Dolly Parton, Country Music Icon and Philanthropist, Dies in Nashville at Age 80
Country music singer, songwriter, and philanthropist Dolly Parton has died in Nashville at age 80, her family announced on Tuesday.
Family announcement and final months
Country music performer Dolly Parton died on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 80. Her nephew and longtime head of security Bryan Seaver, who held that role for over two decades following his father Larry, announced her death in a video statement released on behalf of the Owens and Parton families. Parton had experienced health difficulties in recent months after the illness and death of her husband Carl Dean, leading to the cancellation of several scheduled concerts, public appearances, and a planned Las Vegas residency. In the video announcement, Seaver shared the message his aunt asked him to deliver.
Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens.
Musical career and global impact
Parton wrote her first song, titled Little Tiny Tasseltop, around the age of six about a corncob doll. Across nearly six decades of recording and performing, her catalog generated more than 100 million sales worldwide and more than 1 billion online streams. Her songwriting catalog included standards such as Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, 9 to 5, and I Will Always Love You. Over her career, Parton won 11 Grammy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Parton acquires an interest in Silver Dollar City, developing it into Dollywood
- Parton donates $1 million to Vanderbilt University for COVID-19 vaccine research
- Parton declines a proposed statue at the Tennessee state capitol in Nashville
- Bryan Seaver announces Parton's death in Nashville at age 80
Following the announcement, fellow artists published statements honoring her musical career. Singer Reba McEntire reflected on Parton's legacy on social media.
There will never ever be another you. We will remember and cherish every memory and every note you ever played and sang.
Musicians Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini also issued tributes, with Morris describing Parton as an artist everyone could agree on.
Business ventures and Dollywood
Beyond music, Parton established extensive business operations in East Tennessee. In 1986, she bought an interest in the Silver Dollar City theme park in Pigeon Forge and developed it into Dollywood. The property expanded across 150 acres to include the dinner theater Dolly Parton's Stampede, Dollywood's Splash Country waterpark, and the DreamMore Resort and Spa, becoming Tennessee's highest-attended ticketed tourist attraction.
Following news of Parton's death on Tuesday, traffic overloaded dollyparton.com, prompting an advisory notice regarding server volume. The Dollywood Company confirmed the theme park, which was closed on Tuesday as scheduled, will reopen on Wednesday. Eugene Naughton, president of Dollywood Parks and Resorts, stated that staff will carry Parton's legacy forward across the resort properties.
Philanthropy and civic work
Parton directed substantial resources toward literacy and health programs throughout her life. Her Imagination Library program distributes free books to preschool children across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. In 2020, Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University for research that assisted Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine development.
Her home county in Tennessee honored her with scholarships for local high school students and a life-size statue outside the county courthouse. When state lawmakers proposed a statue of Parton in Nashville in 2021, she asked that the proposal be withdrawn.
Given all that's going on in the world, I don't think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time.
The Dollywood Company encouraged members of the public seeking to honor Parton to support the Imagination Library.
