Dolly Parton, 'Queen of Country Music,' dies at 80; Trump orders flags at half-staff for a week

Dolly Parton, widely celebrated as the "Queen of Country Music," died Tuesday (local time) at the age of 80.

Parton's nephew Brian Seaver announced her death in a video posted to social media, saying, "Dolly lived in the light, and now she rests in the arms of Jesus." She died peacefully in Nashville, Tennessee, her hometown.

Parton had been dogged by health concerns after postponing and ultimately canceling a Las Vegas residency last year. She had spoken publicly about immune and digestive problems in recent years, and last fall posted on social media to reassure fans that she was "not dead yet." In May she said she was responding well to treatment, but she was ultimately unable to overcome her illness.

The Associated Press described Parton as "a country music icon who rose from a log cabin in the Tennessee mountains to the heights of stardom and acclaim, driven by a soaring vibrato voice, heartfelt lyrics and dazzling costumes."

Born in 1946 into a poor family in Tennessee as one of 12 children, Parton built a career as a singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, broadcaster, author and philanthropist, earning fans across generations, regions and political divides.

Her 1973 hit "Jolene" crossed over from the country charts to the pop charts, cementing her global reputation.

The following year, "I Will Always Love You" — which she wrote herself — earned her the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year award for two consecutive years, starting in 1975.

The song became a global classic after Whitney Houston recorded it as the theme for the 1992 film "The Bodyguard."

Among her other celebrated works were the title track from the 1980 comedy film "9 to 5" and "Islands in the Stream," a duet with Kenny Rogers that also became a worldwide hit.

Parton wrote more than 3,000 songs over her lifetime. Her music was covered by artists including Houston, Tina Turner, Norah Jones, The White Stripes, Merle Haggard, Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé and Olivia Newton-John.

Across 49 studio albums, her songs sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and have been streamed more than 1 billion times online.

Parton received 11 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. Twenty-five of her songs reached No. 1 on the Billboard country charts. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 and received its highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, in 2007. In 2022, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Known throughout her career for her signature look — form-fitting rhinestone-studded outfits, towering blond hair and bold makeup — Parton was equally celebrated for her philanthropy.

She founded Imagination Library, an educational nonprofit that sends free books to children in Tennessee, and expanded it into a literacy program for preschool children across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland. The organization has distributed more than 300 million free books to young readers around the world.

When wildfires broke out in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2016 and caused widespread destruction across Tennessee, Parton organized a charity telethon to aid victims. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University for vaccine research, making her an early backer of the Moderna vaccine.

Reuters credited her enduring star power to "her ability to connect with people," noting that Parton — who described herself as having grown up "dirt-poor" — was often seen as a symbol of the American working class, one who poured her fame and fortune into the causes she believed in.

Parton married Carl Dean, an asphalt paving contractor, in the mid-1960s and remained with him until his death last year. The couple had no children, though singer Miley Cyrus was Parton's goddaughter.

Tributes poured in from across American public life following news of Parton's death.

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was "so sad to share the news of the passing of Dolly Parton, one of the greatest country singers ever, and so much more."

"This is a tremendous loss for so many people," Trump added. "There was never anyone like her before, and there never will be again."

Trump ordered flags flown at half-staff at federal buildings across the country and at US diplomatic posts abroad in her honor. According to a White House proclamation, the order remains in effect through sunset on Sept. 1.

Major US news outlets all carried obituaries for Parton.

The New York Times wrote that she "dominated not only country music but much of popular culture for six decades," calling her "one of the most beloved Americans of the 20th century, who positioned herself with an outsized personality and an unpretentious wit."

The Washington Post wrote that Parton's reach was vast enough to encompass "devotees of the country music world, the poor Appalachian residents who found their lives in the lyrics of her thousands of self-penned songs, the working women she cheered on in '9 to 5,' and the children she helped through her literacy program."

An obituary posted to Parton's account on X, formerly Twitter, said her "legacy is one of love, compassion and resilience," adding that "her music will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact."

Her funeral will be held privately, with only immediate family in attendance.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to Imagination Library, the nonprofit Parton founded.