Dolly Parton, Country Music Icon, Dies at 80

Dolly Parton, the legendary country singer-songwriter from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, has died at the age of 80. Over a seven-decade career, she won 10 Grammy awards, sold over 100 million records worldwide, and wrote more than 3,000 songs, including classics like 'Coat of Many Colors,' 'Jolene,' and 'I Will Always Love You.' Born in 1946 as the fourth of 12 children in a poor farming family, Parton began performing at age six in her local church and made her Grand Ole Opry debut in 1959, introduced by Johnny Cash. After moving to Nashville in 1964, she married Carl Dean, who died in 2025. Her collaboration with Porter Wagoner from 1967 to 1974 produced numerous duets, but she left to pursue a solo career, writing 'I Will Always Love You' as a farewell. The song became a hit for Whitney Houston in 1992. In 1980, her theme song for the film '9 to 5' propelled her to stardom. As a savvy businesswoman, she launched Dollywood in 1986, the Imagination Library in 1999, and donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Centre in 2020, helping fund the Moderna vaccine. She postponed a Las Vegas residency in May 2026 due to kidney stone treatment. Parton remained humble, avoiding politics, and hoped to be remembered for her songwriting and seriousness about her work, not herself.