Dolly Parton, the Queen of Country, Passes at 80
Black and whitw photo of Dolly Parton during the height of her 1970s career. Creadit to Bill Lile ( Dallad1200am on Flickr)
On Aug. 25, legendary musician, actress and humanitarian Dolly Parton passed away at 80 years old, just four days after saying “I Still Have So Many Things I Want to Achieve.”
Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced his aunt’s death via a video uploaded to Parton’s Instagram account the same day as her passing. Seaver spoke highly of his aunt and all her achievements.
“...By her example, we believed that anything is possible,” Seaver said. “She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history.”
Parton’s death comes just a little over a year after the death of her husband of 59 years, Carl Dean. Parton had previously stated in several interviews that the death of her husband had greatly impacted her. Parton had admitted to “not taking care of” herself while tending to her “very sick” husband.
According to official statements confirmed by her family and publicists, Parton passed away from cancer at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Center in Nashville, Tennessee after being admitted to the hospital five days prior to address ongoing immune system and kidney complications.
Parton grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with her parents and 11 siblings, often reflecting on her simple and financially poor childhood. Parton received her first guitar at age 6 and began exhibiting her musical talents in her grandfather’s church. A year later she began writing songs.
Following her high school graduation in 1964, she moved to Nashville and began playing in clubs and writing songs for other artists. In 2012, Parton told PEOPLE that her “songs got me out of the mountains and took me everywhere I’ve ever wanted to go.”
In 1971, Parton earned her first solo No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart with “Joshua,” while “Coat of Many Colors” reached No. 4 later that year. “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” would also become No. 1 country hits. Throughout her career, Parton created 49 albums, won 10 Country Music awards, 11 Grammy Awards and an Emmy, as well as earning a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, as well as a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Parton’s music career continued to flourish far past the 1970s, but in the 1980s Parton broke out onto the big screen when she starred in “9 to 5” alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Over the years, Parton appeared in a multitude of movies and shows such as “Steel Magnolias,”
“Rhinestone” and “Hannah Montana.”
In 1986, Parton went on to open Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The park embodies the spirit of the Smoky Mountains, her home that she never quite outgrew nor forgot about and is heavily affiliated with businesses in East Tennessee.
Parton will be remembered not only for her music and Hollywood presence, but also for the humanitarian work she took part in. Throughout her life, she donated millions of dollars to a multitude of causes, including education, healthcare and disaster relief. In 1995, Parton began the book gifting program “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library” that provides free books to children up to the age of five regardless of their family’s income. As of 2023, the program provided families with 200 million books.
Parton’s life was simply nothing short of legendary. As her website explains, “Dolly Parton’s life is a testament to dreaming big, believing in yourself, and lifting up others. Beyond her musical achievements, Dolly Parton was a trailblazer for women in the entertainment industry. She broke barriers and defied expectations, becoming one of the most successful and influential singer-songwriters of all time.”
While Dolly Parton may have passed on, her music, movies and humanitarian impact on the world will persist in the global cultural canon. Let Parton’s story be a testament to what chasing your childhood dreams and choosing to be kind can turn into.
Rest in peace to the Queen of Country herself, Dolly Parton.