Dolly Parton died on August 25 in Nashville, her family confirmed. She was 80. The announcement came through her official Instagram, where her nephew Bryan Seaver read a statement on the family’s behalf, saying she “died peacefully today in Nashville.” No cause of death was given, and a small private service will be held for immediate family.
Parton leaves one of the deepest catalogues in American music. She scored 25 No. 1 hits on the country charts, the most of any female artist, and wrote much of that material herself. The songwriting is the part that lasts. Jolene, Coat of Many Colors and I Will Always Love You were hers before they belonged to everyone else.
She grew up poor, one of 12 children in rural Tennessee, and cut her first single, Puppy Love, at 13. Her break came alongside Porter Wagoner on his syndicated TV show, a partnership she walked away from in 1974. The song she wrote as a farewell to him, I Will Always Love You, reached country No. 1 twice. When Elvis Presley wanted to record it, the deal required handing over half the publishing forever. She said no. That decision paid off when Whitney Houston cut it for The Bodyguard in 1992 and held the top of the pop charts for 14 weeks.
Parton crossed into pop without losing the country audience, landing hits like 9 to 5 and, with Kenny Rogers, Islands in the Stream. She kept a foot in tradition too, recording the Trio albums with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt. Film work followed, including 9 to 5, Steel Magnolias and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and in 1986 she opened Dollywood in Pigeon Forge.
The fame funded a second life as a philanthropist. Her Imagination Library mailed more than 100 million books to children, and her My People Fund handed out over $9 million in cash to families after the 2016 Smoky Mountains fires.
She stayed busy to the end. Parton entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, released her final album Rockstar in 2023, and was working on Dolly: An Original Musical, still set for Broadway this December. Health problems had slowed her recent touring plans, including a shelved Las Vegas residency. The work, it seems, never really stopped.
Live photo – Steve Gerrard
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