FILE – Dolly Parton performs at a United Way of America convention in Detroit, Friday, May 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville International Airport would be renamed for Dolly Parton under a proposal announced Friday by Tennessee’s governor.
Gov. Bill Lee proposed the name change just days after the country music icon died Tuesday of cancer at age 80. It echoes the wishes of more than 150,000 Parton fans who have signed an online petition to rename the airport.
A plane flies over Nashville, Tenn., towing a banner reading “change.org/DollyPartonAirport” as part of an effort to rename the airport after Dolly Parton, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
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“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,” Lee said in a statement.
Lee said he’s already discussed the idea with representatives for Parton.
Born in poverty in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Parton became an icon whose popularity crossed generational, geographic and political boundaries. In addition to writing and recording hit songs such as “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” she starred in Hollywood films including “9 to 5” and “Steel Magnolias.”
The change could require the Metro Nashville Airport Authority to revisit its naming policy. The policy currently states that airport properties should only be named for people who have been dead for at least two years.
The governor’s office said his proposal and the naming policy will be discussed by the airport authority at its meeting Sept. 17.
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