Country music legend Dolly Parton has died aged 80, her family announced in a pre-recorded video statement.
Her nephew, Brian Seaver, fulfilling a promise he made to his aunt years earlier, shared the news of her death following a recent illness.
“My name is Brian Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today in announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, known as Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation, and Gigi to the next,” Seaver said.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality.
“As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.
“It is an honour, an honour mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.”
He also shared the singer’s trademark humour.
“Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because, after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest,” he recalled.
“Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly, Aunt, Granny and Gigi. May God bless Dolly Parton, and may God bless you all. She will always love you.”
A career spanning seven decades
Parton’s decades-long career saw her record 50 solo albums.
She released her first album, Hello, I’m Dolly, in 1967 and would go on to record 50 albums over the following seven decades. Her most recent album was 2023’s Rockstar, a collection of collaborations with rock musicians. She made the album after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the previous year.
During her career, she received countless accolades, including 11 Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, and the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. She was also nominated for Golden Globe and Tony Awards in a career that crossed the boundaries of music, theatre, film and television.
A prolific songwriter, Parton wrote more than 3,000 songs. She penned many of her own hits, which were later recorded by other artists.
Most notable was I Will Always Love You, written as a farewell to her mentor Porter Wagoner as she embarked on a solo career. Parton had a hit with the song in 1974 and again in 1982 when it featured in her film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. It became a global success when Whitney Houston recorded it for the 1992 film The Bodyguard, where it spent 14 weeks at the top of the US charts.
Her many hits included Coat of Many Colors, Jolene, My Tennessee Mountain Home, Love Is Like a Butterfly, Here You Come Again, Baby I’m Burnin’, 9 to 5, Hard Candy Christmas, Potential New Boyfriend and Islands in the Stream.
Humble beginnings and philanthropy
Parton was born in Tennessee in 1946 and grew up with her family in a one-room log cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River. She was the fourth of 12 children born to Avie and Robert Lee Parton.
Her career began when she was a child, appearing on local radio and television programmes. She recorded her first single at the age of 13 and found early success as a songwriter alongside her uncle Bill Owens, writing songs recorded by artists including Bill Phillips, Skeeter Davis, Kitty Wells and Hank Williams Jr.
When she secured her own recording contract at 19, she was initially marketed as a pop singer but achieved little commercial success. Her record company eventually allowed her to pursue country music. In 1967, she joined The Porter Wagoner Show, beginning a successful partnership with the established performer.
As her career expanded onto the global stage, she established a philanthropic foundation that donated millions of dollars to literacy initiatives, environmental causes and medical research.
Although she was known for remaining largely politically neutral and attracted fans from across the political spectrum, Parton spoke publicly in support of marriage equality and LGBTQIA+ communities, including transgender people.
