On Tuesday, the music world said goodbye to beloved country star Dolly Parton. Representatives of the “Jolene” singer confirmed to People that she died at the age of 80 after a brief battle with cancer.
The impact of Parton’s work, both personally and professionally, was immediate as figures from various industries paid homage to her across social media. This includes WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, who described the late icon as an “angel walking among us” in a heartfelt tribute penned on Instagram.
According to Foley, Parton emerged as his first childhood crush in 1973, when he was just eight years old. Foley also once cited Parton as the person he’d most like to meet. Unfortunately, the wrestling legend never got to turn that dream into a reality.
I never did get that opportunity to meet her, but in talking to a handful of people who had the good fortune of knowing her, they all said the same thing: she was everything you could ever hope she’d be…and more,” Foley wrote.
Was there a more universally beloved performer on the planet? She was a legend in country music, but she was bigger than the genre, bigger than music itself… she was more than an entertainer; she seemed to be an angel walking among us. When I purchased my first Dolly Parton cassette – her greatest hits in 1978 – I knew the words to almost every one of those songs by heart. As soon as I put the final period on this little tribute, I will go to YouTube and I will search out the songs I loved so much as a child; songs that still hold a special place in my heart all these years later: ‘The Bargain Store’, ‘Jolene’, ‘The Seeker’, ‘Coat of Many Colors’, ‘Love is Like a Butterfly’, and so many others.
Among Parton’s later music releases, Foley noted her covers of “Where do the Children Play” and “Stairway to Heaven” particularly touched his heart. He also enjoyed Parton’s memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business, so much so that he read it twice.
The former WWE Champion and current AEW personality went on to associate Parton with “instant sainthood,” meaning that despite living in a divided nation, she cemented herself as a universally loved human.
“I will always love you. #RIPDolly,” Foley added.
