Dolly Parton's impact on Long Island: Imagination Library, local performances and more

The metropolitan area isn’t exactly a country music stronghold, but Dolly Parton managed to make her presence felt on Long Island during her decades-long career.

Her concerts here were vanishingly rare. She played at the Nassau Coliseum in August of 1985, part of a dual show with Kenny Rogers. Though top-billed, her name came second — somewhat surprising given a successful Hollywood career that included "9 to 5," "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and her rom-com with Sylvester Stallone, "Rhinestone." A Newsday review at the time blasted Rogers as "predictable and smooth" but saved its praise for Parton.

"Lukewarm turned hot when Parton erupted on stage," wrote the reviewer, "wrapped up tight in a cream-colored dress with silver trim, with her absolutely blonde wig as the cherry atop the sundae, figuratively speaking." She and Rogers performed their duet "Real Love," a top 20 single at the time.

Her only other local concert was at Queens' Forest Hills Stadium in 2016. "I’ve got a lot of things to do. I hope to see my life story on Broadway as a musical," she told Newsday's Glenn Gamboa at the time. That dream is becoming a reality as "Dolly: A True Original Musical" is set to open at the St. James Theatre on Jan. 19, what would have been her 81st birthday. Parton produced and wrote the book and music for the show.

Parton died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, her publicist told The Associated Press. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Parton also touched — if very indirectly — the Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library with a philanthropic program. In 1995, she launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program, which sends children from birth through age 5 a free new book in the mail each month. (The program was inspired by her father, a Tennessee tobacco farmer who never learned to read.) The program coordinates book choices and negotiates wholesale book prices, while local partners are responsible for the cost of the postage and the books themselves. In 2023, the Cutchogue library joined the program and raised at least $7,000 for one year.

"I thought it was an amazing thing that all kids in the district will have a full library at the end of five years," Robin Sweeny, then president of a local group that helped raise the funds, told The Suffolk Times. "It was probably one of the more expensive things we signed on for, but it’s still a bargain when you think of every kid, so we’re pretty excited about it." (The Wyandanch Union Free School District also partnered with Parton’s program last year, according to its website.)

Parton took a left turn, career-wise, that put her in close contact with two of Long Island’s most iconic entertainers. Parton’s unexpected, electrified album "Rockstar" (2023) found her collaborating with rock ‘n’ rollers such as Debbie Harry, Nikki Sixx, Rob Halford and surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Parton also teamed up with Long Beach’s Joan Jett for a version of her 1988 top 10 single "I Hate Myself For Loving You" and joined Babylon’s Pat Benatar on a cover of her 1979 top 20 hit "Heartbreaker."

Mindy Smith, a Nesconset-raised singer-songwriter now based in Nashville, credits Parton with helping launch her career. Smith chose to cover Parton’s "Jolene" for a 2003 tribute album, "Just Because I’m a Woman," that also included tracks by Alison Krauss, Norah Jones and Emmylou Harris. Smith’s version helped her land a record deal, she said, and Parton not only performed with her a number of times but appeared in her music video for the song.

"She was generous, kind — and honestly, it still stumps me to this day that it ever happened and that I got to know her like I did," Smith said. "She was so down to earth and genuine, like a real angel on this earth."

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com