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Dolly Parton, country music legend, dies at 80 after brief cancer battle
Confirmed
Parton said she was driving when she first heard the cover and had to pull over: “When I heard her go from the a cappella into the music part, I honestly thought I was going to have a heart attack, it was one of the most overwhelming things.
At the White House, President Trump called her death "a true loss for millions of people" and ordered the American flag lowered across the country starting Tuesday evening. Having written thousands of songs across her decades-long career, Parton said songwriting was her greatest form of self-expression.
"I am deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, Dolly Parton," Ronstadt said in a statement. Several of the self-penned and enduring hits she racked up in the next years, including "Coat of Many Colors," "My Tennessee Mountain Home" and "Jolene," established not only her gift for eloquently embroidering her music with rustic textures but also introduced pillars of her artistic worldview: wholeheartedly celebrating the beauty she found in what others might deem tawdry and giving voice to unfettered dreams and desires in humble, homespun language.
"I remember this little redheaded girl with green eyes, prettiest little thing, and I said, 'Well, what's your name?' And she said, 'Jolene.' I said, 'I love that name.' All the way back to the bus I was [singing], 'Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,' so I wouldn't forget the name," Parton told CBS News in 2019.
Parton said she felt better in bright colours and shiny clothes on stage: "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap" After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville to launch her singing career and met her future husband, Carl Dean, on her very first day.
"After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones," her team said in a statement to CBS News. "The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world," Parton said, according to the organization's website.
"It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness, but sadness lies with us, not with Dolly," he said. Writing in her book Star of the Show: My Life on Stage, Parton said Wagoner saw her success away from his show as a "threat".
When people said to her: “She ain’t nothing but trash”, Parton would reply: "Well, that’s what I’m gonna be when I grow up”. Houston's cover of Parton's “sad little country song” was one of the proudest moments of her life, she said.
What's confirmed
- Parton said she was driving when she first heard the cover and had to pull over: “When I heard her go from the a cappella into the music part, I honestly thought I was going to have a heart attack, it was one of the most
- At the White House, President Trump called her death "a true loss for millions of people" and ordered the American flag lowered across the country starting Tuesday evening.
- "I am deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, Dolly Parton," Ronstadt said in a statement.
- "I remember this little redheaded girl with green eyes, prettiest little thing, and I said, 'Well, what's your name?' And she said, 'Jolene.' I said, 'I love that name.' All the way back to the bus I was [singing], 'Jole
- Parton said she felt better in bright colours and shiny clothes on stage: "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap" After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville to launch her singing
- "After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones," her team said in a statement to CBS News.
What's still developing
- "After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones," her team said in a statement to CBS News.
- "It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness, but sadness lies with us, not with Dolly," he said.
- She also said she wasn't up to "stage performance level" and had to cancel upcoming performances in Las Vegas.
- At the White House, President Trump called her death "a true loss for millions of people" and ordered the American flag lowered across the country starting Tuesday evening.
- "There has never been anyone like her, and never will," Mr. Trump said.
- "I am deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, Dolly Parton," Ronstadt said in a statement.
- "Your love, your music and you gave so much with your huge huge heart," McEntire said.
- "I hold knowing her as a treasure in my life," Roberts said in a statement.