AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Well today, we are marking the death and the life of the legendary singer and songwriter and all around icon Dolly Parton. She was 80-years-old. Now, in other parts of the show, you're going to hear all about Dolly's singing and songwriting. But for these next few minutes, we're going to talk about Dolly's charitable work, especially the Imagination Library, which has delivered millions of books to children all across the U.S. Dolly's father could not read, and she told NPR's Melissa Block in 2023 that that was the reason she started the program.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
MELISSA BLOCK: What did he tell you about that program, what it meant to him?
DOLLY PARTON: He just told me he was very proud of me, and that he felt like I was doing something special. And (crying) whew, sorry. Got a little emotional. But anyway, I was proud that he got to be part of something great, and he could feel better about himself.
BLOCK: Yeah. Do you want to take a minute?
PARTON: I think I'm OK. Just get on something else.
CHANG: (Laughter) Just get on to something else. Jeff Conyers is the president and vice chair of the Dollywood Foundation. That's the charitable group that Dolly started to help kids achieve success in school and beyond. Jeff Conyers joins us now. Welcome, and I'm so sorry for your loss, for our loss.
JEFF CONYERS: Thank you very much, Ailsa. I really appreciate it. It's a hard day.
CHANG: It is a hard day. If I may, I'm just wondering what went through your mind just there when you heard that piece of tape from Dolly right now.
CONYERS: Well, you know, of course, hearing her voice again made me tearful as well. I'm trying to - I'm holding it back right now, too - just knowing especially how much the Imagination Library meant to her, and, you know, personally and honoring her father and how deeply she cared about the work and how much she poured into it and all the reasons behind it is just an incredibly moving thing to be a part of.
CHANG: Yeah, I bet. I mean, Dolly has said that her father told her that the Imagination Library is, quote, "probably the most important thing" that she had ever done. Can you tell us about how Dolly talked about the Imagination Library, what it meant to her personally and to the other people in her life?
CONYERS: Yeah, of course. You know, a lot of people know Dolly in a lot of different ways. She was so talented, you know, as a songwriter and a musician and an actress. But, you know, I think one of the most special things about her was just how big her heart was for all people and humanity and especially for this program, inspiring children. You know, she - so many of her memories go back to her time as a little girl. And as you know, she was a huge dreamer and had big dreams even as a little girl running through the hollers in East Tennessee with absolutely nothing but had faith that she was going to go on and do something big in the world.
And so when she got the opportunity to build something like the Imagination Library and give that gift to millions of children and families around the world and do that in a way that honored her father and her mother, I just really can't think of anything that was more important to her.
CHANG: Did she ever share with you how it personally felt to her to watch her father struggle to read as she was growing up?
CONYERS: She did.
CHANG: Yeah.
CONYERS: She often mentioned - I mean, you played a clip there of her tearing up when she talked about it.
CHANG: Yeah.
CONYERS: It was deeply personal to her. She had - you know, spoke about memories as a little girl. She said she remembered seeing him, you know, as a little girl and watching her father struggle at times, not being able to read and write, and how that impacts every part of life. And she often said, you know - and she believed that in some ways, that may have kept him from achieving all that he had dreamed of achieving and dreamed of achieving for his family. And she knew that and carried that with her very closely.
CHANG: Yeah, she wanted her father to feel better about himself, it sounded like. I am curious. Did Dolly ever talk about having a favorite book to read? Did she tell you what that title was, or...
CONYERS: Well, she often would talk about the "The Little Engine That Could." She loved that book because she often called herself the little engine that did. And it was just such a great encapsulation, I think, of Dolly's story and who she was, you know, the struggle of the little engine to get over the hill and trying and trying and trying, and finally, you know, getting the help and making it over the hill. And I certainly think that she loved that book. And she also loved the "Coat Of Many Colors."
CHANG: Yeah.
CONYERS: You know, that was one of her favorite songs about the little coat that her mother made for her from rags, and she turned that into a children's book. And that was a very personal, very emotional book for her, as well.
CHANG: I mean, when I think about "The Little Engine That Could," it does reflect so much about Dolly, right? She was chugging and chugging and chugging all the way to the very end. That woman did not stop.
CONYERS: She did not stop. She's working constantly. And it was an inspiration to all of us. She kept all of us moving and all of us inspired, and so much so that we will continue forward into the future.
CHANG: Well, what happens to Dolly's work there now? Is there a plan in place?
CONYERS: There is a plan in place. That's one of the most special things, I think, about so much of the work that Dolly did, is she built things to last. We planned for this day very carefully, and we knew that sooner or later, this day would come for us all. And so the Imagination Library, and our work at the foundation was created in a way that it will be a gift that she leaves just like her love. It'll be a gift that she's left for generations to come into the future. And now it's, you know, our great opportunity and great responsibility to carry that forward for her.
CHANG: Is there something that you want people to know about Dolly Parton, a story, a memory that's kind of the first thing you share with people when they ask you about, oh, my God, you work with Dolly Parton. What is that like? Anything?
CONYERS: Yeah, absolutely. You know, one of the things that has always meant so personally to me was Dolly telling the story about growing up so poor, 1 of 12 children in East Tennessee and really surviving on gifts from other people, people bringing extra food by the house when they could, bringing scraps for her mother to make clothes for her brothers and sisters. And the giving part of that, the sharing and the giving part of that stuck with her. And she always told me, told everybody, for that matter, she said, I believe when you are in a position to help, you should help. And she did just that in more ways than people will ever know.
There's a lot of her personal, you know, philanthropy that's public that people will see, and a lot of her personal philanthropy that was private that nobody will ever see. But she got it true, as she would say, and it was a very huge part of who she was as a person. She left so much love in the world for us, our team and so many people to enjoy an experience long after she's not here.
CHANG: Jeff Conyers is the president and vice chair of the Dollywood Foundation. Thank you so much, Jeff, for speaking with us on this day. Sending all of you at your organization and to all Dolly fans out there love today. Thank you, Jeff.
CONYERS: Thank you so much. We appreciate all the love. Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOLLY PARTON SONG, "JOLENE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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