Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Dies At 80; Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) Is Interviewed About Dolly Parton's Legacy. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 25, 2026 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Thanks so much to all of you for joining us to share your reflections. Thanks to all of you at home for watching. CNN's coverage of the life and legacy of Dolly Parton continues next. "The Lead" is anchor today by Phil Mattingly.

[17:00:36]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper. We start with breaking news in our Pop Culture Lead. Words that we, to be honest, dread to say, legendary country music artist and philanthropist Dolly Parton died today at the age of 80. We are seeing an outpour of condolences, heartache, gratitude from all corners of the music industry, all walks of life around the globe.

None of this reaction, of course, should be a surprise because Dolly Parton was one of the rare public figures who managed to transcend the steep divisions of politics and culture. President Trump announced -- he's ordered U.S. flags lowered to half-staff throughout the country beginning at 6:00 p.m. tonight for one week in honor of Dolly Parton.

And this hour we will focus on her legacy, one that is almost too big to comprehend because Dolly Parton was so many things. A songwriter, an artist, a philanthropist, a businesswoman, a family woman, an actress and a charming, bubbly, quick witted personality who captured millions of hearts. She was also smart as hell and all of that legacy she built from nothing.

Dolly Parton grew up in a self-described dirt poor Tennessee mountain home, the fourth of 12 children with a father who did not know how to read. But her home was filled with love. She wore that coat of many colors her mama made for her and she learned to play the guitar her uncle gave her. From there after high school, she moved to Nashville, met her husband Carl and signed a record deal in 1965. She turned that coat from her mother into the basis of a hit song.

(MUSIC)

MATTINGLY: And she was a songwriting factory churning out a powerhouse lineup of songs over the course of her career, including "9 to 5" and "Jolene". And of course, she also wrote "I Will Always Love You," a stunningly beautiful and honest ballad.

(MUSIC)

MATTINGLY She even turned down Elvis Presley's request to cover that song because his manager wanted a stake in her publishing rights. Smart as hell. As I was saying, that savvy business move paid off years later when the song became a mega hit thanks to a cover by Whitney Houston.

Dolly Parton was one of the most successful crossover artists of all time, 11 Grammys induction into the Country Music and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And while she thought of herself as a songwriter first, the impact of her philanthropy will resonate for decades to come. She used her father's illiteracy as inspiration forming her Imagination Library, which has grown into one of the premier early literacy efforts and book giving programs in the world.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, she personally stepped in to help fund the development of the Moderna vaccine and donated $1 million to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University. Now all of that speaks volumes about who Dolly Parton was as a person. But even more importantly, she was kind. Those who knew her, worked with her, interviewed her, simply encountered her on a street, everyone said she treated people with respect. It made them feel special.

Plus, there was no such thing as a boring conversation with Dolly Parton because it always included her signature Tennessee twang laugh and over the top look that she says was inspired by the town tramp when she was young.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON, MUSICIAN AND ACTRESS: And I thought she was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. And whoever I was with said, oh, she ain't nothing but trash. And I make the joke and I would say, well, that's what I'm going to be when I grow up, meaning that's how I want to look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: In the video announcing Parton's death, her nephew Bryan Seaver said Dolly told him she would like to be laid to rest on a bed of cotton, quote, "Because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest." We agree.

Rest easy, Dolly.

Well, joining us now, Allison Moorer, the curator of the Dolly exhibit on right now at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Allison, I really appreciate your time. I want to get to the unique perspective you can share here in a moment. But first, just your reaction to the news that I don't think anybody wanted to hear or really expected.

[17:05:08] ALLISON MOORER, CURATOR, DOLLY PARTON: JOURNEY OF A SEEKER EXHIBIT: My reaction, I was surprised. I knew that Dolly was not doing well. But I think I, like everyone else, never expected her to leave us. And now that she has, we're all incredibly sad. But I think we're all filled up with what she left, which was an enormous catalog of incredible songs and a legacy of philanthropy and love and hope and kindness that really affected the world.

