The world continues to mourn the great American artist Dolly Parton, who passed away last month at the age of 80. Before Parton’s death, fans were already campaigning to have Nashville International Airport renamed in Parton’s honor. A few days after her death, the airport and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that those plans were moving forward. Today, the seven members of the Nashville Airport Authority board voted unanimously to approve the plan, which required modifying a policy that required a person be dead for two years before an airport is named after them.
As Nashville’s News Channel 5 reports, the airport will keep its three-letter BNA code in honor of Col. Harry S. Berry, who helped build the airport, originally known as Berry Field, in 1937, but the facility’s name will change. The official name has not yet been announced. According to WZTV, Parton’s Dollywood Foundation is working with the airport to merge the two businesses.
Two other Dolly Parton enterprises, Dolly Parton’s SongTeller Hotel and Dolly’s Life Of Many Colors Museum, are also now scheduled to open in Nashville on Sep. 29. The SongTeller Hotel will have 245 guest rooms and two live music venues, Jolene’s and Parton’s Live. The museum is part of the hotel, and it’ll take up the hotel’s entire third floor. Plans for both of them were in place before Parton’s death. Earlier this year, Parton filmed a guided tour for the museum. Just like her Dollywood theme park, the hotel will include a replica of the one-room mountain cabin where she was born.
In other Dolly Parton news, the Nashville Area Chamber Of Commerce will give her a posthumous honor next week. Also, her first posthumous track came out earlier this year. She worked with the First Ladies Of Bluegrass — Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, Missy Raines, and Molly Tuttle — on a fun, rousing version of the Stanley Brothers’ “I’m Bound To Ride,” from the tribute album Where The Soul Never Dies: Celebrating 80 Years Of The Stanley Brothers. Listen below.
