Dolly Parton wasn’t just the queen of country music. The title was too small for her five-foot frame.
She could be at the Grand Ole Opry and then walk onto a Hollywood soundstage alongside actresses Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. She wrote her own songs, starred in movies, built companies, gave away millions of books, launched a theme park and wore wigs bigger than some careers.
Parton was something rarer than a superstar: a celebrity everyone loved. In America. To suggest.
That’s the real legacy the Smoke Mountain Songbird has left behind after her death last week at the age of 80.
But anyone can Real Replace Dollie?
Music industry sources tell me the knives are out in Nashville, as the entourage of established stars jostles with the assets of newcomers.
Shania Twain broke down the walls of the country. Carrie Underwood has the voice. Miranda Lambert has credibility. Ella Langley has the momentum. But those in the know agree they can’t praise Parton.
Dolly Parton wasn’t just the queen of country music. The title was too small for her five-foot frame
She could be standing at the Grand Ole Opry and then walking onto a Hollywood soundstage alongside actresses Jane Fonda (left) and Lily Tomlin (right)
An obvious answer is Taylor Swift.
She started out as a teenage songwriter from Nashville. Country became country-pop, then pop, then stadium culture. Like Parton, Swift stopped belonging to a genre long ago.
On paper, Swift has everything needed to fill Parton’s shoes: country roots, songwriting credibility, business instincts, crossover appeal and global fame.
“Taylor is the only woman alive who comes close to Dolly’s combination of songwriting, business power and global reach,” a veteran Nashville executive tells me before offering the pointed caveat: “But Dolly made people forget their politics.” Taylor brings politics into the room.”
Precisely.
Swift endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024 and has made no secret of her disdain for Donald Trump. So Swift can kiss her Dolly crown goodbye.
Parton understood something that almost no celebrity understands anymore: why express an opinion about politics and risk alienating half your audience?
She has refused to become the property of either tribe for decades, turning down the Presidential Medal of Freedom three times: twice from Trump, for personal and Covid-related reasons, and later from Joe Biden because she worried that accepting it after rejecting Trump would appear partisan.
As Parton put it, “I learned a long time ago: Keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business… I’m not in politics, I’m an entertainer.”
Beyoncé is also part of the conversation.
Her country turn reinforces something Parton has proven for decades: genres become more interesting when someone opens the doors. Cowboy Carter made history, the supporting tour grossed over $400 million, making it the highest-grossing country road show ever, and the record itself won best country album. And Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
On paper, Swift has everything it takes to fill Parton’s shoes: country roots, songwriting credibility, business instincts, crossover appeal and global fame
Beyoncé’s country turn reinforced something Parton had been proving for decades: genres become more interesting when someone opens the doors
But Nashville power players don’t see her ability to maintain a presence.
“Let’s stop pretending Cowboy Carter was a flawless country masterpiece,” a Grammy Award winner tells me. ‘I thought the album was extremely overrated. And that Jolene cover? A complete misfire. Dolly’s original is heartbreaking because it is vulnerable: Beyoncé turned it into a threat. That completely ignores what makes the song so devastating.”
The source adds that Beyoncé’s immense talent is not the problem:
‘Beyoncé is one of the greatest artists in the world. But that doesn’t mean you’re automatically good at country music. Nashville was terrified to say that out loud because no one wanted to be accused of having an ulterior motive.”
There are a few more honorable mentions.
Reba McEntire is regal: funny, warm and adored across generations.
“Reba has affection, credibility and humor,” a country insider told me. ‘But Dolly has fled the country. She was one of people who didn’t even know they liked country music.”
Grandmothers, gay men, church ladies, drag queens, conservatives, liberals, children and movie stars loved Parton. She managed the rarest celebrity trick: widespread affection without being bland.
Lainey Wilson may have the most interesting future because she has something that is increasingly rare: authenticity.
“Lainey has what Dolly had early on,” a Nashville manager tells me. ‘Within thirty seconds you know exactly who she is. The problem is scale.’
I’m told Wilson doesn’t have the outsized personality to sit on Parton’s throne.
Reba McEntire (left) is royal. Shania Twain broke down the walls of the country. Carrie Underwood (center) has the voice. Miranda Lambert has credibility.
Rob’s latest exclusives and insider reporting can be found at robshuter.substack.com. His bestselling novel is It Started with a Whisper
“Ella Langley is having a moment, but moments come and go. I’m not convinced she has the staying power to still matter in 30 years,” says my Grammy-winning source.
“Kacey Musgraves has the talent, the Grammys and the credibility, but she doesn’t have the universal connection of Dolly,” they added.
“Kacey is cool and adored by critics, but Dolly was never just cool: she was loved. There is a huge difference. You can’t make those kinds of connections, market them, or win at the Grammys.”
Then there’s Miley Cyrus.
If Swift is Dolly’s commercial heir, Cyrus could be her emotional heir.
Parton was her godmother, and their relationship was real and lasting. Cyrus also has the crossover gene: country, rock, pop and blues all suit her.
“Miley has inherited Dolly’s fearlessness more than anyone,” a music industry source told me. “Dolly mastered the prank before anyone could use it against her. Miley learned the same lesson: If people are going to talk, give them something worth talking about.”
The same survival instinct. Different bra.
But at the end of the day, true Music City insiders say all these divas might just be rolling around in the dirt.
“Everyone keeps asking who the next Dolly is,” one veteran entertainment executive told me. ‘There isn’t one. The talent exists. The culture that created her does not.”
“Ella Langley is having a moment, but moments come and go. I’m not convinced she has the staying power to still matter in 30 years,” says my Grammy-winning source
Lainey Wilson may have the most interesting future because she has something that is increasingly rare: authenticity.
“Miley has inherited Dolly’s fearlessness more than anyone,” a music industry source tells me
That’s the real story. Broadcasting is dying – not just television or radio, but also cultural broadcasting itself. We once watched the same shows, heard the same stations and knew the same stars. Algorithms now determine our viewing behavior.
Your TikTok is different from mine. Your Spotify will make several suggestions. Your Netflix home screen looks like we live on different planets.
“A celebrity can have 20 million followers and still be invisible to half the country,” a top music booker tells me. “We don’t make universal stars anymore because we don’t have a universal culture anymore.”
Swift can be bigger commercially. Cyrus might be wilder. Wilson could be the country’s next big star. McEntire can remain her beloved grande dame.
But another Parton?
Honey, good luck.
Leave the crown exactly where she left it: empty, impossible to inherit, and encrusted with rhinestones.
Rob Shuter’s latest exclusives and insider reporting can be found at robshuter.substack.com
His bestselling novel is It Started with a Whisper