MATTINGLY: We're showing viewers a video of your exhibit. What story or artifacts surprised you as you were putting together this tribute to her life?

MOORER: Oh, gosh, there's so many. I got to hold the handwritten lyrics to "Jolene," for instance, which I'll never get over. Her Kennedy Center honor. She's a member of both the Country Music and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame. Her costumes were just glorious.

And getting to be up next to those costumes, you know, Dolly said herself what makes her clothes special was that she wore them. Just everything about her was sparkly and shiny. But what is -- what sticks with me is her enormous heart and her incredible ability to see people and make people feel seen. Her empathy outweighed all of the other gifts, because the truth is, as a songwriter, empathy is the most important quality you can have.

MATTINGLY: The exhibit is titled Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker. Explain to our audience why is it named that.

MOORER: Dolly wrote a song called "The Seeker," and it really summed up her personality for me. And in her words, she said, when we talked to her about this exhibition, she said that she loved the title because she had always been a seeker in every way, in her spiritual life and her professional life and her personal life. In her words, she was always trying to find another mountain to climb.

MATTINGLY: What were your conversations with her like? Talking to people who know her, who worked with her, who have just had one conversation with her, there's always some extraordinary anecdote. And to your point, everybody seems to feel so personally connected just based on our conversation with her. What were yours like?

MOORER: Well, it was always funny. She was always going to come with a joke. I did a photo shoot with her once. And I had -- I was wearing some clothes that the magazine had brought to the shoot, and Dolly was commenting on them, and she said, well, I always wear my own things because I'm shapes the odd. So it was always something funny with her.

She had a tremendous wit, tremendous intelligence and kindness and joy and happiness, and she radiated all the beauty and all the wonderful feelings that you want to feel. She was very warm.

MATTINGLY: Can you -- her intellect, I think sometimes, and I'm married to a Tennessean, so you can see it sometimes with Southerners where they put on a facade where they can kind of fool people into thinking like, oh, this is just, you know, somebody who doesn't really -- just backwoods or country doesn't understand. Like, she was very clearly very smart and very savvy and probably is an underappreciated element of her extraordinary career. Did you see that?

MOORER: Absolutely. There's so many things about Dolly that she was in charge of that you would never dream. She was an incredible businesswoman. She had an incredible business mind. She was super sharp and super quick.

You couldn't get by -- as she said, you couldn't get one by her. And she would say things like, if I don't like it -- if I don't like where you got it, I can tell you where to put it. But, you know, I think what will stand out with Dolly Parton is, again, her empathy, her kindness, her ability to see people, but also how she never forgot where she came from. And people say that, but she really didn't.

She -- you know, it all started at home for her. She started the imaginary library just in her home county of Sevier County. And today, the imaginary -- The Imagination Library delivers 2 million books a month. And it's grown into a global program. She just would see something that needed to be done, and instead of waiting on someone else to do it, she did it.

[17:10:02]

MATTINGLY: Yes. What's been so interesting in -- you know, you go to East Tennessee, and like that's Dolly Parton, right? Not just because Dollywood is the largest employer in that, but like, everything. You go down to Tennessee, it feels like everything is touched by it. But it's also -- I mean, there's millions of books going to kids, the vast majority of whom probably have no idea where it's coming from.

Which on some level felt like the point. Like, she didn't want to make a big show of what she was doing or the kind of structures that she put into place philanthropically that she would claim, like, didn't have a grand plan behind them and yet are still in place, grew exponentially over years. In touch such critical components, all of which seemed to seed from how she grew up or maybe some of the inadequacies that she had as a child. Like, how did -- like, how did she explain. Did she talk about that with you?

I'm always interested in kind of how she was thinking through these things.

MOORER: She did not ever -- she didn't talk about that with me, certainly. And I -- from what I perceived, I -- again, I saw that Dolly was someone who paid attention. Her home was where her heart was, for sure. Just the things that she did for her employees at Dollywood, she would pay for college education. She paid for hospitals in her home community.

