Dolly Parton dies at 80

Country music icon Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80.

Dolly Parton health challenges

Parton had rarely been seen in person in recent months, citing her health and issues that she had not dealt with before the death of her husband Carl Dean last year, The New York Times reported.

She had to cancel a six-show residency for Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace last December due to her health, according to Variety.

“As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” she wrote as part of the announcement. “As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon! In all seriousness, given this, I am not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see, and the show that you deserve to see.

“A rhinestone life”

The New York Times said she was “in a class by herself” and “quintessentially, a uniter of people.”

Variety called Parton the “Queen of Country Music.”

The publication shared her official obituary: “A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family. Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact.”

Despite her health issues, she had been working on her biographical Broadway show, “Dolly: An Original Musical,” a traveling concert called “Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony,” and opening her Tennessean Travel Stop.

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“Bigger-than-life personality and rags-to-riches career”

Parton had a “bigger-than-life personality and rags-to-riches career,” Variety reported.

She was born in a one-room cabin in Tennessee on Jan. 19, 1946. She was the fourth of 12 children in a family she called “dirt poor” with a father who did not know how to read, CNN reported.

Parton got her first guitar from her uncle as a child and began playing at 7 years old. She also started writing her own music then.

“Mama was fascinated with how I could rhyme and write songs about stuff I’d never lived,” Parton said, according to CNN, “but I’d hear them talk.”

She produced her first song, “Puppy Love,” when she was 13 and was a teen when she first performed at the Grand Ole Opry, Variety reported.

She moved to Nashville after high school to launch her music career, meeting the man who would become her long-time husband outside a laundromat.

“I was surprised and delighted that while he talked to me, he looked at my face (a rare thing for me),” she wrote. “He seemed to be genuinely interested in finding out who I was and what I was about.”

Her music career

She signed her first record deal in 1965 and married Dean in 1966, a marriage that lasted until his death last year.

Just two years after her record deal, she became a regular on “The Porter Wagoner Show.”

She had her first No. 1 hit with “Joshua” in 1971.

After seven years being Wagoner’s “pretty little girl,” she struck out on her own thanks to her hit “I Will Always Love You.”

She wrote the song after she said Wagoner “wasn’t listening to anything” she was saying.

“So I went home and wrote that song, took it back the next morning, and said, ‘Sit down, I need you to hear something.’ So I sang it, and he was crying,” Parton said.

She wrote more than 3,000 songs, including “Coat of Many Colors,” a song that pays tribute to her mother, who made their family’s clothes; “Jolene” and “9 to 5.”

She released 49 albums and won 11 Grammys, with crossover hits that made it to not only the country charts but also the pop charts.

Dolly Parton: Here are 5 signature hits from the ‘Queen of Country’

Star of the big screen

Parton showed off her acting chops in several films, including “9 to 5″ opposite Jane Fonda and Lilly Tomlin as a trio of office workers who “turn the tables on their obnoxious boss,” IMDB wrote.

She headlined “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” which featured “I Will Always Love You” and also starred Burt Reynolds.

Other films include “Rhinestone,” “Steel Magnolias,” and “Straight Talk.” She also lent her distinctive voice to “The Simpsons” and “The Magic School Bus,” and did several guest spots, including as “Aunt Dolly” on “Hannah Montana,” according to IMDB. Parton was godmother to “Hannah Montana” actress and singer Miley Cyrus.

Imagination Library

But her legacy was not just through music. She gave back to the community she grew up in and so much further than rural Tennessee.

She launched her Imagination Library to promote literacy and has gifted more than 300 million books to children globally. Every month, more than 3 million books are sent to children every month.

“When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams. They dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor or a minister. Who knows, maybe there is a little girl whose dream is to be a writer and singer.

“The seeds of these dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world,” she wrote on the library’s website.

Dollywood and other businesses

Parton made her mark as a businesswoman.

She had her name and image on products from baking mixes to jewelry, but her biggest project was Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which is not only a tourist destination, but also a cornerstone for the region’s revenue streams.

The park is Sevier County’s largest employer, creating more than 23,000 jobs and earning $1.8 billion each year, CNN reported.

Hall of Fame, other honors

Parton is part of several Halls of Fame and received other honors over her seven-decade career.

She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and received the Recording Academy’s lifetime achievement award in 2011.

She was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001, a National Medal of the Arts honoree in 2005 and a Kennedy Center Honors recipient in 2006, Variety reported.

Despite a career rooted in country music, Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame after initially declining the honor. She eventually agreed to the induction and produced a rock music album, “Rockstar,” with duets with other icons like Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, including songs such as “Stairway to Heaven” and “Let It Be.”

Check back for more on this developing story.

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