Dolly Parton recorded a song more than a decade ago that won’t be released until 2046.
The country music star, who died Tuesday at 80 after a brief battle with cancer, wrote and recorded “My Place in History” in 2015. The song is locked inside a time capsule at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
The box is not supposed to be opened until January 19, 2046, which would have been Dolly’s 100th birthday. A CD player was placed inside with the recording so it could be played when the time came.
Dolly later admitted that she had a hard time waiting for people to hear it.
“I want to go dig that up so bad,” she said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022, adding that it was “a really good song.”
That same year, she joked with Jimmy Fallon on his show that she probably wouldn’t be around when the recording was released.
“I’ll be dead and gone — well, I might not be, ’cause I’ll be 99,” she said. “You know me, I might still be hoppin’ around.”
Dolly had also decided which song she wanted played at her funeral. Although she expected people to play “I Will Always Love You,” her own choice was the gospel hymn “If We Never Meet Again (This Side of Heaven).”
It was one of her father Robert Lee Parton’s favorite songs and had been performed at his funeral.
Dolly requested a small, private service for her immediate family. Her nephew Bryan Seaver said she also wanted to be laid to rest in a “beautiful bed of plush cotton” because, after a lifetime of wearing heavy rhinestones, she deserved to be comfortable.
Her representatives said she died of cancer at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville while surrounded by loved ones. The type of cancer she had was not disclosed.
“My Place in History” is scheduled to be released on January 19, 2046. ~Chidera Arimah
Dumb idea. She'll be a vague memory at that point. All her biggest fans will have passed. Should have made it 2030 or something closer.