She gave a million dollars to -- toward the COVID-19 vaccine. She gave a million dollars to the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital because her niece got treatment there. She had -- she gave relief to East Tennessee families that were affected by the wildfires and -- fires and then the floods. And she just did it without any fanfare at all. People would just get $1,000 a month in their bank account for six months to help recover from the wildfires.

She just did it without considering the reasons why she couldn't.

MATTINGLY: She was -- you never want to meet your heroes or hear about your heroes because they're never as good as they seem to be publicly. And she's seen --

MOORER: Yes, they are.

MATTINGLY: -- everyone you talk to like she's -- she was better. She was even better.

Allison Moorer, I'm so grateful for your time and for sharing your perspective. I know this is a difficult day for everyone, but it's so invaluable. Thank you very much.

MOORER: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: And we have much more ahead on the death of Dolly Parton at the age of 80. What we know about her health struggles in recent months as she publicly put on a brave face.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:59]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARTON: You know, I write a lot of songs when I don't have my guitar. You know, I beat around on the dashboard in my car when I'm riding around writing songs. But then I have a little rhythm that we can do with these acrylic nails. Can you do that?

PATTI LABELLE, SINGER: Yes.

PARTON: Oh, good. You want to play a little song for them?

LABELLE: OK.

PARTON: Get up close to your microphone. We're mic'd right down in here. Get up -- get up close to them. OK.

LABELLE: That's cute.

PARTON: Can you hear that?

LABELLE: See, we did plan this, but we didn't know how it was going to sound.

PARTON: No, we were planning --

LABELLE: Sound really cute.

PARTON: -- to see if we could do something like, Mama's little children love shortnin', shortnin', Mama's little children love shortnin' bread. Mama, little children love shortening, shortnin', Mama's little children love shortnin' bread.

Play it, Patti.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: The nail duet, an iconic scene there with Dolly Parton and Patti LaBelle, of course. This is on Dolly's 1987 variety show called "Dolly." The superstars using their acrylic nails to accompany the old song "Shortnin' Bread."

Well, just four days ago, Dolly Parton opened up to People magazine about her ongoing health issues that stemmed from neglecting her own care while looking after her late husband, Carl Dean, who died last year. I want to bring in CNN entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister.

Elizabeth, that was just days ago. What more do we know here?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Look, Dolly has spoken to her fans in recent months about her health issues. We know that she had to cancel some of her performances and that she backed out of some recent appearances. But as you said, Phil, just four days ago, not even a week ago, she spoke to People magazine, and she acknowledged that she had neglected some of her own health issues. I want to read you exactly what she said so we could hear it in her words, because this is her last known interview before her death today.

She said, quote, "I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn't pay attention to when I was watching over Carl." Carl being Carl Dean, her husband who passed away last year. She goes on to say, "You know, this isn't the first time I've had to manage something like this. Back in the early '80s, I was down for several months with female issues and I was struggling with my weight at the time, too. So it's not like I haven't been through hard times with my health.

I'm still working. You know me, as I've often said, I've dreamed myself into a corner and I still have so many things I want to achieve. So I'm going to keep on working as long as I can to see everything come to life."

You know, hearing those words from Dolly herself just four days ago, Phil, it's really heartbreaking when she said that she still had so much more that she wanted to do. And of course, an incredible life 80 years. But 80 years is 80 years too young for the loss of Dolly Parton, who will leave an indelible mark on this world.

MATTINGLY: No question about that. Elizabeth Wagmeister, as always, my friend, thank you very much.

[17:19:37]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Well, Dolly Parton, the fourth of 12 children, releasing 49 albums, winning 11 Grammys, becoming one of the most successful country crossover stars of all time. But she was so much more than a singer. Much more of her incredible life and career next.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPUD JONES, CHARACTER, "STEEL MAGNOLIAS" MOVIE: Thing like this just doesn't make any sense. No sense at all.

TRUVY JONES, CHARACTER, "STEEL MAGNOLIAS" MOVIE: I just keep thinking about what a nail says. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

S. JONES: What the hell's this for?

T. JONES: It makes you pretty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: A classic scene there with Dolly Parton alongside Sam Shepard in the, of course, 1989 movie "Steel Magnolias," one of the many films classics Parton starred in over her legendary lifetime.

