Alright, not Drop 40 but as the biggest name of the year to fall so far, she’s getting her own post.
Yes, “Queen of Country” Dolly Parton has returned to dust after decades of belting out some of the most iconic songs of all time. Overrated songs in my humble opinion but it seems I’m in a minority of exactly one if the sheer deluge of tributes from around the world is anything to go by.
Born the fourth of twelve children in rural Tennessee, she was performing music for the local church from childhood and made it on to radio shows before even reaching her teenage years. After convincing her first record label to let her try out country music following an initial failed attempt to get anywhere with pop, her star began to rise in the early 70’s with a successful partnership with Porter Wagoner. 1974 proved the crucial year, with Jolene, I Will Always Love You, and Love Is Like A Butterfly all going to No.1 on the country charts. I Will Always Love You alone made her millions after wisely deciding to tell an interested Elvis Presley to bugger off so she could keep the royalties. 1977 cemented her place in the stars, with the country/pop single Here You Come Again smashing the charts all over North America. Not so much in the UK mind, only made it to 75!
She would go on to sell over 100 million records, reach a net worth of over $450 million and become equally famous for her philanthropy and advocation of animal welfare and gay rights. She dabbled in acting too, with appearances including 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Straight Talk and Hannah Montana. She also had a very special sheep named after her, shall we tactfully say, “assets”. Said sheep being the first successful clone of a mammal, originating from the cell of a mammary gland.
Dolly holds the record for Top 10 Country Albums at 44 and joint record for No.1 Country Singles by a woman at 25, tied with Reba McEntire. She falls short of EGOT status by only the Oscar, neither of her two nominations winning to join her 11 Grammy’s, 3 Emmy’s and a Tony.
Her death comes completely out of the blue following a brief hospitalization for an undisclosed cancer diagnosis. At 80 and not being anywhere near the Drop 40 she makes little impact on either scoreboard with the venerable team JoeRam benefitting the most to reach 115th. Musically inclined Death to all but metal and Dame Shirley Bassey reach 18th in the theme league. With no bonuses or jokers, she leave just six points for thirteen teams in total but a heavy heart for everybody in the world who doesn’t go by the online persona of Marlfox.
Oh go on then, I’ll relent. One more time Dolly:
If I Should Stay, I Would Only Be In Your Way…..
Dolly Parton
January 19 1946 – August 25 2026
13 Teams 💀💀💀💀💀💀 = 6 Points