She grew up in a one-room cabin in Sevier County with eleven brothers and sisters. She left the Smoky Mountains as a teenager with nothing but talent and determination. She spent sixty years making music that crossed every demographic and political line in America. And now, five days after her death at 80, Tennessee is going to name its busiest airport after her.
Governor Bill Lee made the announcement Friday alongside Nashville International Airport, confirming that the state intends to rename BNA in honor of “Tennessee’s favorite daughter.” Lee’s statement captured it perfectly: “From her rural mountain home in East Tennessee to global stages, Dolly carried the Volunteer Spirit with her. At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our state’s favorite daughter and greet travelers with the enduring legacy of Dolly’s music, generosity, faith, and kindness.”
Dolly Parton’s family is “touched by the idea and open to continuing the conversation,” according to Lee — which is exactly the gracious response you’d expect from a woman who spent her whole life bringing people together rather than dividing them.
At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that BNA would bear @DollyParton’s name.
Today, in partnership with @Fly_Nashville, we announced our intent to honor Tennessee’s favorite daughter and her indelible legacy.
Link: https://t.co/bGBXYqp0d1 pic.twitter.com/Jvf4Em9Amq
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) August 28, 2026
The details still have to work through the Metro Nashville Airport Authority — a meeting is scheduled for September 17 — but the momentum is clearly there. A petition in favor of the name change had already gathered roughly 79,000 signatures before the governor’s announcement.
The case for honoring her this way is overwhelming. She recorded 50 albums across six decades. She charted 93 songs on the Billboard Hot Country list, had eight Top 40 hits on the Hot 100, and won 11 Grammys with 55 nominations — plus a Lifetime Achievement award in 2011. She starred in films from “9 to 5” to “Steel Magnolias,” earning an Oscar nomination for the former. And through it all, she built the Imagination Library — one of the most successful literacy programs in American history, putting books into the hands of millions of children regardless of their background or zip code.
Britain sent one of its own tributes — the Band of the Coldstream Guards played “9 to 5” outside Buckingham Palace. That image says everything about who she was and the size of the world she occupied.
There will be a vote. There will be paperwork. There will probably be a moment where some bureaucratic process slows things down.
But in the end, the airport that handles millions of people arriving in the Music City — the city that was central to her life and her legacy — should bear her name. Every traveler who lands there should know immediately where they are: the state of Dolly Parton, and everything she stood for.
Tennessee got this right. Do the vote. Change the name. Welcome to Dolly Parton International Airport. You’re going to love it here.