[17:25:07]

Well, off screen Dolly Parton was also a big name in the world of books. She made her mark, of course, with her nonprofit organization called Imagination Library. The group says it has sent more than 300 million books to children in rural and impoverished communities around the world. Parton also dabbled in fiction writing herself and had the chance to write with the Thrill author James Patterson. Their book "Run Rose, Run" depicts a young woman trying to make it in the country music business. CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with the two about the plot in 2022.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: How did the collaboration work? Because obviously there's a lot of expertise about coming up as a songwriter and performer and about Nashville that you had that he did not.

PARTON: Well, he's such a good storyteller. He created a whole lot of things that I really truly related to because I relate to both the main female characters in the book. The early girl was me here in Nashville. Her backstory was a bit different, but trying to make it kind of putting up with the snakes in the grass. And I knew exactly both of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Dolly Parton also spoke with Jake about moving to Nashville and her early days in the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARTON: Old trapped car. My bedroom was the back seat. My uncle's bedroom was the front seat. So we'd come back and forth. That's before I moved here.

That's -- I started coming in and out of Nashville from the time I was 10 years old.

TAPPER: What would you tell your younger self?

PARTON: Well, that's a tricky question. It was my dream to do it, but I would just probably, looking back, I would just say, girl, you better buckle up because this is -- you're in for the ride of your life. You're going to have to take a lot of stuff, you're going to have to give a lot of stuff and you're going to have to, you know, stand by your guns, believe in yourself, stay true to yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, a sit down interview with those two entertainment icons was a big deal in and of itself. But Dolly Parton also gave Jake a tour of her Nashville area music studio. Here's some of that unedited video first here on The Lead.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PARTON: Well, of course, this was from my very first movie. This is the Platinum digital single sales here, the "9 to 5." So we got some of everything. These are just -- this is not my museum, but these are just pieces of things that we have in our office. So we've got some of all the albums that we've done.

TAPPER: I saw that movie in theater. That's a great movie.

PARTON: Oh, yes. It was fun, yes.

TAPPER: I loved it. Jane Fonda, you, Lily Tomlin --

PARTON: Yes.

TAPPER: -- Dabney Coleman.

PARTON: Yes, that was like 41, 42 years ago.

JAMES PATTERSON, AUTHOR: Yes. That one (inaudible) --

PARTON: Can you believe that?

TAPPER: It was a great movie.

PARTON: Yes.

TAPPER: Which -- but the song -- and you just were inspired to write the song based on the screenplay?

PARTON: Yes. Well, actually, when I made my deal, I -- my deal, because I was country (inaudible), right? As my first movie, part of my deal was that I got to write the song. On the set I worked doing, can you hear my nails? Just your mic right there.

And I wrote it kind of sound like a typewriter.

TAPPER: That's good.

PARTON: And I only said I would do work in 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'. So every day I'd see something on the set. So I would -- and years later, I met the wonderful Kenny Rogers. We had a lot of great duets together.

TAPPER: You write in your autobiography about the chemistry and the love affair that you need to have with somebody, even if you're not physically manifesting.

PARTON: Yes.

TAPPER: But there needs to be something there.

PARTON: Oh, there has to be passion. And we had that. We never had a love affair, but it was close. Not really, because it was that great energy that we had, you know, that similar in our humor. And so --

PATTERSON: Ballad and the raptors (ph).

PARTON: Well, yes, this. Danny's got pictures mixed in with all the things. My manager Danny knows I worked with so many people. But then here's when she --

TAPPER: Oh, yes.

PARTON: -- Whitney Houston, did "I Will Always Love You." That was a big hit with me for sure. She did a great job of that from the "Bodyguard."

TAPPER: Yes. How did that happen? Because Kevin Costner was a fan and --

PARTON: Well, he -- they had really had another song that they had planned to use in that spot, and somebody else covered it. So they were all of a sudden needing a song immediately.

