Dolly Parton Dies: 1)Dolly Parton Dies at 80: The Voice That Reached Every Generation; 2)Dolly Parton, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Has Died at 80

1)Dolly Parton Dies at 80: The Voice That Reached Every Generation

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Kristin M. Hall, August 25, 2026

Dolly Parton, the singer, songwriter and actor whose music found fans in nearly every generation, has died at 80.

Parton’s publicist confirmed she died peacefully on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee.

For an audience that grew up more likely to know her from “Hannah Montana” or a viral TikTok clip than from a 1970s country chart, Parton’s death marks the end of a career that never really stopped finding new listeners. She was still releasing music into her seventies, and still topping charts while doing it.

From a log cabin to the Grand Ole Opry

Parton was born into a family of 12 children in the Tennessee mountains, a childhood she later described as “dirt poor.” She started singing in the church where her grandfather preached, picked up guitar by age 10, and by 13 was performing on the Grand Ole Opry, where Johnny Cash introduced her as “a little girl here from up in East Tennessee.”

She moved to Nashville after graduating high school in 1964 and, within a decade, had become one of the most recognizable voices in country music.

The songs everyone knows

Parton wrote hundreds of songs over her career, but a handful became part of the cultural fabric well beyond country radio.

“Jolene,” released in 1973, crossed over from country into pop and has since been covered by artists ranging from Miley Cyrus, her real-life goddaughter, to The White Stripes. “I Will Always Love You,” written as a farewell to her longtime producer and duet partner Porter Wagoner, became a generational hit twice over: first for Parton in 1974, then again in 1992 when Whitney Houston’s version became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Parton later presented Houston with the Grammy for that performance.

She also turned down Elvis Presley, who wanted to record “I Will Always Love You” himself, because doing so would have meant giving up her publishing rights.

A career that never stayed in one lane

Parton crossed into film with “9 to 5” in 1980, starring alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, and the title track earned her two Grammy Awards. She went on to appear in “Steel Magnolias” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” write bestselling books, and build Dollywood, a theme park in East Tennessee that remains a major economic driver for the region.

Then, in 2022, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame put her name on the ballot. Parton said publicly she felt she hadn’t earned it, given her career had been built in country music, not rock. Voters inducted her anyway.

Her response was to show up, perform at the ceremony, and then spend the next year making an entire rock album to prove she belonged there. Released in 2023, “Rockstar” featured Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Steven Tyler, Joan Jett and Elton John, among others. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, her highest-charting album ever, and topped both the country and rock albums charts in the same week. She was 77.

A figure who stayed above the divide

Parton was known almost as much for her generosity and her refusal to wade into politics as she was for her music. After wildfires tore through the Smoky Mountains in 2016, she held a telethon and set up a foundation to send monthly cheques to residents who lost their homes. Her Imagination Library, started because her own father struggled to read, has sent free books to children for decades.

She was famously private about her political views. “I don’t do politics,” she told podcast host Jad Abumrad on “Dolly Parton’s America.” “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.”

Parton is survived by her legacy as one of the most decorated and broadly loved figures in music history, with 55 Grammy nominations and 10 wins over her career. She was married to Carl Dean for nearly six decades, until his death in 2025.

*With files from CP

2)Dolly Parton, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Has Died at 80

Courtesy Rock 95

By Logan Miller, August 25, 2026

Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, her family confirmed Tuesday.

Tributes are already pouring in from every corner of the music world, and most of them are going to focus on what everyone already knows: five decades of country classics, “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” “I Will Always Love You,” and a songbook that shaped modern country music more than almost anyone else’s.

We want to focus on something else.

Because, Dolly wasn’t just a country legend … she was a rock legend too.

A Rock & Roll Hall of Famer

In 2022, Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a performer, inducted by P!NK herself.

It’s a detail a lot of casual fans still don’t know, and honestly, neither did Dolly at first. When she was nominated, she famously tried to turn it down, saying she didn’t feel she’d earned it since her background was country, not rock.

Watch Dolly’s Acceptance Speech

The Hall of Fame didn’t budge, and thankfully, neither did the fans.

Dolly accepted the honor and did something that tells you everything about who she was as an artist: she decided if she was going to be a rock and roll hall of famer, she was going to earn it. She promised to record a rock album to prove she belonged.

She kept that promise.

During her acceptance speech she famously started with “I’m a rock star now!”

Rockstar: Dolly’s Rock and Roll Statement Album

In November 2023, Dolly released Rockstar, a sprawling 30-track album that stands as one of the most ambitious records of her career and her first full dive into the rock genre.

The guest list alone reads like a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr joined her for a cover of “Let It Be.” Steven Tyler, Peter Frampton, Joan Jett, Elton John, Rob Halford, Nikki Sixx, Ann Wilson, Stevie Nicks, Chris Stapleton and Miley Cyrus all showed up to play.

Rockstar didn’t just perform well for a passion project…

It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting solo album of Dolly’s career, and topped both the Country and Rock & Alternative albums charts at the same time.

At 77 years old, Dolly Parton had her first rock hit, watching lead single “World on Fire” climb to number one on Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart 55 years after she released her first record.

That’s not a novelty act. That’s one of the greatest entertainers of all time deciding, in her seventies, to open an entirely new chapter.

More Rock Than People Remember

Dolly’s connection to rock music actually goes back further than Rockstar suggests.

Her songwriting and performing crossed into pop, disco, gospel and bluegrass throughout her career, and her influence reached far beyond Nashville. Artists as varied as Joan Jett, Jack White and P!NK have cited her as an influence, and her music has been covered and reimagined by rock artists for decades.

Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” became one of the best-selling singles in history, but Dolly wrote it, and that kind of songwriting doesn’t recognize genre lines.

By the time the Rock Hall came calling, they weren’t stretching to fit her in. They were catching up.

A Legacy Bigger Than Any One Genre

Dolly Parton spent her career refusing to be boxed in, by genre, by expectation, or by anyone else’s idea of what a country girl from the Smoky Mountains was supposed to do with her life.

She built an empire, she gave away millions through literacy programs and disaster relief, and somehow she stayed one of the most beloved people in the entertainment industry the entire time.

Rock and roll got to claim her too, and she earned every bit of it.

Rest easy, Dolly. Thanks for rocking with us.