The world came together in heartbreak after Dolly Parton passed away at the age of 80, and John Mayer thinks that’s a beautiful thing, and a testament to the life that the “Queen of Country” lived.
We all knew that Dolly Parton was struggling with some health issues, and that it was serious enough to keep her from making many public appearances that she had planned. But I don’t think any of us were ready for the immensely sad news of her passing that broke earlier this week.
Her team provided this statement, and said that the country legend passed peacefully in her home state of Tennessee after a brief battle with cancer:
“A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family.
Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact.”
There’s absolutely no doubt that the legend of Dolly will forever live on.
Artists and celebrities from all walks of Earth have paid tribute to the late Dolly Parton. It’s been touching to see everyone come together in remembrance of the country music legend, and artist and master guitarist, John Mayer, really put that phenomenon into words quite well when he spoke with Radio Andy:
“It’s a huge loss, and a universal loss. I think Dolly would be really happy to see that, on the day of her passing, the world came together in a way that it hadn’t in a very long time to celebrate someone. While the world is paying tribute to one person, and one soul – which feels good on its own – we’re all connected while that’s happening. I haven’t felt connected like that for a long time.”
Dolly really did bring the world together.
Mayer went on to praise Parton for the life that she led, and the love that was always so present and evident in anything and everything that she did:
“Here’s a human being who carried herself through every decade of her life perfectly. I don’t know that there are many people in this world left that can galvanize a very fractured world to come together. And share love for one person, and also… when everyone is loving one person at the same time, it is everybody loving at the same time. Which has this sort of side effect of feeling each other’s love when that happens.
This is one human being who has left this incredible testament to love their whole life, and you can feel it. This is what a life well lived looks like, feels like and sounds like. You take apart every layer of her self and career, and it’s a brilliant, classy, talented, fully-artistic rendering. That is how you give your life to the thing you love.”
No matter how you feel about John Mayers… you’ve got to admit, that was well said.
Mayer also made sure his feelings were well played during his show last night. Before he broke into his hit, “Gravity,” he tipped his cap to the late, great country artist:
“John Mayer honors Dolly Parton with ‘I Will Always Love You’ on the guitar during the intro to ‘Gravity,’ live at Stephen Talkhouse.”
