Dolly Parton, known as the queen of country music, died Tuesday. She was 80. Her nephew Bryan Seaver announced the news in a video posted on the singer’s Instagram account Tuesday afternoon.
“Sadness lies with us, but not with Dolly,” Seaver said.
He didn’t share a cause of death in the video, but a family representative told The New York Times Tuesday evening that Parton died after a short battle with cancer. A spokesperson for Parton couldn’t be immediately reached by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
She was admitted to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville last week.
Though Parton’s giant country music legacy is connected to her Tennessee roots, Georgia also played a small role in her personal and professional life. On May 30, 1966, she married her husband Carl Dean at a church in Ringgold, Georgia. At the time, she was just 20.
The couple chose the Georgia town for their nuptials because Parton feared the wedding announcement would hinder her career. Parton and Dean were married for nearly 60 years, until his passing last year and would often revisit Ringgold to commemorate their anniversary.
Ringgold has been known for decades as “The Wedding Capital of the South” because of the ease with which the city facilitates marriages. Fellow country music icons Tammy Wynette and Georgia Jones also wed there.
The city, with a population of roughly 3,400, lies in Catoosa County in northwest Georgia, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Atlanta.
Parton’s death comes months after the legendary musician canceled a Las Vegas residency that was rescheduled for September. Last year, she missed an event at her esteemed Dollywood Theme Park because of kidney stone issues.
Credit: AP Photo/Tsugufumi Matsumoto
Credit: AP Photo/Tsugufumi Matsumoto
Throughout her 60-year career, Parton became an indomitable force in country music, helping bring the genre to mainstream dominance. Her music has sold over 100 million copies worldwide, earning 11 Grammy Awards. The superstar’s timeless hits were often reimagined by fellow musical giants, including Whitney Houston’s 1992 behemoth rendition of “I Will Always Love You” and Beyoncé’s 2024 version of “Jolene.”
Parton was also a philanthropist and actress, starring in several movies, including the hit 1980 film “9 to 5.”
“Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens,” Seaver said in the video.
Parton’s Georgia wedding wasn’t her only mark in the state. She shot several projects in metro Atlanta, either as a producer or actress, including the 2012 Queen Latifah-starring musical “Joyful Noise,” the 2015 made-for-TV biopic “Coat of Many Colors” and the 2019 anthology series “Heartstrings.”
She also played multiple concerts in the area, most recently in 2016 at Infinite Energy Center (now Gas South Arena) in Duluth. Before the show, Parton spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the secrets to her youthful look.
“Good doctors, good lighting and good makeup! (Laughs) And a good attitude!,” she told former AJC reporter Melissa Ruggieri.
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