Dolly Parton died on August 25, 2026, at the age of 80. Her family announced that she passed peacefully in Nashville.
She was born in a one-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains, the fourth of twelve children, and left for Nashville the day after finishing high school. Over the next six decades she wrote more than three thousand songs, won ten Grammys, and became one of the most universally loved figures in American life.
In this video, we look back at what music legends and fellow artists have said about Dolly Parton — her songwriting, her business sense, her generosity, and the rare ability to be claimed by every corner of music at once.
She wrote “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the same day. She built Dollywood in the county where she grew up poor. Her Imagination Library has mailed books to children in five countries. She funded vaccine research and said almost nothing about it.
Rest in peace, Dolly.
Know Thyself 