How the World Is Mourning Dolly Parton

At the Grand Ole Opry, country music's biggest stage paid tribute to its biggest star. Dolly Parton called the famous venue her spiritual home. It was where she made her name and where she will always be revered as the Queen of Country. No doubt Dolly's mark on the world and on us here at the Grand Ole Opry will be deeply felt for generations to come. She taught us to always lead with kindness, with generosity, with compassion. May her legacy live on through her songs, the lives she touched, and the countless artists she inspired. She first performed at the Opry at just 13. And for the next 60 years, it remained the stage she always wanted to return to. Nowhere will she be mourned more deeply than in Nashville, Tennessee. In the bars and clubs along Broadway. Her music filled the air as the artists she inspired. Paid the greatest tribute they could to a cultural icon. Her songs are woven into the soul of this place and its people. I grew up with her. She was very iconic. She'll be deeply missed. What was it about her that was so special? Her heart. Heart, soul, and to her music. She was a huge icon, especially for females, and so we're really feeling that loss right now. Very nice lady. You know, did a lot for the community, did a lot to help. Yeah, and she meant a lot. You know, she got some historic places around here, around Tennessee. Dolly Parton is the first music artist for whom the President of the United States has ordered flags across the nation to be flown at half-mast. The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville has become a place of mourning. When we landed yesterday, I just got the sad news. Dolly drew people to Nashville from around the world. Just an inspiration, just how she's always positive, just got a great attitude to life. Upsetting, really, because I've always grew up with her music, and it's crazy to just wake up in a world where she's a rare, because she's always been like a big part of my life, really. Few musical legends have been so universally loved. Dolly Parton was truly one of a kind. A woman whose humility and kindness transcended even the phenomenal success of her songs. But Debbie, the community there feeling the loss, really, of a legend, isn't she? Mary, it is hard to overstate how much Nashville meant to Dolly Parton and how much Dolly Parton means to Nashville. Her family had asked people not to lay floral tributes and to make charitable donations instead, but still people have felt compelled to come here to the Country Music Hall of Fame to do something physical with their grief. We've spoken to people from Australia, the UK, and, of course, from across America, and even those who say they weren't necessarily fans of country music have spoken in glowing terms about a woman who shared her success, who gave millions to local and global causes. Just this year, work began on a local homeless shelter she was funding in the That will now be another legacy of hers, too. This Saturday, the Grand Old Opry will dedicate a concert to her life. That will be an emotional tribute for a woman who many people have said that they believe was heaven sent. Debbie Edwards in Nashville, Tennessee, thank you. Dolly Parton was American, of course, through and through. An example, perhaps, of one of the most deserving people ever to achieve the rags-to-richest American dream. Her fame and her good work spread around the world, including here in the UK where her songs were hits, of course, but generations too young to know them still knew her for the books she provided and her quest for literacy everywhere. Our Northern England correspondent Rachel Townsend explores how Dolly made a difference here. It is no exaggeration to say that Dolly Parton helped millions of children around the world discover the joy of reading. Many of them were here in the UK and still today she is making her mark. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library ensures that every month from birth until a child is five, a new book arrives on their doorstep for free. We are very grateful for this idea. We are so happy for this and we will read every book each month. There's a lot of kids that won't get a book, especially when they're so young, when they can't ask for it, so just having them around, it just opens their eyes to it at such an early age. In this corner of Leeds, it means books reach families who might otherwise have gone without them. What does this library do for a community like this? It means everyone is equal and it means that books can get to children who might not otherwise be able to afford books. Families might not be able to afford books, their priority might be getting food on the table. But we know as a charity the importance of early reading and the more children can read, the more access they have to books at an early age, the better their life chances. It is a project she launched here in the UK in 2007, 12 years after introducing it in America. Motivated, she said, by her own father's illiteracy. A lot of my own family could not read nor write because we were country people and folks didn't get an opportunity for an education. My own father, for instance, inspired a lot of this because he couldn't read and write but was so smart, so intelligent. And I saw how crippling and limiting that can be though. So it is important to me that children know how to read because you can self-educate yourself if you can read. On that same visit, Dolly gave out cuddles too at Rotherham Hospital to baby Emma. Hey, here's your little book. It's The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Today, 19 years on, we caught up with Emma's father. The Tale of Peter Rabbit is now at the family's local nursery and needless to say, the visit from Dolly is a day he will never forget. In this bundle of energy, that's the only way I can describe her, a bundle of energy, Dolly Parton. And then sat on the edge of the bed, totally gobsmacked, thinking this just isn't happening. And then the look of horror as she took Emma, my daughter, out of her mum's arms and held her. And I can see her holding her now with her great big long fingernails there. Emma said, thinking, be careful, that's our bundle of joy. Last November, the Imagination Library sent out its 300 millionth book. It is a scheme hailed by many, including the Prime Minister. I was a huge fan of what Dolly did around literacy, around the world. I was culture secretary when her libraries were first coming through and the books that went into communities across Britain. You know, what a legacy to leave. And it was so moving to hear about her dad and how that experience made her want to give back so much. So, yeah, she leaves that legacy, as well as, obviously, great music that people will treasure forever. In Leeds, the programme only has enough money to fund a pilot. It has so far helped 100 children, but they'd love to help more. The feedback has been amazing. Families spending more time reading together, children looking forward to receiving the books. But there are thousands of children in this area that could benefit from it, but we need more funding. So, I mean, today, we've already had people donating because they've obviously been so moved by the passing of Dolly, which we're all devastated about. But, you know, if some good can come of that, I'm sure Dolly will be thrilled to know that more children in Leeds are getting books. Dolly Parton was a unifying figure, a global superstar who used her extraordinary fame for good, sharing the magic of books with those who needed it most. Rachel Townsend, ITV News.