TAPPER: Yes.

PARTON: And I guess Kevin and his secretary both loved that song. And he said, well, let's get "I Will Always Love You" and the rest is history.

TAPPER: That's great.

PARTON: Thank God for that one.

TAPPER: I like your version better, though.

PARTON: Oh, well, I like her version better.

TAPPER: Do you, really?

PARTON: Yes, she made more money than -- for me than I did. TAPPER: OK, that makes sense.

PARTON: Yes, I liked it. Oh, goodness.

TAPPER: No, see, I remember -- I remember this cover because I remember Hugh Hefner offered you, at the time, it seemed like an unbelievable amount of money, a million dollars to post naked in Playboy, right?

PARTON: About to post naked. I did a good article. This was like risque for me. But when I was 75, when I did a -- well, I'm 75 this -- now, and my husband turned 78, so I dressed up in my bunny suit and I recreated this.

TAPPER: I saw it.

PARTON: Yes.

TAPPER: It was a -- you did in like an Instagram or something.

PARTON: Yes, I don't know. But they don't have a Playboy cover anymore.

TAPPER: Yes.

PARTON: The magazine is not. But anyway, so -- yes, that was a fun thing. It was a good article.

[17:30:01]

TAPPER: Yes, they got something. They didn't get the nude photo, but they got something.

PARTON: No, I wasn't going to go there. My daddy would roll over and mop the floor.

TAPPER: Well, this is very cool. And what are these over here?

PARTON: Well, these are some of the outfits that I've worn on tour when I started working with Danny Nozell, who was my tour manager to start, and he's been my manager. But these are just some of the outfits that I've worn on stage on tours that I've been on.

TAPPER: I heard, somebody told me that you have never worn the same outfit twice.

PARTON: Well, that's a lie. I'm too cheap for that. I even not only don't wear them over and over, if they're long gowns, I'll shorten them and wear them on stage.

TAPPER: OK. Well, there's a lot of legends about you.

PARTON: Well, a lot of people have said that, and a lot of women don't wear the same outfit twice. But I'm thrifty. I'm too cheap for those shenanigans.

TAPPER: That's great.

PARTON: You have beautiful teeth, by the way.

TAPPER: Oh, you're very kind. Thank you so much. Well, that was wonderful. I really appreciate your generosity of time. Both of you, thank you so much.

PARTON: Yes. Thank you.

TAPPER: It was such an honor to meet you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Celebrities are flooding social media with their tributes to Dolly Parton, many with personal stories, personal moments with the superstar. Singer Kacey Musgraves helped honor Dolly Parton with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2019.

Today, Musgraves said, "The world feels a lot less sparkly all of the sudden and so glad she's with Carl Dean," of course, Dolly's late husband. Singer and actress Reba McEntire called Parton her, "buddy," writing, Dolly, thank you for all the wonderful things you did for us here on Earth. Her post went on to say, thank you, Lord, for Dolly. She's going to have a blast in heaven singing all her favorite songs with all her family and friends who have gone before her. I'll never forget the first time I met you, and I'll never forget our last conversation. I hold it with love in my heart. I will always love you, Reba.

Dionne Warwick, a legendary singer herself, posting a photo of herself and Dolly on the set of their "Peace Like a River" music video with the caption, I will certainly miss her laughter, jokes, and her being. Rest well and in total peace, my friend. My heart is heavy. Parton's 9 to 5 co-star Lily Tomlin posted to X calling her friend and songwriter and the great harmonizer of humanity.

Well, next I'll speak with one of the last artists to work with Dolly Parton before she passed away. We're back in a moment.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

[17:37:07]

MATTINGLY: That was the artist Belles who told "People Magazine" her, "wildest dreams came true when Dolly Parton teamed up with her on a song titled "Son of Jolene," one of the last artists to work with Dolly Parton. Belles joins me now.

I really appreciate your time. I guess just to start your reaction today, we were talking during the break. I was just watching the video you posted on your social media. The two of you sitting there, Dolly Parton giving you career advice, which is just like remarkable. But how -- what's your kind of, how are you feeling today?

