NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) 鈥� , the country music icon whose soaring vibrato vocals, and sparkling costumes defined her rise from a log cabin in the Tennessee mountains to the height of stardom and acclaim, has died. She was 80 years old.
Parton died peacefully Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee, her publicist said in a statement.
Known for her curvy physique, massive blonde wigs and skin-tight outfits that served , she was among the most beloved personalities in music and beyond 鈥� the rare celebrity whose appeal transcended generations, geography and politics.
She wrote hundreds of songs, including classics like 鈥淛olene,鈥� 鈥淐oat of Many Colors鈥� and 鈥淚 Will Always Love You,鈥� that totaled more than 100 million worldwide sales and more than 1 billion online streams. Parton, who plucked bejeweled banjos, guitar and dulcimers with her long fingernails during performances, was a and whose projects included near her birthplace.
Her career was forever influenced by her upbringing as one of 12 children born into what she called a 鈥渄irt poor鈥� Tennessee family. She started her , Imagination Library, to send free books to children in Tennessee because her father, who quit school to work on the farm, struggled to learn to read.
Parton’s first musical performances were in church, where her grandfather was a preacher. By age 10, she was learning guitar and singing on local television shows. At 13, she appeared on the in Nashville, where Johnny Cash introduced her as 鈥渁 little girl here from up in East Tennessee.鈥�
With a suitcase of songs, she followed her uncle, Bill Owens, also a songwriter, to Nashville after graduating high school in 1964. Fred Foster, who produced Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson and more, saw her potential and got her songs cut by other artists, as well as recording and releasing Parton singing her own material. By the mid-1970s, Parton was a Nashville queen.
A key collaboration with Porter Wagoner
Parton’s partnership with Porter Wagoner, a pencil-thin pompadoured star with flashy rhinestone outfits, was key to her career. She honed her acting skills on his syndicated TV show and he advocated for her to get a record deal at RCA. Their first duet, 鈥淭he Last Thing On My Mind,鈥� was released in 1967, the same year she started her own publishing company.
While their duets were often big radio hits, Parton’s solo singles didn鈥檛 chart as high at first. With Wagoner as a co-producer, she began to adjust her country warble to a more polished, pop-leaning style.
She got her first No. 1 solo single with 鈥淛oshua,鈥� and reached the Top 5 with the ballad 鈥淐oat of Many Colors,鈥� about how her mother sewed together scraps of clothes to make a coat Parton wore 鈥渟o proudly鈥� even as her peers mocked her for being poor. The song, with its Biblical references and ode to maternal love, was later made into a children鈥檚 book and a TV movie.
In 1973, she had the hit that made her career 鈥� 鈥淛olene,鈥� a country music standard with its steady, churning rhythm and Parton’s repeated delivery of the title as she pleads for the woman not to steal her man.
The song topped the country charts, crossing over to pop and later being released internationally, opening up new audiences for Parton. 鈥淛olene鈥� is one of her most covered compositions, including by Miley Cyrus (Parton鈥檚 goddaughter), Olivia Newton-John and The White Stripes.
She left Wagoner鈥檚 show in 1974, amid reports of squabbling between the two, although they continued to record together and Wagoner stayed her producer for years after that. But the relationship turned litigious when Wagoner sued her in 1979 for millions in management fees and royalties.
A pop crossover star
She followed 鈥淛olene鈥� with a huge hit in 1974, 鈥淚 Will Always Love You,鈥� an ode and farewell to Wagoner that helped her win the Country Music Association鈥檚 female vocalist of the year back-to-back in 1975 and 1976. She famously turned down Elvis Presley, who wanted to record it, because she would not share publishing rights.
Decades later, Whitney Houston鈥檚 version of 鈥淚 Will Always Love You鈥� became a smash for the soundtrack of her 1992 film 鈥淭he Bodyguard,鈥� and broke sales records. Houston won a Grammy for her performance in 1994, presented to her by Parton.
鈥淗ere You Come Again,鈥� a pop crossover hit and one of the few she didn鈥檛 write, further established Parton as a multi-genre entertainer and brought her first Grammy Award in 1979.
鈥淎 lot of people thought I had totally lost my mind,鈥� she told The Associated Press in 1979 of changing her singing style. 鈥淏ut I had no fear of change. I expected success, but I was braced for failure. I didn鈥檛 care if people thought I was wrong. In my own heart, I knew I was doing the right thing.鈥�
Parton’s other crossover hits included the title song from 鈥�9 to 5,鈥� the 1980 comedy starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin; and her duet with longtime friend Kenny Rogers, 鈥淚slands in the Stream,鈥� written by brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. In 1987, she collaborated with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris on the million-selling 鈥淭rio鈥� album.
