Dolly Parton, Country Music Legend, Dies at 80

Dolly Parton, Country Music Legend, Dies at 80

LCCN Staff Report

Country music legend Dolly Parton, whose unmistakable voice, songwriting and larger-than-life personality made her one of America’s most beloved entertainers, died Tuesday. She was 80.

Parton’s family announced her death Aug. 25. She died in Nashville, Tennessee. No cause of death was immediately announced.

Born in rural Tennessee in 1946, Parton rose from poverty to become one of the most successful singers and songwriters in music history. She sold more than 100 million records and wrote an estimated 3,000 songs during a career spanning nearly six decades.

Her best-known songs included “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” which later became a worldwide hit for Whitney Houston. Twenty-five of Parton’s songs reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country charts.

Parton won 11 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Her success extended well beyond music. Parton starred in films including “9 to 5,” “Steel Magnolias” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” and built Dollywood into one of Tennessee’s largest tourist attractions.

She was also widely known for her philanthropy. Her Imagination Library program has distributed hundreds of millions of free books to children, and Parton donated $1 million toward research that helped develop a COVID-19 vaccine.

Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, died in March 2025. In recent months, Parton had struggled with health problems and canceled a planned Las Vegas residency, but continued working on music, business and charitable projects.

Parton leaves behind one of the most recognizable catalogs in American music and a career that crossed generations, genres and cultural boundaries.