BELLES, COUNTRY MUSIC ARTIST: Yes, I mean, it's definitely, you know, heartbreaking, devastating news. Dolly has had more of an impact on my life than I can even express. I, you know, I'm just kind of a girl from Nebraska, grew up loving Dolly and never in a million years thought moving to Nashville that I would get to meet with her and work with her on a song. It's just been incredible. And today I was actually doing a radio interview talking about the song and talking about how much I love Dolly when the news broke. So it's definitely surreal for sure.

MATTINGLY: Can you recount like how this actually came to be? Because I don't think when you initially sat down to write it, you were thinking that this would turn into something that you would actually, you know, be shooting a video or have her on the song with you. How did it reach this point?

BELLES: Yes, absolutely not. I wrote this song. I was on tour in my opening act. His mom's name was Jolene. So I got this idea to write this song about the "Son of Jolene." And I wrote this that next week with two of my best friends in Nashville. And it was actually my publisher who got the song to Dolly's longtime producer Kent Wells.

And Kent played the song for Dolly and it turns out that she loved the song so much that she wanted to sing on it and be a part of it with me, which was totally crazy and changed my life in so many ways.

MATTINGLY: What do you want people to remember about Dolly Parton's impact not just on you, but on country music writ large?

BELLES: You know, I think what's really been hitting me today is just her generosity in so many ways. Even just sharing her voice and her talents with me, this girl she didn't even really know just because she loved the song and she liked the songwriting and so many of her foundations. And I just am the biggest Dolly fan and I just think her generosity is just unlike anyone else in this world, truly.

MATTINGLY: Belles, I really appreciate your time. I know this is a tough day for everybody. I would highly recommend folks go watch this video of Dolly Parton giving music advice to a younger artist. It's just remarkable and says everything about her. Thank you so much for your time.

BELLES: Thank you for having me.

MATTINGLY: I want to bring in now Tennessee Republican Congresswoman Diane Harshbarger, who represents the 1st District, home to Dollywood and to Pigeon Forge. Congresswoman, I really appreciate your time. Just your reaction today when you heard of Dolly Parton's passing.

[17:40:05]

REP. DIANA HARSHBARGER (R-TN): Well, we lost a superstar, but we lost one of our own. And when you say the iconic name Dolly, everybody in East Tennessee knows who you're speaking about and it's a sad day because she never forgot where she came from and she never forgot where her roots are and that's right here in the 1st District of Tennessee in Sevier County.

MATTINGLY: One of the things I was telling you during the break, my wife's from Tennessee, we've done the pilgrimage with our kids to Dollywood, which, by the way, is amazing. As a parent of four children, I don't often say trips anywhere are amazing, but it's absolutely worth it.

A lot of people like to say that they don't forget where they're from or they care about where they're from. You go to East Tennessee and like every -- she touched everything. Explain to people what that meant to the community.

HARSHBARGER: Well, she took a little theme park and it was Silver Dollar City. That's what I remember when I grew up and she turned that into a theme park where people from around the world would come and it opened it up to 23,000 jobs and 1.8 billion in economic impact in our community, in her hometown. It just -- she's helped in so many ways.

If you remember the wildfires in Gatlinburg in 2016, she started a fund for those and gave people $1,000 a month for six months with no questions asked if you lost your home. And she helped with Hurricane Helene that devastated this district and she showed up with a million- dollar check. The woman just -- she kept giving and she still has relatives that live there.

I was at a moonshine run a couple of weeks ago with Richard Petty and Dolly Parton's niece and the moonshiners and I'm like, you just -- these people know who she is. They know what kind of person she is. She sounds like me. We're both from East Tennessee, for goodness sakes, and you can't change who we are. That's just what it is. It's Tennessee values and if anything she was so apolitical.

She did not want to be on one side or the other and that made people love her and being genuine and authentic, people gravitated toward her and they loved her and she was an icon then, she'll be an icon now and I just hate that we've lost her but you can't forget Dolly no matter what. So she's in a much better place with her husband now and she sang a lot of songs about her faith and we'll just -- we'll miss her.

