Tennessee state leaders have announced plans to rename Nashville International Airport to honor Dolly Parton, the state’s beloved country music icon who died earlier this week in Nashville at age 80. The move follows an online campaign by fans urging the airport be given Parton’s name as a lasting tribute.
Officials said Governor Bill Lee spoke with Parton’s team about the proposal this week. In a statement included in the announcement, Lee said, "Dolly Parton’s extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state. 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."
The airport and the governor’s office indicated the proposal will be formally considered by the Metro Nashville Airport Authority at a meeting scheduled for September 17. That session will take up both the renaming proposal and the authority’s existing naming policy, which currently bars naming any property after a person who has not been dead for at least two years - a restriction reported by The New York Times.
Details provided by state and airport officials did not specify the procedural steps that would follow the September meeting or any timeline for implementing a name change if approved. The announcement described public sentiment as a driver of the effort, noting a social media campaign by fans calling for the airport to be renamed after Parton in the wake of her death.
The statement and accompanying materials reiterated Parton’s ties to Tennessee. She was born on January 19, 1946, in Pittman Center, Tennessee, and was raised in a one-room cabin in nearby Locust Ridge. Parton began appearing on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13. After finishing high school she moved to Nashville to pursue a music career.
Parton’s career included widely known songs such as "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You." Over the course of her career she became one of the best-selling female artists in history, selling more than 100 million records and winning 11 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The governor’s endorsement and the fan-driven petition set the stage for a formal review by airport authorities. The September 17 meeting will determine whether the naming policy is applied as written or if the authority will consider an exception or amendment in response to the proposal and public interest.