Six days before her death, Dolly Parton received one of her final public honors. On August 19, during the 19th ACM Honors, she was presented with the ACM Poet’s Award for her extraordinary career as a songwriter. Although she did not attend in person, she sent a video message to thank them for the tribute.
In it, Dolly spoke about the importance music had throughout her life and said that songwriting had been “her therapy”, as well as a source of release and joy. For the artist, writing songs was always a way to express what she felt and connect with other people.
What is most striking is that, just days after receiving that honor, Dolly still had projects in development, including her highly anticipated Broadway musical, “DOLLY: A True Original Musical”. Thus, that message ended up being one of her final public tributes and was dedicated precisely to the music that shaped her life.
