Dolly Parton Passed Away at Age 80

Erica Siaulnksi, Staff Writer

Dolly Parton, the country music icon known for her incredible singing voice, humble background, sparkling outfits and big blond wigs passed away on Tuesday, August 25th in Nashville Tennessee after a brave battle with cancer. “After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, said in a statement on Tuesday shortly after her passing.

Parton was born into a large family, the fourth of twelve children, on January 19 1946, in Locust Ridge in Tennessee. A small rural agricultural community, that’s located roughly 220 miles outside of Nashville. Her parents struggled all their lives to make a living and to make ends meet. Parton’s mother taught her children how to sing. All of the children’s lives were heavily influenced by music. 

Parton’s first musical performance took place in a church at which her grandfather was a preacher. By age 10, Parton had already learned guitar, and managed to land an opportunity to perform on a local TV station. By age 13, Dolly Parton had managed to make her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry where Johnny Cash introduced her to Nashville as “a little girl here from up in East Tennessee.”

As soon as she had graduated high school, Parton packed her bags and followed her uncle to Nashville where producer Fred Foster, who had produced stars such as Ray Orbison and Willie Nelson, noticed her. He began to get songs cut for her by other artists as well as producing her own work. 

In 1967, Parton’s career would change forever. A producer from the television show The Porter Wagoner Show, called, looking for a replacement for the traditional country singers duet partner at the time, Norma Jean. Parton accepted and alongside Wagoner the two became instant favorites. The audience loved them both. 

Parton’s first solo #1 hit would come in 1974, “Joshua”, followed by “Jolene”, “Love is Like a Butterfly” and “I Will Always Love You” which Elvis Preseley had wanted to record a cover of, yet she turned him down, not wanting to share the rights of the song with anyone else. After this, in 1974 she would also leave the Wagoner show, and pursue a more solo career in music. 

In 1985, alongside investors she opened Dollywood, a theme park in East Tennessee. This later became one of the south’s leading tourist attractions. Through many programs, Parton also helped to give back to the community that she came from, by offering scholarships to high school students. Her Imagination Library program also delivers one free book to children each month, from ages birth to five. She also supported the Dolly Parton Center for Women’s Services in Sevierville, Tennessee. 

Following all her success and humanitarian work, Parton joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001. The Recording Academy also honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Parton was further inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. 

Dolly Parton passed away at age 80 and will be dearly missed by fans and the music world alike.