NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Belmont University professor, who co-wrote a song recorded by Dolly Parton, now teaches a course examining how Parton's music shaped the industry and the lives of those who heard it.
Jodi Marr teaches songwriting at Belmont and leads a class called "Dolly Parton: Songteller," which uses Parton's most pivotal songs as a lens into her life and career.
"We decided that class is structured to be just sort of, look at Dolly's life and her career through her pivotal songs," Marr said.
The course covers more than chart success. One of its core objectives is understanding how Parton's songs reached beyond the music business.
"She didn't only write country songs," said Marr. "She was a global songwriter, she had a large career," Marr said.
That career included moments where major personal decisions produced some of Parton's most enduring work.
"We talked today and how she, as a young woman, she had that stardom on the [Porter Wagoner] show – had the wherewithal to want more for herself and to ask to be let out of that contract, which was a tumultuous ask," Marr said. "But out if it came 'I Will Always Love You.'"
The syllabus also explores what a song can change beyond the charts.
"Dolly definitely saved some lives through her songs," Marr said.
"You never know who needs to hear a song that day, on their way to work with the boss that makes their life miserable, or struggling to feed their children, or is just a woman in the 80s trying to get a job without being harassed, so she writes '9 to 5,'" Marr said.
For Marr, Parton's influence is personal. Parton recorded a song Marr co-wrote called "Pink," written for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
"Dolly cut a song that I co-wrote called 'Pink,'" Marr said. "My sister's a survivor."
For the music video, Parton's team asked everyone involved to share someone touched by breast cancer.
"Music is healing and that's one thing Dolly taught us all," Marr said.
The class also examines what Parton built with the proceeds and platform her music created.
"Look at the Imagination Library, songs built that," Marr said. "Dollywood. Yeah, songs build that."
Marr said the goal of the course is to show students what Dolly made possible.
"Another student said Dolly Parton showed me how to be a woman in this music business and it was really moving," Marr said. "Like, it was hard for me to keep teaching for a second because I thought, 'Yeah, me too.' You know? Me too," Marr said.
Belmont has several ties to Parton, including Dolly U, a program that has given students real-world opportunities to work on Parton-related projects. Parton also premiered her musical at the university.
“It’s been an opportunity for students to be inspired and to see their leadership in new ways, because of the relationship through Dolly U," said Greg Jones, President of Belmont University. "Every time I talked to her or saw her, there was this enthusiasm for the future.”
"Where she came from never left her music or her career," Marr said. "It showed itself in her songs."
"She's really more than an icon and a hero," Marr added. "She's really probably responsible for a lot of our careers, especially women in the music business."
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