When news of Dolly Parton’s death was announced, tributes quickly appeared across Nashville, from her recording studio in the 12 South neighborhood to her star on the Country Music Walk of Fame downtown.
Over 80 years, Parton left a legacy in music, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. In Jewish Nashville, that legacy has be left in two places: a song cowritten by a Jewish songwriter that became Parton’s final collaboration released during her lifetime, and a children’s literacy program inspired by her Imagination Library.
Jewish community member Dan Harrison co-wrote “Son of Jolene” with Nashville songwriters Kelli Belles and Tyler Bank, with Parton also receiving co-writing credit. For Belles, the song represents a full-circle moment.
“My grandpa was the biggest Dolly Parton fan and would play her music all the time growing up,” Belles said. “She was a common thread throughout my life. I don't even know if I would have gone into country music if I didn't grow up listening to Dolly.”
The idea for the song came about as Belles shared with Harrison and Bank she’d met the mother of a friend whose name was Jolene and came away with an idea, “Son of Jolene.”
When she brought the idea to her friends, they knew they had to write it. The three shifted the perspective so Belles could sing the song from a woman’s point of view.
Harrison said the writing session almost didn’t happen. It was December, a time when the Nashville music industry typically slows down, and Belles had just returned home. Once they started writing, they finished the song in about an hour, much faster than the three to four hours Harrison said a typical writing session can take.
“We just got very lucky, it was one of those days,” he said. “I didn't really feel like we were writing it, it felt like we were receiving it and putting it down on paper.”
They knew they had something special but had no idea how far it would go. Belles’ publisher eventually got the song to Kent Wells, Parton’s longtime producer.
“Kent said he really liked the song and he was going to play it for Dolly, which totally blew my mind,” Belles said. “I couldn't believe that she was going to hear something that I wrote and sang on.”
Then came the news they could hardly believe, “She loved it so much that she wanted to be a part of it and sing on it with me,” Belles said.
Harrison said Parton followed their guide but added her own embellishments and choices that elevated the recording. One of those moments comes in the second chorus, when Parton takes the lead.
“She goes, ‘Girl, who are you expecting him to be?’” Belles said. “She thought of that all on her own.”
Belles eventually met Parton during the 2025 CMA Awards, where they filmed content together for the song. Parton telling her, “That truly is the most clever idea... And then when I heard it, I thought, wow, that sounds like a hit song.”
“Son of Jolene” was released in April 2026. Parton’s death has given the song a whole new life, said Belles.
For Harrison, the experience affirmed the decision he made when he moved to Nashville to pursue songwriting.
“Regardless of what is to come in my career, this will always be one of the biggest highlights of my career in life, because I moved here with big dreams, I believed in myself, and I still do. I did not have Dolly Parton on my bingo card,” he said.
Parton’s influence on Jewish families in Middle Tennessee extends beyond music.
In 2005, philanthropist Harold Grinspoon launched PJ Library, a program that sends free Jewish children’s books to families. According to PJ Library, Grinspoon took inspiration from Parton’s Imagination Library, the literacy program Parton launched a decade earlier that mails free books to children across the United States.
Today, PJ Library sends out more than 670,000 books each month in more than 40 countries, with more than 250,000 going to families in the United States and Canada.
The program has a significant impact in Tennessee, with 2,723 subscribers, including families in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Nashville has 1,031 PJ Library subscribers and another 195 older readers participating in PJ Our Way.
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Rachel Fox’s family has participated in PJ Library for eight years and it’s become a regular part of their routine. Without extended family nearby, she said, keeping their Jewish faith and culture alive at home is important.
“PJ Library gives us a meaningful, accessible way to teach our children about our values, traditions, and heritage through stories we can share as a family,” Fox said.
Celia Lerch, director of enrollment and outreach at Akiva Schools, has experienced PJ Library both as a parent and through her work in Jewish education. She values the opportunities created for families to learn and connect.
“I think anytime we can put books into the hands of children is how we evolve and continue to grow as a society, both as Jews and the collective world,” Lerch said. “Literacy and learning are so important to how we heal our world, get better, learn more things, and connect with each other.”
Parton’s connection to PJ Library may be indirect, but her influence is tangible in the thousands of Tennessee children whose families receive the books.
“It’s such a beautiful way for our Jewish community to be inspired by something that was already beautiful and how can we take part in and make it something special that our Jewish community can also participate in,” Lerch said. “The more books, the better. The more reading, the better.”