Dolly Parton Dead...Again?

Remember back in August 2006 when the rumor that Dolly Parton had died was circulating all over the internets and was originally started by none other than Elliot in the Morning?



Dollymania.net even included a blurb about it in their 2006 Year In Review:

"Dolly fans in the D.C. and Richmond, Va., areas receive a shock when a local radio host broadcasts a false report that Dolly has died. The comment came on the program Elliot in the Morning, which airs on one rock station in the Washington market and one in the Richmond market. The 'news' quickly circulates in the area, with calls coming in to several other local radio stations asking whether it is true.

The rumor receives so much attention that one country station in Richmond which doesn't even air the program posts at the top of its website: 'Dolly is fine! There are crazy rumors that Dolly Parton has passed, but rest assured, the 60-year-old country music legend is alive and well.'

The hoax is also posted that day on encyclopedia site Wikipedia but is quickly removed. A related website, dollypartonisdead.com, is also launched the same day 'brought to you by' the radio station which is the above-mentioned program’s home. After a few weeks, the page begins to be updated daily changing the 'date of death' so that it appears that she passed away the previous day and listing supposed candlelight vigils to take place later in the week in cities across the nation. After several months, the site closes."

We were reminded of the rumor this morning, when a guy called in saying that Dolly had died...however it was actually Gospel singer-songwriter Dottie Rambo, who died early Sunday when the bus she was in ran off a road in southwest Missouri and struck an embankment.



Though they were dear friends and their names do sound familiar, I'm happy to report that "Dolly" is alive and well...for now.