TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay fans are remembering Dolly Parton after the country music icon died at the age of 80, including through a new mural at 1721 North Franklin Street in Tampa and a radio tribute on WMNF.
Artist Cam Parker said he finished the mural about two weeks ago. It depicts Parton sitting on a star in space with the words, “Dolly’s Outta This World”. In a post to Instagram, Parker said he wanted Parton to know, while she was still alive, how deeply she had affected people.
“I just really wanted, like, the nails, the shoes — those classic Dolly things. To me, that means Dolly,” Parker said.
Parker told Spectrum News he has loved Parton since childhood.
“Forever. The first time that I saw her was, like, on ‘Oprah’ or ‘Donahue’ or something with my grandmother, and I was, like, eight or nine,” Parker said. “I was like, ‘What is this? What am I watching right now?’ And it was the best.”
Parker said he tried to capture Parton’s style in the mural, including glitter details in the star, fringe and bodice. A time-lapse video he posted to Instagram shows the mural being created.
During the nine days he worked on the piece, Parker said people regularly stopped to talk about Parton and her music.
“Families, kids, older people, dogs — everybody was coming by and just really engaging with it,” Parker said. “All the nice construction guys that are working on the building next to us, while I was blasting my music out here (asked) ‘Who is that? What Dolly song is that? I love this.’”
At WMNF, the hosts of “Traffic Jam Tuesdays” dedicated part of their show to Parton. Hosts Lindalu Reisinger and Laurie Lu Berlin, known to listeners as “the Lulus,” played music and shared memories.
“My parents owned a bar, so I grew up in a bar, and Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton were always on the TV, and you could always see the rhinestone,” Reisinger said.
Reisinger said Parton’s philanthropy also made her stand out.
“She had Dollywood, which was a great economical asset to her area, plus all the books, the literacy, that she gave for these children,” Reisinger said.
Parker said he’s saddened by Parton’s death but that her life continues to offer inspiration.
“I truly don’t feel like she’s that girl that had a life of regrets,” Parker said.
Parton’s family announced her death on social media and asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.