Dolly Parton, 1 of the top singer-songwriters successful state euphony who was besides overmuch cherished for her philanthropy, has died aged 80.
Her decease was announced by nephew Brian Seaver connected Instagram. “I person imagined the heaviness of this infinitesimal but haven’t genuinely felt it until now,” he said. “It is an honour, an honour that is mixed pinch absolute pridefulness and awesome sadness.”
So talented that she wrote 2 of the 20th century’s top songs – Jolene and I Will Always Love You – successful a azygous day, Parton’s songwriting was characterised by its vivid storytelling, affectional acuity and melodic strength, each sung pinch strident clarity. From an eventual catalogue of hundreds of songs, she scored a grounds 25 US state No 1 singles and 47 albums successful the state Top 10 . She crossed complete into the popular charts pinch 9 to 5, a US No 1 successful 1980; balanced her euphony profession pinch acclaimed acting, doubly earning Golden Globe nominations for her roles; and her Imagination Library literacy strategy donated much than 150m books to children.
This was each done pinch sizeable panache, rhinestoned glamour and towering hairdos, pinch her immortal assertion regarding her quality – “it takes a batch of money to look this cheap” – the astir quoted illustration of Parton’s fresh wit.
Parton was calved successful poorness successful a one-room compartment successful Tennessee, the 4th kid to a mother who would person 12 children by the property of 35, and a begetter who was a husbandman and building worker. One of her best-loved songs, Coat of Many Colours, was astir her mother creating patchwork clothes; Parton’s first guitar was cobbled together from a mandolin pinch bass guitar strings. Her first due guitar was fixed to her aged 8 by her uncle, and she went from singing successful church, to appearing connected section tv aged 10, to cutting her first grounds aged 13. That twelvemonth she appeared astatine the Grand Ole Opry, the performance hallway successful Nashville astatine the centre of state music, and her capacity was introduced by Johnny Cash. “I’ve ever believed things would spell well, and I dreamed that they would moreover earlier I was successful precocious school,” she later said. “I ever wanted to beryllium a star. It conscionable seemed earthy to me.”
After graduating precocious schoolhouse successful 1964 she moved to Nashville and started retired arsenic a songwriter alternatively than performer. The pursuing twelvemonth she was signed arsenic an creator and initially moulded arsenic a popular singer, without success; aft she was allowed to move to country, she scored back-to-back hits and released her debut medium Hello, I’m Dolly. In 1966 she joined Carl Dean – who died successful 2025, pinch the mates renewing their vows successful 2016 to people 50 years together.
Beginning successful 1967, a duet business pinch state vocalist and TV characteristic Porter Wagoner helped her prima proceed to ascend, and she had her first state No 1 successful 1971 pinch the opus Joshua.
Jolene, her unforgettably earthy and hopeless plea to a rival lover, was released successful 1973 and became her first UK success, reaching No 7. I Will Always Love You, written to Wagoner arsenic a farewell aft their imaginative partnership, was a state No 1 successful 1974 and again via a re-recorded type successful 1982, and would spell connected to beryllium a immense popular occurrence erstwhile revived by Whitney Houston for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard successful 1992: it is still the bestselling azygous of each clip by a woman, pinch an estimated 20m sales.
In the mid 1970s Parton broadened her sound, embracing pop-rock arrangements connected songs specified arsenic 1977’s Light of a Clear Blue Morning – its accompanying medium New Harvest … First Gathering was her first introduction successful the popular medium chart. Later that twelvemonth its follow-up Here You Come Again reached the Top 20 and was her first million-selling LP, powered successful portion by its deed title track, which besides won Parton the first of her 10 Grammy awards.
1980 was a highest successful her success, pinch 3 back-to-back state No 1s, including 9 to 5, taken from the movie of the aforesaid sanction which Parton starred successful alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, earning her an Oscar information for champion original song. Parton would later constitute songs for a shape philharmonic type of 9 to 5, successful 2008.
Another classical azygous came successful 1983: Islands successful the Stream, a duet pinch Kenny Rogers, which topped the US popular charts, and a Christmas medium pinch Rogers successful 1984 went 2 times platinum. There were much notable movie roles successful the 1980s, too, other Burt Reynolds successful the The Best Little Whorehouse successful Texas, Sylvester Stallone successful Rhinestone, and an all-star female ensemble successful Steel Magnolias.
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A landmark Parton medium came successful 1987 pinch Trio, an exquisitely harmonised, springwater-clear collaboration pinch Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, earning Parton her only information for medium of the twelvemonth astatine the Grammys. Another all-star trio signaling came successful 1993, pinch Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn connected the medium Honky-Tonk Angels, followed by a reunion pinch Harris and Ronstadt from Trio II successful 1999, featuring a Grammy-winning screen of Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush.
The move of the period brought a trilogy of acclaimed bluegrass albums, and Parton would merchandise 9 much LPs, the astir caller being Rockstar successful 2023. She was courted by a younger procreation of stars, appearing pinch state artists specified arsenic Brad Paisley arsenic good arsenic popular singers specified arsenic Kesha, and her goddaughter Miley Cyrus. There were less acting roles, but she lent her sound to animated movie Gnomeo and Juliet successful 2011 and the pursuing twelvemonth appeared alongside Queen Latifah and much successful philharmonic movie Joyful Noise.
Alongside her euphony and acting, Parton was an astute businesswoman and philanthropist. She founded the movie and TV accumulation institution Sandollar, pinch erstwhile head Sandy Gallin, which went connected to nutrient hits specified arsenic Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Father of the Bride movie series. In 1986, she took a liking successful the Silver Dollar City taxable parkland successful Tennessee and renamed it Dollywood, doubling its size complete the adjacent 2 decades, and a Dollywood-branded spa, compartment complex, theatre-restaurant conception and waterpark person since been opened.
The Dollywood Foundation, funded done these business ventures and imaginative projects, was created successful 1988, initially awarding assemblage scholarships and moving a strategy to thief children complete precocious schoolhouse successful her autochthonal Sevier County, Tennessee. In 1995 Parton began her Imagination Library project, which sent an age-appropriate book to each kid successful the region each period until they were five. “My begetter could not publication and write, and I saw really crippling that could be,” she explained. It expanded nationwide successful 2000, internationally successful 2006, and astir 25m books are now distributed each twelvemonth crossed the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland.
In 2022, Jeff Bezos donated $100m (£83m) to the foundation. That year, Parton explained that arsenic good arsenic improving kid literacy, “it’s the truth they get recognised. They get this small book pinch their small sanction connected it successful the mail, and they consciousness special. They commencement taking pridefulness successful themselves, and they cognize that personification retired location is reasoning of [them].”
Parton has besides group up a reserve successful 2003 to thief sphere the bald eagle; contributed $500,000 to the opening of a Sevier region infirmary successful 2006; coordinated alleviation efforts for those affected by the Smoky upland wildfires of 2016; and contributed to an HIV/Aids kindness album. She supported Black Lives Matter and transgender rights, opposing a North Carolina “bathroom bill” that restricted transgender people’s entree to toilets (Parton was besides nominated for an Oscar for her opus successful trans play Transamerica, entitled Travelin’ Thru).
She made a number of donations to Vanderbilt University Medical Center successful Nashville, Tennessee, wherever her niece was treated for leukaemia. The astir precocious floor plan of these was successful 2020, erstwhile she donated $1m for investigation into Covid-19, which formed the ground for the eventual Moderna vaccine.
In May 2026, Parton cancelled her Las Vegas residency complete wellness issues. A Broadway philharmonic is besides set to open later this twelvemonth aft a tally successful Nashville.
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