MATTINGLY: There's no question. To your point, I always said the most amazing thing about her and there's like 700, a list of 700 things that would be on the list of amazing things about her, was her ability to transcend the kind of the moment culturally, the moment politically.

Even today in the world that you and I live in when you're down in Washington, I don't know that I remember a moment where everyone was on the same exact page just wanting to remember an icon and sharing regardless of where you're from or who you support or any of that type of stuff. Everyone loved Dolly. Why do you think that was?

HARSHBARGER: Well because she remained true to who she was. She was genuine. She was a genuine person. She was authentic as all get out and nothing could sway her. She loved the people from her community and she wanted to take care of everybody and the stories, you know, I grew up watching her with Porter Wagoner on the Grand Ole Opry and on the Porter Wagoner show and I knew her as Dolly with the short hair before all the wigs and things.

And, you know, it's funny that she grew up so poor and I can relate to that, you know, personally and in the people in my district, there's so many good salt of the earth people here and she loved them and she'll always be remembered by these people no matter what. But if you're genuine and you're authentic I'm telling you, people will gravitate towards you. And if you're honest and if you do help, you know, that's the way we should be in Congress for heaven's sakes. Don't throw bombs, don't call names.

You got to work with people for the common good and that's what she did. She didn't ask you where you were from or what color you were or how much money you had. She helped you and that's what we all ought to strive to do.

MATTINGLY: Never forgot where she was from and very clearly never wanted to. Republican Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger from Tennessee, thank you so much for sharing your memories.

HARSHBARGER: Yes sir, my pleasure.

[17:44:33]

MATTINGLY: We want to show you the scene outside Dolly Parton's home right now in Brentwood, Tennessee. A memorial to the queen of country music is growing. We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARTON: For 23 years we've had this program going. But it's only been in the last several years that it's done so great. But the fact that we have kids that are in college now or kids that are married and have little kids of their own now it's really amazing to, you know, get a letter from somebody like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That was legendary, philanthropists and musicians put legendary in front of like 15 different things. That's Dolly Parton talking about the legacy of her children's literacy program at the Library of Congress in 2018. The Imagination Library gifts free books to children around the world inspired by her father's inability to read.

My panel joins me now. We were just talking. This wasn't necessarily what everybody planned to be talking about on a national cable news show. And yet what's so remarkable about her, Mike Dubke, is that the kind of unified response today of transcending the usual politics and cultural B.S. and all that type of stuff. Why?

[17:50:07]

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Left and right. Well, I -- so my wife, I told her I was going in and talking. As a boy from Buffalo, I was indoctrinated with steel magnolias because my wife's from Kentucky. So that's part of this. But she, you know, she had a line, and I don't know if she stole this or where she got this from, but she said Dolly Parton built institutions. She didn't just lend her name to any charity.

So the Imagination Library, my son who's down in Arkansas said, you got to talk about that, Dad. I mean, she really crossed all the lines, and it was nonpartisan. So the institution she built, she very much, I think, was conscious about keeping the politics out of it. And the poll numbers, again, I'm a "Politico," so I was looking this up. Her fave, unfave, she was a plus 65. She was the only public persona in America to score over 50 percent. That's crazy. That's nuts.

I mean, most of the politicians you interview would die for those numbers. So she is -- she just really crossed all the lines here, and everyone had a good feeling about her. As we were joking, there were 5 percent that had an unfavorable rating of her, and we are going to fine those people.

MATTINGLY: We need to get rid of them. They don't -- whatever their issues are, like, they need to figure out a way to deal with them. Kurt, you've got the Daily Country Music tip sheet, Morning Hangover. Talk to people about Dolly Parton's legacy in country music. I feel like she infused everything at this point.