Down home charm
For millions of fans, she was simply 鈥淒olly,鈥� a mixture of Southern charm, humor and glamour. But she was also considered a feminist role model for holding the reins of her own career, writing her own songs, owning her content and looking after her finances in an entertainment world dominated by men.
Parton was open to making fun of herself; when she hosted 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� in 1989 she told the writers that her only restrictions were she wouldn鈥檛 curse and she wouldn鈥檛 make fun of Jesus. She regularly joked about her breasts or her dumb blonde appearance, but with a wink that she was the one controlling the laughs. In the memoir 鈥淢y Life So Far,鈥� Fonda remembered Parton’s way with a wisecrack, 鈥渦sually high raunch,鈥� and a laugh that was 鈥渟omewhere between a girl’s giggle, an explosive shriek, and a cascade of little bells.”
After her gown split down the front when she won CMA’s entertainer of the year in 1978, Parton quipped: 鈥淢y Daddy said that’s what I got for putting 50 pounds of mud in a five-pound bag.鈥�
Throughout her career, she embraced her glamorous style, often wearing custom curve-hugging rhinestone dresses and bodysuits even if they drew tsk-tsks from others in the industry. Her look was always a part of her larger musical business plan.
鈥淚 knew my songs were good even if I had been ugly as sin,鈥� she told the AP in 2014. 鈥淪o I thought, 鈥榃ell, I would have probably chose to look this way even if I had been a waitress.鈥� I mean, this is my look. I mean, I like a lot of makeup. I like a lot of hair. I like flashy clothes. I like to show it off. But that鈥檚 just who I am.鈥�
She married , an asphalt paving contractor, in the mid-1960s; they were together . Though rarely seen in public, he was an influence on her career. She told NPR that she wrote 鈥淛olene鈥� about a flirty bank teller who seemed to take an interest in Dean.
鈥�9 to 5鈥� to Hollywood and Broadway
In her first major film role, Parton played alongside Fonda and Tomlin as office workers who rebel against their tyrannical boss in 鈥�9 to 5.鈥� Critic Roger Ebert called her a 鈥渘atural-born movie star鈥� and the title song earned her two Grammy Awards and a ranking of 78 on the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 movie songs. Starring roles in 鈥淭he Best Little Whorehouse In Texas鈥� and 鈥淪teel Magnolias鈥� followed.
“I never thought of myself as a movie star,” she told AP鈥檚 Bob Thomas in 1979. “I knew I’d be a star, but as a singer or as a writer of songs or books or poetry. I wanted to be a famous performer and wear flashy clothes, but singing in movies was not one of my ambitions. My family lived in the mountains and we didn’t see movies.鈥�
Her love affair with TV and film continued for decades, with appearances alongside Cyrus on 鈥淗annah Montana鈥� and adaptations of her music for Christmas specials, films and streaming series. She also became an author, her books ranging from the memoir 鈥淒olly鈥� to a bestselling novel co-authored by James Patterson, 鈥淩un, Rose, Run.”
The stage adaptation 鈥�9 to 5: The Musical鈥� debuted in 2009, and is set to open in December.
United States of Dolly
Beyond her music, Parton鈥檚 most lasting legacy might be her generosity and broad appeal.
When a deadly wildfire swept through the Smokies in 2016, she held an all-star telethon and set up a foundation that sent monthly checks to residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
She opened up her Dollywood theme park in East Tennessee, a major economic driver in Appalachia that draws tourists from around the country, and established the Dollywood Foundation. She wrote books and memoirs, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and was given a lifetime achievement award by the Recording Academy. She was selected for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the in 2025.
With 55 Grammy nominations and 10 wins, Parton is the third-most nominated woman in , only behind Beyonc茅 and Taylor Swift.
Parton spanned social and political divides, through multiple generations of fans, urban and rural and in between. In tumultuous election years, it wasn’t uncommon to see 鈥淒olly for President鈥� shirts. But she was strict in not voicing her own political beliefs, often turning aside questions about presidents, candidates, policies and other controversies.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 do politics,” Parton told host Jad Abumrad on his hit podcast
“I have too many fans on both sides of the fence. Of course, I have my opinion about everything, but I learned years ago to keep your mouth shut about things.鈥�
When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation sent out a ballot in 2022 with her name on it, though , the voters answered with a 鈥淗ello, Dolly.” Parton showed up to the induction ceremony, performed and then .
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Associated Press writer Hillel Italie contributed.
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