Dolly Parton, one of the most popular singers and songwriters in country music, has died at the age of 80. Her death was announced by her grandson, Brian Seaver, on Instagram.
"I have imagined the bitterness of this moment, but I have not truly felt it until now. It is an honor, an honor mixed with absolute pride and great sadness," he wrote.
She wrote two of the greatest songs of the 20th century, "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You," in a single day.
Parton's songwriting was characterized by vivid storytelling, emotional acuity, and melodic strength, all sung with clarity.
From a catalog of hundreds of songs, she scored a record 25 No. 1 singles in the US and 47 top 10 albums on the country's charts.
She balanced her music career with acting, earning two Golden Globe nominations for her roles. She donated more than 150 million children's books.
All of this was done with considerable elegance, with the glitter adorned with precious stones and gigantic hairstyles, with her immortal statement regarding her appearance: "It takes a lot of money to look so cheap."
Parton was born into poverty in a one-room cabin in Tennessee, the fourth child of a mother who would have 12 children by the age of 35, and a father who was a farmer and construction worker.
One of her most beloved songs, “Coat of Many Colors,” was about her mother who made knitted clothes. Parton’s first guitar was made out of stone from a mandolin with bass guitar strings. Her first real guitar was given to her at age 8 by her uncle, and she went from singing in church to performing on local television at age 10 to recording her first album at age 13.
That year she appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, the Nashville concert hall at the center of country music, and her performance was introduced by Johnny Cash.
"I always believed that things would work out, and I dreamed that they would even before I was in high school," she later said. "I always wanted to be a star. It just seemed natural to me."
After graduating from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville and began her career as a songwriter rather than a performer. The following year, she signed a recording contract and initially established herself as a pop singer, but without success.
After being allowed to transition into country music, she scored two consecutive hits and released her debut album, “Hello, I’m Dolly.” In 1966, she married Carl Dean. Their marriage lasted until her death, with the couple renewing their vows in 2016 to mark 50 years together.
"Jolene," her unforgettable and desperate plea to a rival lover, was released in 1973 and became her first success.
"I Will Always Love You," written for Wagoner as a farewell to their creative partnership, was a No. 1 country hit in 1974 and again via a re-recorded version in 1982, and would go on to be a major pop success when revived by Whitney Houston for the soundtrack to the film "The Bodyguard" in 1992.
It is still the best-selling song of all time by a woman, with around 20 million sales.
The album "Here You Come Again" won the first of 10 Grammy Awards.
She made a number of donations to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where her granddaughter was treated for leukemia. The most high-profile of these donations was in 2020, when she donated $1 million to Covid-19 research, which formed the basis for the upcoming Moderna vaccine.
In May 2026, Parton canceled her Las Vegas residency due to health concerns. A Broadway musical will also be performed later this year, following a run in Nashville. ©LAPSI.al
