How Dolly Parton changed the lives of the musicians who never became household names

NASHVILLE — Dolly Parton was a member of the Nashville Association of Musicians, AFM Local 257, for 58 years.

The Nashville Association of Musicians President Dave Pomeroy remembers Dolly Parton as far more than a country music icon.

"She affected so many lives in so many positive ways; it's just hard to process losing her," Pomeroy said. "Dolly Parton joined Local 257 on December 12, 1967, and was a member for 58 years."

Pomeroy even shared the stage with her for an award show performance.

"I played with Dolly on one of the CMA award shows," Pomeroy said. "She was very gracious."

Beyond the songs and sounds, Pomeroy said the way Parton treated her musicians will be part of her legacy for those inside the music business.

"I think that she helped set a standard of how you treat your musicians," Pomeroy said.

According to Pomeroy, Parton was one of the first major stars to use the same band for both touring and recording, giving those musicians the security of multiple income streams in a business where work can be unpredictable.

"It was like family. It was like an extended family in a way that you don't always see, and I think she took it to a whole new level," Pomeroy said. Breaking the mold wasn't limited to how she treated people.

Pomeroy said she stayed true to herself while writing across many different styles of music and "never stopped evolving right up until the end."

For so many fans, friends, and fellow musicians, the loss is something they didn't see coming.

"I don't use this term lightly; she seemed immortal. How could there ever not be Dolly? And now everyone I talked to today who was close to her is devastated," Pomeroy said.

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