers are placed on Dolly Parton's star at Walk of Fame Park on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Nashville. George Walker IV/AP hide caption

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