KURT BARDELLA, CO-HOST, POLITICON'S "PARTY LINES": Yes, and again, it's so vast because you have the artistry of it, the longevity of her career, the relevancy that spanned four, five, six decades of Dolly Parton. The way that she's mentored the next generation of country music artists, especially female artists. She has invested in Lainey Wilson, in the Ella Langleys, in the Kelsea Ballerinis.

All these new artists, one that you had on earlier, Belles, who just did a song, a sequel to Jolene, if you will. That level of input from someone who is so respected, who even established stars with Grammy's on her shelves, gets starstruck when she walks in the door and she always went out of her way to try to pave the way for that next generation of artists. You don't see that often time where the old veterans, if you will, really give a crap about the next guys coming up.

They see them as competition. They try to hold them back. They want to take your spot. She never did that. She was the most approachable, inviting, kind. They always say never meet your heroes, but in country music with Dolly Parton, she's that exception because she is exactly how you would hope she would be in real life.

It's not an act. It's not a gimmick. It's authentic, and that's why she's so widely beloved for the sociopathic 5 percent of people.

MATTINGLY: We have issues with that. We're going to find those people. Scott, Dolly Parton won the Kennedy Center Award in 2006. One of the most prestigious lifetime achievement awards ever. The Kennedy Center, dealing with some stuff right now, I think, to say the least. When I think about it, though, Dolly Parton, that award transcends whatever's happening right now. Is that fair? SCOTT MACFARLANE, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, MEIDASTOUCH NETWORK: It was 20 years ago. It feels like a lifetime ago.

MATTINGLY: Was it really 20 years ago?

MACFARLANE: When you talk about the Kennedy Center, it feels like several lifetimes ago because it was a different moment where that was a distinctively unifying thing. She was side by side with Steven Spielberg. She was introduced by Reba McEntire and Reese Witherspoon, who at the time was on top of the world with "Walk the Line," the movie, and it was a celebration of the person devoid of politics. It would be wonderful to get back to the Kennedy Center devoid of politics.

And Mike, you mentioned that she's unifying. I couldn't agree more, and it was exemplified today, Phil, when the Republican governor of Ohio and the Democratic governor of Kentucky both lowered their flags in honor of Dolly Parton. And here in Washington, we've all spent time on the Hill, she was invoked for so many legislative efforts, including music tourism, to support that, to champion that, on secondary ticket sales to crack down on that, and even music licensing.

They invoked her experience with "I'll Always Love You" as she made more money than Whitney Houston made covering it. Maybe they've got to readjust the economics of that. Both were deserving. She was invoked a lot, I think, because both parties thought she was a North Star.

MATTINGLY: Kurt, you wrote an opinion piece back in '20s, I actually remember this, like your conversion to becoming a late-in-life country music fan. I think that passed around a lot of text messages back in the day. You said the energy, kind of what country music brings to things. Her role in that, but also just, like, the genre itself. Explain your affinity for it.

BARDELLA: Yes, there is a vibrancy and authenticity and a uniquely positive energy. I remember the first concert I ever went to in 2010. I walked in, had never been to a country music concert in my life, had not spent more than five seconds with country music at all, and I was blown away, because you could have people from all demographics, religions, socioeconomic statuses, political beliefs, demographics, family lineage coming together and singing a song in unison that somehow connects with them.

And I think the things that Dolly wrote about, sang about, wrote songs for other people, it was a universal language, because it was a storytelling device that is uniquely American, and that's why I think country music is so special in this country. It is a uniquely American genre, and Dolly was the best ambassador of that that we could ever hope for.

[17:55:09]

MATTINGLY: A remarkably talented songwriter. Thank you all. I know this wasn't necessarily what we planned on talking about today, but this was talking about a person this great. It was absolutely worth it.

Well, coming up, one of Dolly Parton's former personal assistants will join us with her special memories.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:59:46]

MATTINGLY: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly in for Jake Tapper. We are following sad breaking news tonight. Legendary musician and philanthropist, Dolly Parton, has died at the age of 80. Her family says she passed away peacefully today at her home in Nashville after a career that spanned decades, philanthropy that touched millions, and a charisma that made her one of the most unifying and beloved stars.